Feeding your children a healthy diet can feel like an uphill struggle. Children clamour for sweets and treats and point blank refuse to even try a bite of broccoli. But you know what? Kids are kids and that's perfectly normal.  Us adults need to do make sure that we are presenting our children with healthy food options and eventually they will learn to love and eat healthy food. 

But wait a minute! What exactly is a healthy diet for kids?

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In order to get your children to eat clean healthy food, you need to know what a healthy diet is and give your children a chance to eat it.

What Should Children Eat?

It’s easier to think of what children should eat in terms of proportions rather than actual amounts. .

• Vegetables, just over a quarter.
• Fruit, just under a quarter.
• Cereals (pasta, bread, rice) just over a quarter.
• Protein (meat, fish, some vegetables such as garbanzos or chick peas)
• Dairy should make up a little extra portion. It’s an addition rather than part of what you actually need.  Here’s what you need to know about how much milk your kids should be drinking.

Children Should Drink Water as Their Main Drink

When you're thirsty, water is the best drink to keep you hydrated. Water is THE most healthy drink you can give to your kids. Even fruit juice that is generally considered healthy, is really full of sugar. It's fine to have other drinks from time to time but these should be considered treats rather than your thirst quencher.

If your kids aren't keen on water, you can just stop offering all the other sweet drinks that they have. They will complain for a bit, but when they're thirsty they will drink water. Here are some extra tips to make drinking water more fun.

• Add fresh fruit. Citrus fruits, such as lemons, limes, and oranges, are classic water enhancers, but other fruit flavors might also tempt your child’s taste buds. Try crushing fresh raspberries or watermelon into your water, or adding strawberry slices. Cucumber and fresh mint are refreshing flavors as well — especially in summer.
• Make it bubbly. Maybe your child prefer sparkling to still water. If plain old water isn't inspiring to your child, try a naturally effervescent mineral water — which will give you the added benefit of minerals. Or try bubbly seltzer, a carbonated water. You can add fresh fruit or natural juice flavors to your seltzer, as suggested above, or look for naturally flavored seltzers at your local market. If you become a seltzer devotee, you might want to consider getting a seltzer maker for your home.

Reference : 

nst.com.my

Who.int

everydayhealth.com

mayoclinic.org