Today we’re dealing with the challenge of how to help a child lose weight. Ok so first of all this is a sensitive subject and to be honest with you something far too many parents get hung up on and worried about.
Let kids be kids! There is nothing wrong with a little extra meat on their bones when they are kids. But if you do feel that things have gotten a little out of control or you can see their weight becoming an issue down the line, then we have some useful tips for you to help you help your child lose weight.
The Food
The most important part of weight loss is the food! In this section we are going to be looking at a few of the ways in which you can change your child’s eating habits.
No Fad Diets!
The most tempting thing to do is jump on Google and look for a kid diet. Do not do this! Most of these fad diets do not result in long term and manageable weight loss. You do not want your child to be just dropping pounds left and right and then put them straight back on a few months later.
Make smart choices about what they eat. Do they really need donuts as a treat after every meal? Is take out four nights a week really something you need to do? Just make smarter choices and lay off the bad foods and you will find that they will start to lose weight in a more natural way.
Take Away The Temptation – How To Help A Child Lose Weight
A loaded snack drawer is something that sounds awesome, but if you are trying to get your child to eat healthier and lose some weight then this is not fair at all. If you have a tin of cookies, a couple cans of Pringles and other snacks then of course they are going to want them!
Get rid of the unhealthy snacks and replace them with things like berries, apples and even cereal. Many kids go crazy for cereal like Cheerios as a snack. They will gobble these up like they are chips! If you kid is getting full on healthy snacks then they will not be bugging you for chips and cookies!
Get The Whole Family On Board
You do not want your child to feel like there is something wrong with them or that they are being singled out or punished. The easiest and most fair way to do this is by making this a family change. The whole family has to be on board with this.
So you cannot have one child on a diet and then allow the others to keep filling up on snacks. Same goes for mom and dad! You guys have to get on board with this. A family wide change does not single anyone out and when you think about it. This does actually benefit your whole family. So make sure you eat together, ask each other about what kind of healthy snacks are nice and so on. The point is make this a real family affair. Your kid is much more likely to get on board of mom and dad are excited about it.
Do Not Rush In
The tempting thing to do is run to the kitchen and just throw out all of the snacks and make your child go cold turkey! Do not do this, we cannot stress this enough. Start with small changes. Maybe one week you stop buying Coke and other sodas and start buying healthy drinks instead. Stop letting them have pop tarts and waffles for breakfast and get them to have something healthy like porridge and strawberries.
Introduce little changes here and there rather than just coming in like a wrecking ball and changing their whole world all at once. Even an adult would struggle doing that so it is totally unreasonable to expect a child to do it.
Be Realistic – Set Small Goals
At the end of the day kids are kids so you have to be realistic with your goals. As long as they are making positive changes that is what matters.
You may think that they are not losing enough weight, but as long as they are eating right and moving around, you (and of course them) are doing an awesome job.
Do not get hung up on BMI, what other people’s kids are like, what so called experts say, what the latest fad diet is.
If you can go one week without your child eating cookies everyday take it as a win! Set small realistic goals and you will find that getting your child to be healthier is something that can happen.
Cheat Day!
Even when adults are on a diet they will have a cheat day where they can indulge a little bit. Why should kids be any different? A trip to McDonalds, a nice big pizza, an awesome ice cream from the ice cream store!
You do not have to deny your kids the fun things in life just because you are worried about their weight. Having something naughty once a week makes it that much more exciting than when they are allowed it all the time.
So let them every now and again go a little nuts. There is nothing wrong with that at all.
Exercise
In a day and age where there is so much technology it is getting harder and harder to get kids to go outside and play. Here we have a few tips for you to get your kids up and moving around.
It Has To Be Fun!
Phys Ed in schools actually turns many kids off from exercise as some teachers are more like drill instructors! You child does not need you taking them out in the backyard and getting them to do press ups, jumping jacks and other things like that with you yelling at them.
Exercising for a child has to be fun. If it is fun then they will want to do it again. If they do not like it then it becomes a chore and you will have a battle to get them to do it! If the first thing you try does not win them over. Rather than forcing them to keep doing it try something else. You will find something that clicks with your child eventually.
Just Get Them Moving – How To Help A Child Lose Weight
Some parents will spend hours coming up with an exercise routine that would make Superman sweat and tire out Batman. You do not need to do all that. Just get your kid up and moving. Take them to the park, take the dog for a walk. Any kind of exercise and anything that makes them be active is good. Do not worry if Jill down the street has her kid working with a personal trainer. Kids do not need that. Any time you get them up off the couch and moving around you are doing a good job.
Sports, Sports, Sports!
You really cannot go wrong with sports. This is a great way to get a kid active and also help them improve their social skills as well. No matter if it is joining their school basketball team or even little league.
Getting your kids to play sport is a fantastic and also very fun way to keep them active. Some kids like sports, but do not want to join a team. Do not force it! Last thing you want to do is turn them off from sports. Instead play basketball games in the driveway. Throw the ball around at the park or even have a game of touch football in the yard.
This is a fun way to spend time together as a family and it also will help keep them active. Also this may in the future lead to them building up a bit of confidence and want to join a school or local team.
Be Active As A Family
We have already touched on this, but getting the whole family involved in your physical activities is a fantastic way to get everyone on the right track to getting fitter and healthier.
Going out for a family hike, going swimming together, play a game of table tennis or even just taking a walk around the neighborhood are all ways that you can burn off calories together.
Limit Their Time On Games And TV
How to help a child lose weight? This one is going to be really hard, especially if as of right now your kids can play video games and watch TV as much as they like. But start to scale it back. An hour or two a day is more than enough. This is a great idea in theory, but it is something that can actually be quite hard to enforce.
One way to ease this is by instead of just telling them to turn off their Playstation. Tell them to do it because you are all going outside to have a game of basketball before dinner. Or because you are all going to the park. Show them that there is more to life than watching YouTube and hitting X to shoot a bad guy! Eventually your kid will come to you and ask if you want to play basketball or go to the park.
