Thursday, June 4, 2009

Teach Children Vitamins

Teaching kids about vitamins is not as hard as you may think. Instilling an understanding of vitamins and other other basic nutrition principles can lead to a lifetime of healthy eating habits. Children are inundated with fast food, candy and soda, so the earlier you can begin teaching them about vitamins, the better. When you first start to teach children about vitamins, stick to the basics: vitamins A, B, C, D, and E.


Instructions


1. Teach your kids about vitamin A, which is needed for healthy eyes. It can be found in foods such as eggs, milk, spinach, carrots and nectarines. Telling your children they will have better eyes is a good way to help them remember the importance of vitamin A. If your child doesn't like one of the foods, then tell him or her they will be able to see better because they'll get more vitamin A by eating it.


2. Move on to the B vitamins. Explain to your child that B vitamins help provide energy for their body, so not getting enough B vitamins might make them tired. This will help them understand that B vitamins help them play and do other fun things. B vitamins are in foods like whole grains, fish, chicken, eggs, green vegetables like spinach, beans and milk.


3. Teach your kids about the importance of vitamin C by explaining that eating plenty of oranges, broccoli, cabbage and tomatoes will help heal their cuts and boo-boos much faster so they won't hurt. Vitamin C helps the immune system by fighting infection and healing wounds, according to the National Institutes of Health.


4. Tell your kids that vitamin D will help them grow up to be big and strong. Vitamin D helps build strong bones and teeth and can be found in milk, fish, and eggs. Sunlight also stimulates the skin to produce vitamin D, so a good way to help kids understand vitamin D is by telling them that when they go outside and play they are getting their daily dose of vitamin D.








5. Teach kids about vitamin E by telling them how it may help protect their heart and organs so they won't get sick as much. Vitamin E helps protect body tissues and is important in the production of red blood cells, according to the National Institutes of Health. You can find vitamin E in foods such as grains, spinach, corn, olives, and nuts.

Tags: help them, kids about, about vitamins, Vitamin helps, will help, your kids