Figuring out ways to help children avoid long term health problems and provide healthy nutritional standards can be tough for parents.

During National Nutrition Month, Greene County Medical Center’s registered dietitian Kathy Moen says setting a good example as a parent can help children learn to be healthy individuals.

Vegetables can be one of the toughest foods for kids to eat and Moen suggests that if the kids see their parents eating and enjoying a vegetable, that they will learn to like it to.

“I have to kind of chuckle to myself because sometimes the adults say, well I don’t like a certain vegetable because it might have been the way their parent prepared it.  So maybe just trying new recipes with the different vegetables gives the opportunity for not only the children but the adults themselves of experimenting with different vegetables.”

She adds that drinking more diary and less fruit juice is a healthier choice and if you eat more fruit and drink less fruit juice, then you are eliminating processed sugars and increasing fiber from the actual fruit.

Moen points out that just being a role model for children is the best way for them to learn to be healthy.

“By providing those nutrition, healthier choices and encouraging physical activity and being a role model I think that helps our children learn how to make healthy choices for themselves as an adult and prevent any kind of health problems in the future.”

Moen realizes that there are not a healthy of choices available to everyone and she suggests that you don’t have to completely eliminate them, just take them in moderation.