One of the most important skills you can teach your child is how to read food labels. They will learn more than just ingredients and calories but also portion control and serving size. This knowledge will encourage healthy habits and help them make wise and informed food choices in the future.  


Here are some tips to get you started.

    •    Start at home by getting out a couple of their favorite things, such as cereal, along with a measuring cup. Start by teaching them how they can determine what a serving size is, and letting them measure out one serving.

    •    Once they understand serving sizes, move on to showing them things like calories, fat, sugar, fiber, and cholesterol on the label. Explain why it is important to know what quantity of these things constitutes a serving, and what amount is considered high. For example, if they look at a can of soda and see that it has 40 grams of sugar, they will learn that this is high; if they look at a serving of Cheerios, and see that it has one gram of sugar, they will see that this is low.

    •    Try having them read the ingredients list. The longer-labeled products are often less natural and have a lot of artificial ingredients, making them more unhealthy. Remind children that things like fresh fruits and vegetables don't  have labels and are usually the most natural and healthiest options.

    •    Once they have the above steps down, do some label comparisons, so they can determine which choice is the healthiest option.

    •    Be patient with kids as they learn how to read and understand labels. It will take time and practice.

Once children have been exposed to label reading at home, and have had an opportunity to practice measuring and learning about the food, parents can encourage label reading at the grocery store. The more practice they get, the better they will become.