Teach Kids Nutrition Through Shopping!

Almost two third of all moms are concerned about their children's food habits.

A recent Gallup Study of Children's Nutrition and Eating Habits showed that twice as many moms - almost two third of all moms - are concerned about their children's food habits compared to fifteen years ago. 

So how can you get kids to not only eat well, but be interested in what they eat and care about good nutrition?  A new initiative from Kidstir, a Los Angeles-based company is offering up a great solution. A unique subscription service for monthly, home-delivered cooking kits that provide hands-on food adventures for children.

The idea came from Aparna Pande, a former executive at Disney, FamilyFun, Parents, and Mattel, and, most importantly a mother of five-year-old twins! Each Kidstir subscription begins with a welcome kit, which includes a cookbook that can be personalized with the child's name,  activity pages, real-food recipes, kid-friendly utensils and ingredients,  and chapter dividers to build out the cookbook throughout the course of the subscription. Each subsequent monthly kit is designed around a chapter of the cookbook, such as Breakfast or Snacks. Subscriptions are just $19.95 per month, with free shipping.

With over 30 percent of youths overweight or obese and the cost of healthcare rising exponentially, it's no surprise that there are challenges around kids and food.  The Lempert Report applauds ideas like this which gets kids involved and educated about what they are eating.  When kids are engaged and having fun, helping them understand about healthy foods can be easy. Retailers can learn from this idea also. If the goal is to be a center for their community, supermarkets could help their customers by also thinking of ways in-store ads and displays can appeal to kids.  For example, colorful and healthy meal suggestions, step by step recipe instructions including nutrition benefits that are designed for kids to read and follow. Teaching and involving kids in nutrition is a great way to help families make the best of meal times.