Welcome back again to Parents R Us. I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and I'm sure you're all ready to get the kids back in school!

Today I want to address a serious topic - healthy eating for kids. Sadly childhood obesity has become a horrible problem today in the United States. More and more children are considered obese before the age of 10 and many kids are actually ending up with Type II diabetes. The problem…the foods that kids are eating.

Now you probably know that getting kids to eat healthy is not always such an easy task. However, with some work on the parts of parents, it can be done. While it's often easy to give up and hit the fast food joint or grab something quick at the store that's less than healthy, it's important that you start focusing on making sure your kids eat healthy foods. Here are some great tips for getting kids to eat healthy that can make a huge difference in their life now, and in the future.

Tip #1 - Buy Healthy Foods - First of all, healthy eating for kids starts out by you purchasing health foods. Kids are going to eat what is available to them. If you want them to eat healthy foods, then buy healthy foods for them. Leave the junk food at the store and they won't eat it. Purchase more fruits, veggies, and snacks that are healthy.

Tip #2 - Set a Healthy Example - Setting a healthy example as parents is also very important. Kids watch what you eat. If you are telling them to eat healthy and you don't do it yourself, expect them to mimic your actions, not your words. More than likely if you eat healthy foods in front of them, they are going to want to sample what you're having.

Tip #3 - Get Kids Involved - Get your kids involved with food preparation if you want them to eat healthy. If kids get to help make the food in some way, they are more likely to eat it. Come up with small tasks that they can help you with in the kitchen when you are preparing meals. It will get them more interested in the food. Allowing them to help out with choosing healthy foods at the store is another great idea. (If you dare to take the kiddies grocery shopping…lol)

Tip #4 - Presentation is Important - Presentation of the food is important. Part of getting kids to eat healthy is presenting it to them in an attractive way. If it looks bad, kids probably won't eat it. They are pretty picky about the way food looks. So, work hard to make the healthy food look enticing on their plate and they'll be more likely to eat it.

These are just a few tips that can help you get your kids to start eating healthy foods. Healthy eating for kids is so important. Not only is it going to impact them now, but the eating habits they learn as kids will stick with them for life. Get them eating healthy foods when they are young, and they'll be less likely to deal with health problems later in their lives. Hopefully you'll find these tips helpful and get your own kids to eat healthy foods.