Tips for Teaching Your Child about Food Safety

Food safety is an important and valuable life lesson. If you are a parent, teaching your child about food safety is one of the most practical and worthwhile lessons you can give to him (or her). Here are some of the major highlights of what you need to teach your child about this important subject.

Prioritize the Issues

There are a great number of things you as a parent will teach your child, and a great number of food safety tips alone. You may not be able to teach your child each and every single rule about food safety, so concentrate on those that are the most important. Begin with the rules that are foundational, and build on them little by little.

Make It Fun

Children learn best when they are having a great time. Make a game out of learning food safety rules. Focus on having fun, and make it a goal of helping your child to remember at least a few rules from each food safety learning session.

Don’t Scold

No child learns well when their parent is hovering around angrily. If you want your teaching to have a positive and lasting impression, don’t scold your child. If he doesn’t learn everything right away or does something wrong when you are watching… simply teach again and move on.

Use Real Life Situations

Real life is the best teacher. When you are baking together, point out food safety tips that are relevant to what is going on at the moment. When you are putting food away, talk about why. If you ask your child to do something and it involves food safety, educate him on the information surrounding it instead of just making a demand.

Teach by Example

Your child will not learn much if your actions are contradicting your words. As you work with food in your day-to-day life, think about food safety and be sure to follow the rules yourself. Know that your child’s eyes are watching you at all times, even when you are not expecting it. Don’t be the parent who says one thing and does another.

Turn It into an Event

A fun way to teach food safety to children is by creating an event to learn and display what they have learned. Plan a special supper or party with your child that you will prepare together. Plan the food, and talk about the rules you will need to follow. Incorporate the learning you have done with a chance to prove how much easier life is when these guidelines are followed. Your child will have a memorable event to help him remember why he is learning these concepts, and great memories with his parent.

Because food safety is an important subject for each and every person, make an effort to teach it to your child. Use a variety of opportunities that will help cement the concept in your child’s mind. By raising a child who understands food safety, you will improve his life and the lives of those around him.