Make Label Reading Fun: Get the Kids Involved
Label reading is a skill that can literally save our lives. Here are some ideas to get our kids involved at an early age and hopefully create an incredibly healthy habit.
- Ask the kids to find the added sugar in the ingredients list. Remember, if sugar is one of the first three ingredients, limit that food. Finding the word "sugar" should be easy, but it has over 60 different names in the ingredients list. Some of the more common names include: sucrose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, barley malt, dextrose, maltose, rice syrup, agave nectar, honey, and cane juice.
- Have the kids choose one of their favorite packaged foods and ask them to read the ingredient list aloud before putting it in the cart. Foods with shorter (and easier-to-read) ingredient lists are typically healthier. If the list is long or contains words our kids struggle to pronounce, this is their clue that it might not be the best option.
- Have the kids find an ingredient they’ve never heard of or can't pronounce and look it up online or with an app. If the ingredient sounds sketchy, put that product back on the shelf.
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