Children develop their dietary habits early in life by what they see, hear, and experience. You and other family members play a key role in shaping your child's attitude toward food - by the ways you talk about food and the types of food you serve at home. Remember, it is easier to establish healthy habits early, than undo bad ones later on. Here are five tips to help you establish healthy food choice habits in your household.

You have an impact. Your behaviors influence your child's attitudes regarding food - good or bad. Model proper nutrition choices and use positive, descriptive language to help your child understand what he/she sees, hears, feels tastes and smells.

Explore food. With your guidance, children can learn about food using all their senses. Shake a bell pepper to hear what's inside. Slice open a cucumber or smash a banana to explore texture and smell. Cut open an apple to find its seeds inside.

Don't give up. Expose your child to a new food at least 7-10 times before forming an opinion about their likes and dislikes. Present foods in a non-threatening manner and explain why it is important to try foods several times.

Kids can cook. Prepare meals and snacks together to increase your child's excitement about food. Young children can use a table knife to cut soft foods, stir using a long handled spoon or cut ingredients into small pieces with a child-size kitchen scissor. 

Serve it up. Help your child develop a sense of portion control and interest in new foods by having them serve themselves. Use small, lightweight serving containers and utensils to make it easy for them to pass food and dish up a child-sized serving.