Benefits & Messages

• Promotes Early Nutrition Education Through Hands-On Involvement: The tip card encourages families to include children in meal preparation, fostering early familiarity with healthy foods, cooking skills, and MyPlate principles—all key components of WIC nutrition education.
• Supports Positive Parent-Child Interactions Around Food: Involving children in the kitchen strengthens family bonds and provides parents with easy, age-appropriate ideas for how to engage their children in healthy eating at home—reinforcing WIC’s focus on family-centered education.
• Builds Food Literacy and Reduces Picky Eating Behaviors: When children help prepare meals, they are more likely to taste and accept a wider variety of foods. This tip card helps parents turn cooking time into a powerful tool for expanding healthy food preferences.
• Encourages Routine Formation Around Healthy Eating: Simple and actionable, the tips help families build sustainable routines that make healthy eating more accessible, even for households with limited time or resources.
• Aligns with WIC Goals to Support Lifelong Healthy Habits: By empowering families to cook together and prioritize nutritious meals, the tip card reinforces the skills and messages shared by WIC nutrition staff, peer counselors, and outreach educators.

Educational Use

• Individual Nutrition Counseling Sessions
• Group Education Classes or Cooking Demonstrations
• Milestone Visits and Growth Monitoring Appointments
• Family Engagement or Outreach Events