3 Healthy Eating Games for Children

It's important to start nutrition education from the earliest stages of life. To achieve this, we'll present a series of healthy eating games for children.
3 Healthy Eating Games for Children

Last update: 29 May, 2022

There are a series of healthy eating games for children that you should know, as with them, you’ll be able to educate your children on the need to establish good dietary habits. This way, their bodies will function in an optimal and efficient way, which will prevent the development of diseases over the years.

It’s important to note that for a diet to be healthy, it must be varied and balanced. Generally speaking, it’s important to avoid restricting entire food groups so as not to incur potentially harmful nutritional deficits.

Implement these activities today and you’ll see that your children will maintain a taste for healthy eating in the future. Take note!

Discover some healthy eating games to instill healthy habits in your children

Here, we’re going to show you the best healthy eating games for children in order to involve your little ones in the culinary process. This way, they can become familiar with the organoleptic characteristics of foodstuffs more quickly, which will help prevent rejection in the future.

A child picking vegetables from a garden.
Early contact with different foods in their natural state allows children to learn the organoleptic properties of foodstuffs and, also, to develop tolerance to them and maintain a varied diet in the future.

1. The pyramid of good nutrition

With this healthy eating game, children will begin to distinguish healthy foods from those that should only be consumed occasionally. The latter usually contain high amounts of simple sugars and trans fats, elements that have been shown to increase the levels of inflammation in the internal environment.

The game has a total of 54 foods that must be placed in 3 zones :

  • Green: corresponds to products for regular consumption.
  • Yellow: foods that should be eaten with a certain frequency.
  • Red: products that should only appear occasionally in the diet.

2. The traffic light of good nutrition

This game shares certain principles with the previous one, as it distinguishes the foods that should be consumed regularly from those that should be relegated only to special or specific moments.

In this case, a series of traffic lights are distributed among the children. The cards of the 54 foods are stacked in the middle and, as they come out, each player must decide where in the traffic light to place them.

This way, the need to include fresh and plant-based foods in the daily diet can be emphasized. They contain high-quality antioxidants that neutralize the formation of free radicals and their subsequent accumulation in the body’s tissues. Such an effect has been linked to a lower risk of getting sick, according to a study published in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

3. Discover food allergies and intolerances

With this game, children will learn to identify those products that are likely to cause food intolerances or allergies. These are to be avoided in the diet if doubts arise in this regard, so as not to suffer unpleasant symptoms.

The method of the game is simple. There are 45 cards, 8 of which correspond to products that can cause these problems. The players will have to identify those that can give rise to inconveniences.

It’s important that from the early stages of life, children understand that certain allergens can trigger serious adverse reactions in the body. In the worst case, they could end up with an anaphylactic reaction that would require emergency medical intervention.

A young girl who has a stomach ache after drinking milk.
Food intolerances and allergies should be detected early because sustained exposure to the factors that awaken them can produce major complications.

Give healthy eating games for children

As you’ve seen, there are several options for healthy eating games for children so that the little ones begin to know the basics of a good diet. Therefore, you’ll also get them to become more aware of the products that can be consumed on a regular basis.

However, we must remember that the proper functioning of the body isn’t only determined by food. There are other habits that should be promoted in order to maintain an optimal state of health over the years. For example, regular physical exercise, ensuring good hydration, and sleeping at least 8 hours a day.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Hirata Y. (2021). trans-Fatty Acids as an Enhancer of Inflammation and Cell Death: Molecular Basis for Their Pathological Actions. Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin44(10), 1349–1356. https://doi.org/10.1248/bpb.b21-00449
  • Neha, K., Haider, M. R., Pathak, A., & Yar, M. S. (2019). Medicinal prospects of antioxidants: A review. European journal of medicinal chemistry178, 687–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.06.010

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.