You play a very important role in helping your child get to and stay at a healthy weight. For the most part, you are the one buying the food, cooking it, and deciding when meals are served. So you help determine when and how much your child eats. Start by making small changes — they can have a big impact on your child’s health. Follow the tips below:

• Buy fruits and vegetables instead of foods high in sugar and fat. Always have healthy snacks available. Try pretzels instead of chips; baked tortilla chips and salsa instead of potato chips and dip; fat-free and sugar-free sorbet instead of full-fat or even low-fat ice cream.
• Don’t use food as a reward or as a punishment.
• Limit your child’s intake of pop, sports drinks, and other sweetened beverages, even those containing fruit juice. These drinks provide little nutritional value but are high in calories. They also fill kids up and can lessen their desire for “real” food.
• Sit down together for family meals. Make it an event — a time to share news and tell stories. Discourage eating in front of the television or while your child plays computer or video games. Your child may eat too fast and not be aware of how much he or she is eating.
• Limit how often you buy fast food. When you do, know how many calories and how much fat is in the food you’re giving your child. All of this information is easy to find online, if not available at the restaurant. 

And don’t forget about exercise. Exercise is essential for most people to lose weight. Exercise doesn’t just burn calories, but also builds strong bones and muscles and helps children sleep well at night. Good exercise habits started in childhood might help teenagers maintain a healthy weight despite the hormonal changes, rapid growth, and social influences that often lead to overeating. And active children are more likely to become fit adults. To help your child stay active:

• Limit screen time to fewer than two hours a day. A surefire way to increase your child's activity levels is to limit the number of hours he or she is allowed to watch TV, play video or computer games, or use their cell phones.
• Emphasize activity, not exercise. Your child's activity doesn't have to be a structured exercise program — the object is just to get him or her moving. Free-play activities, such as hide-and-seek, tag, or jump-rope, can be great for burning calories and improving fitness.
• Find activities your child likes to do. For instance, if your child likes art projects, go on a nature hike to collect leaves and rocks that your child can use to make a collage. If your child likes to climb, head for the nearest neighborhood jungle gym or climbing wall. If your child likes to read, walk or bike to the neighborhood library for a book.
• If you want an active child, be active yourself. Find fun activities that the whole family can do together. Never make exercise seem a punishment or a chore.
• Vary the activities. Let each child take a turn choosing the activity of the day or week. Batting practice, bowling, and swimming all count. What matters is doing something active.