1. Insist they have a healthy breakfast: a combination of protein, fruit, and a carbohydrate. The breakfast doesn't have to be fancy. Peanut butter on toast topped with apple slices with a glass of milk will start their day off right. Another alternative would be a hard boiled egg and fruit smoothie, made with fresh fruit, and half an English muffin.

If your child insists they don't have time for breakfast, make the meal the night before and leave in the fridge to grab and go. You kid doesn't like breakfast food? Well breakfast doesn't have to be bacon, eggs, and hash browns. A slice of pizza will do just fine if it's heavy on the tomato sauce and light on the cheese.

2. Use single portion healthy snacks and have them conveniently available. Non salted pretzels, low sodium saltine crackers, carrot sticks, single size servings of low fat cottage cheese all make energy filled snacks. The problem is when the child eats nearly a box of pretzels. Prepackaged single serving portions help avoid that. Package the servings yourself in zip lock baggies to save on money.

Throw out all the unhealthy high fat, high sugar snacks. No one in the family really needs them anyway. If they aren't in the house your child won't be reminded of them and probably won't miss them. If you just have to have your chips, put them in the back of the freezer. They won't tempt your little ones and they'll defrost quickly.

The high energy drinks popular with kids now should be a no no if your child is on a weight loss program. They're full of sugar which means calories and sometimes caffeine which kids don't need. Substitute plain bottled water. Go easy on the diet drinks. The artificial sweetener can cause digestive problems. Juice is healthy but full of sugar. Dilute the juice half and half with water and return to the container. Your child won't even notice.

Cut out full fat milk and use skim. If your child balks, use the juice trick. Dilute the full fat milk with 2% milk. Gradually decrease the full fat milk and increase the 2% until the milk is only 2%. Do the same thing using half 2% milk and half 1% milk. And again substituting skim nonfat milk for 50% of the 1% milk. Ina few weeks your child will have painlessly switched over to skim milk.

3. Cut out fast food as much as possible. The tendency is to eat too much too quickly. Fast food is loaded with fat and salt. If the rest of the family is having burgers and fries order your child's with only mustard and ketchup, no mayo, add extra tomatoes and lettuce to bulk up the burger. Substitute a small salad with just a smidge of dressing or apple slices instead of the fries. Chicken is an even better selection as long as it's not fried.

What the child drinks counts in their daily calorie intake. Avoid soft drinks. Offer plain or flavored waters instead.

Most important beyond any weight loss for children tip is to not make your child feel different because they are on a weight loss program. No one likes to feel deprived or left out, especially children. Revamp your family meals to be low fat but tasty, everyone will benefit.