As a single parent, I struggle keeping my 9-year old son balanced with healthy food choices. Like many children, my child spends time eating between two homes and school. Tracking what he eats and how healthy it is can be challenging. Finding the best way to give him nutritional education with the right message for eating smart between two homes can be daunting. Since most kids struggle with a craving for sugary foods and veggies are considered awful at best, the goal to keep good food choices on point tends to fall apart between households quickly. One troubling research study indicated children of divorce, especially boys, trend toward being overweight or obese. The cause of this is not clear, but poor eating habits do play a definite role.

When you add the school nutrition programs, which are doing a better job in recent years, the picture of your child's nutrition continues to get murky. These programs have shifted to the good by getting more whole foods in place, but in my opinion, they still fall short nutritionally. The focus with most schools is making sure they have budgets to feed the kids through federally funded programs like the "National School Lunch Program" for example. Eating at school is so much better than it used to be, but your child still needs to make smart choices in the lunch room.

It is clear nutrition is one of the more difficult aspects of parenting. Here are a few steps to apply that should help you and your kids through the proper nutrition and fitness maze:

* First and foremost, be a good role model. Walk the walk and your kids will follow. The younger you start this, the better the results of leading by example. Many times the problem lies with us the parents, not our kids. We are busy, so we eat fast foods or buy the easy processed foods, which are nutritionally poor choices. In order to be good role models, we must educate ourselves first and then practice what we preach.

* Let them choose their foods, but guide them to choose wisely. Most foods like chips or pastas once in a while are fine as a treat. It's probably OK to reward with somewhat forbidden foods like a cookie once in a while and balancing it with healthier foods like an apple or banana more frequently. Let them have a little freedom with foods in moderation, this will give you leverage so they are more willing to work on the other better food choices.

* Involve your kids in the process of shopping for food. Send them in search of what they think are great whole food choices. Educate them when they miss the mark and reward them by buying the items that hit the mark. Later, you can experiment with them on whether the food they picked was awesome, good or just OK. Pretty soon they will figure out what they like and you will expand their taste buds in the process. The practice of having your kids locate good foods can be really fun at a farmers market where you are dealing with fresh from the farm produce and other homemade products.

* Once your kids get in the habit of helping and finding healthy foods while shopping, get them involved with food prep. Encourage your kids to help in the kitchen. The one thing about my son, for example, is if he helps cook the food, he is really into serving and eating it. Learning by doing is such a good way to get your children ready for life and it expands their nutrition knowledge. Remember, kids love eating the food they create.

* It is important to break bread together, making mealtime meaningful as family time. Eating healthy and eating healthy together gives everyone a sense of connection. It also sends a message to your kids that eating healthy is important to you as the parent. It ties the whole process of food gathering, food prep and serving the food together with the parent leading by example every step of the way.

A few final habits you want your kids to develop: Encourage them to eat small portions. As Americans, we overeat constantly, so develop the mind set in your children that you can always have a bit more if you're still hungry. Don't pile the plate with large portions. Also be sure your kids eat breakfast. After a night's sleep, they will need to refuel their bodies for the day ahead. Reduce sugary foods and try to keep snacking to healthy fruits or vegetable choices.

In 2014, a number of articles hit the media stating that childhood obesity was trending downward. The statistical data proved to be somewhat inconclusive, but the good news is there does seem to be a shift in kids eating healthier. More food manufactures are removing high fructose corn syrup from children's foods for one thing. The other important aspect is more and more parents are incorporating whole foods into their kids' daily nutrition. The one sure thing is if we include our children with healthy food choices and education, we will have healthier kids and put a dent in childhood obesity.

Judd Jones is a director for the Hagadone Corporation.