I’ve always enjoyed eating a healthy, balanced diet and exercising on a regular basis. Taking good care of the one and only body I’ve been entrusted with just feels good, and being able to run around and have fun with my family feels even better. During my first pregnancy, many moms warned me that my kids would never eat the healthy food that I keep in my house. Viennas, biscuits [cookies] and fish fingers would soon become our new household staples. “It’s all they’ll eat,” they said. I just shrugged, smiled, and refused to budge. How on earth have we come to believe that nutritious, delicious foods are somehow inferior to, or less tasty than, overly-processed, unhealthy products?
And since when are kids the dictators?
Three years down the line I’m happy to report that we’ve officially proved the naysayers wrong: my two Brussels sprout eaters are content. Until a week or two ago, Miss K (3), our eldest, had never even heard the word “cola” before–she pointed to someone’s glass of it and said, “Mommy, that friend is drinking black juice.” (Just for the record, she’s since tasted it, but hates the “bubbles.”) She was also very fascinated by the nanny’s “blonde bread” (white bread)–something she’s never seen in her own home before.
So, are we food-obsessed Nazis who never let a crumb of processed food pass our lips? Of course not. I’m all too aware that obsessing over food now can have a massive impact on the way that my kids view food in future. I simply offer them healthy, nutritious food options without making too much of a fuss about it and teach them to enjoy healthy food, as well as the time spent together eating as a family. We do eat treats–-and enjoy every, single one!–but they definitely don’t form the basis of our diet.
What a huge responsibility we have as moms and parents to teach our kids how to value and care for their own bodies. May we all get the grace and wisdom to tackle this sensitive and hugely important issue in a way that will lead to a fit and healthy future generation.
How do you teach your children about food and nutrition? Can you see the impact of your food choices on your kids?
This is an original post written by Karien P. in South Africa for World Moms Blog. She can also be found on her blog, Running the Race.
Photo credit to the author.
Karien Potgieter
Karien Potgieter is a full-time working mom of two toddlers. She has a master’s degree in ecology and works in the conservation sector in beautiful South Africa. Her other big passion, apart from her family and caring for the environment, is running. To date she’s participated in races on three continents and in six countries and she dreams of travelling to and running in many, many more. You can follow her and her family’s running adventures on her blog, Running the Race (http://www.runningtherace.co.za).
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You are so spot on! Kids don’t decide what to eat. I make tremendous efforts to cook my kids healthy food and if they don’t like it, no way am I going to let Mr Chicken Nuggets win when he puts no effort in! My kids know, what’s on the table is what we eat, and mom worked hard at it so no discussion. As a result, they are very good eaters Something I never was . And like you, we enjoy treats, sugary drinks on occasions, but it’s all a matter of balance. Great post!
Thanks, Nadege! It’s really wonderful to hear that you feel the same way – I sometimes feel like a voice calling in the wilderness, haha! I strongly believe that children eat what they are given to eat – healthy or otherwise – we as parents have such a big responsibility in this regard.
Yup.
I don’t buy what I don’t want my kids to eat…. they get small amounts of rubbish now that they are older, but learning to enjoy healthy food is important, I think.
I agree, Karyn. And I find that my kids really do enjoy the healthy stuff just as much as the occasional treat!
Karien,
I hear you! I try to buy healthy foods to prepare at home, but as they are getting older, a whole new world of foods we don’t eat at home has opened up. The key for me has been to keep cooking, the more I cook, the more I keep finding things that they like. We also watch an occasional cooking show together for ideas, too.
Being overweight as a child, I have become a stickler for not letting my girls have too much sugar on a regular basis!
Great post!
Jen 🙂
Thanks, Jen! My kids are still very young, but I can imagine that it gets a bit trickier as they get older and are exposed to a wider variety of foods outside the home. I love the idea of watching an occasional cooking show together for family meal ideas (and perhaps preparing the meals together?) – I’m definitely going to try that when my kids are a bit older!
I am in complete agreement with you Karien! My kids are a bit older than yours (4 and 8) and love the healthy foods I put in front of them (they argue to eat the last artichoke or finish the salad:-)) but have been introduced to junk foods since they have been in school, and sometimes ask for it as well. I have not been crazy about the junk food, since I know that it will turn around and bite me in the ass once they are older and making their own decisions, rather I have set “rules” around it. They are allowed 1 candy/sweet a day. This rule started when they started trick-or-treating. I always make sure to have dark chocolate in the house if they want their treat to be “candy” and I bake treats that are healthier and less sugary than store bought for when they want their treat to be a cookie or cake.
I also get them to help with making dinner. My son makes a salad every night (while I am on my way home from work) and my daughter has now started helping peeling and washing the veggies. I also ask their input for meal planning, so that I am sure to get in things that they will eat (they usually add some of their favorite pasta dishes to the week’s menu).
My favorite thing is that when we are in the supermarket together they are usually begging me to buy a pinapple or some other exotic friut – not a bag of candy or cakes. 🙂
You are doing everything right, and you will see that they will start choosing wisely once they are older.
Those are all such great tips – thanks, Maman! I’m definitely going to remember them as my kids get older.
My kids also love dark chocolate (I do too) and get really excited when we buy a small container of fruit salad as a treat in the store – love it!
Absolutely right, Karien! 🙂
When my daughter was in grade 1, her teacher asked her what her favourite food was. Without hesitation she replied BROCCOLI! 🙂 When I met the teacher for the first time, she asked me if it was true, and added that in her over 20 years as a teacher this was the first time a child had ever named a vegetable as a favourite food! I had to smile and confess that Vicky considered broccoli a treat because I didn’t cook it very often, and she associated it with some kind of celebration. 🙂
My daughter is 18 years old now and has a very healthy relationship with food. She still much prefers healthy, home – cooked meals to junk food. I think this is due to the fact that we never used any kind of food as “reward”. I also never made an issue about how much (or little) I thought she was eating. The only rule was that if she told me that she was too full to finish what was on her plate, she couldn’t then ask to eat something different. If *we* (moms) don’t make an issue about food, they won’t either!
I love the broccoli story! And what you say is so true – it’s often because us moms make an issue about food that kids make one too. When I made Brussels sprouts for my kids for the very first time, I sort of anticipated that they weren’t going to like it – just because of the “bad reputation” it has with most kids. But I made it anyway and simply dished it up without making a fuss or pulling a face or saying anything. And they LOVED it (and still do)! I rest my case 🙂 .