Re: Eating
Asked by lons123

Question:
 

I have a eating problem with my son who is 6 years, It started from age 1. I have tried all tricks to get him to eat but am not winning. Food like Yoghurts, Ice Cream,

Chocolate, Biscuits and sweets he will feed himself without any hussle but nutrition food I am forced to feed him every single day,
 and I think he is now big to be feed he should be feeding himself. I need some advises from parents on how to handle this situation please.

My Advice:

 

Getting your kids to eat well.

 

Have you taken a really good, critical look at supermarkets these days.  Every aisle is full of highly processed items that are marketed as food, but are really only mediums for colours, flavours, additives, preservatives and have hardly any nutritional value whatsoever.

So why do we feed this junk to our kids?  Because it’s quick and easy?  Because it’s the only food they will eat?  Have a look at the labels on this food and you will see the rubbish and chemicals you are feeding your kids.  Is it a coincidence that the explosion of these “foods” on our shelves coincide with the rising numbers of children with behavioural disorders such as ADD, ADHD etc.?  Also the obesity epidemic that is running rampant in most western societies because we choose to take the easy path when it comes to feeding our kids (yes, I know there are more factors to blame than just food).

So what can we do about it? I have some ideas that may help.  Getting our kids to eat good healthy food can be a struggle, but it is worth it, as you will see.

Spend more time on food preparation

The quality of food that goes into our children is so important for their growth, development, brain function and learning, as well as behaviour and overall health.  Food is not just a way to fix hunger.  Food is a fuel that keeps us going, and good fuel equals good functioning bodies.  Knowing this, shouldn’t we then put more time and effort into preparing good food for our kids.  Don’t rush in the morning and throw whatever is in the pantry into the lunchboxes.  Try to add a variety of nutritious foods to the lunchbox.  Give yourself an extra half an hour to prepare vegetable for dinner.  Plan what you might offer you kids a day in advance, so that when they say they are hungry, you already know the answer to what they can have.

Kids in the kitchen

Children may be more likely to eat foods that they have been directly involved in preparing.  Not only does it teach a respect for the effort that goes into food preparation, but it also teaches some life lessons that they may take with them when they leave the home and become self-functioning, self-caring adults.  Kids sized aprons are cheap and add to the excitement of helping to cook.  Obviously the level of assistance needs to be age appropriate- young children are not safe with knives or heat sources (ovens, stoves, boiling water etc.).   Make your own snacks with less fat and sugar and more of the good stuff.

It starts with the grocery shopping

If you don’t buy it, they can’t eat it!!  Think about what you are going to serve for dinner, snacks, lunchboxes- before you go shopping.  Have a search for some new, healthy recipes for inspiration before you leave the house and write an ingredients list.  Get the kids to go shopping with you and teach them about healthy choices as you go.  If they are olds enough, let them read nutritional panels and ingredients lists on food and help them to make healthy decisions.  Sometimes these choices can be hard because of clever marketing tricks.  Companies WANT you to buy their sugar/salt/artificially filled products and will try to convince you that it is good for you, even when its not.  Try to see food on the shelf  in terms of how far away from its original form it has become.  The more processed, the worse it will be.  Focus on the fruit and veggie section, compare cereals (Nutrigrain is NOT iron man food, Fruit Loops can hardly even be classified as food.  Good old Vita Brits, Weetbix and Oats are much closer to their original form).   Bypass anything that is multicoloured!

Just say no

You have the right…….no, you have the responsibility to say no to junk.  Your child shouldn’t be able to dictate to you what he can and can’t eat.  You make those decisions by what you buy and what you ALLOW him to eat.  Yes, there may be tantrums, but that is not reason to give in.  The more you say no to junk, the easier it will be.  Kids soon get the picture that mum is standing her ground on this one.  Kids wont starve themselves either.  If they skip a meal because its not what they want, they will soon get hungry and eat what is offered.  If you don’t want your kids eating junk, don’t offer it in the first place.  Eventually, if you teach them well, kids will learn how to make healthy choices for themselves and the struggle will dissipate.

Where does food come from

Kids that have an understanding of where food really comes from are more likely to eat well.  Most kids these days think that food comes from a supermarket.  WRONG- food comes from trees, plants, animals…..nature!  We need to teach our kids this.  Easy: plant fruit trees (we replace some garden trees with fruit tress), grow some strawberries in a pot, if you have the room-plant a veggie garden.  If you don’t have room, plant some veggies in pots (this is what we do).  Make a herb garden- my kids love picking parsley to add to their dinner.  Let the kids tend to the garden and help pick the produce, then help to cook it.  Choose a farm visit for your next family holiday.

Have a lesson in biology

Older kids can start to grasp how components of food affect the body.  This may be a learning curve for you too if you haven’t though much about it before.  How is glucose used by cells? What happens to the body if there is more sugar than we need floating around the blood stream?  How is fat processed?  How does this affect our hearts and livers?  What chemical reactions are occurring in our bodies when we ingest artificial colours, flavours and preservatives?  This concretes the idea that we eat for a reason and encourages healthy choices because we know why these choices are important and what the wrong choices are really doing to our bodies.

In the meantime- hide it

This lesson takes a while for kids to learn.  In the meantime try the “hide the veggie” technique.  Grated zucchini and carrots can be easily hidden in pasta sauces.  Home made vegetable pizzas look like pizzas but are still good for you.  There are many more that you may find or come up with on you own if you have enough imagination.

 

 

 

Good healthy diets protect our kids from cancers, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity related problems.  Healthy kids have higher self esteem, can participate in life in a more involved level and have the potential to be more intelligent because their brains are receiving optimum nutrition.  Isn’t it worth the effort then, to teach our kids about eating well, food preparation and the origins of food?