Want your kids to eat healthier? Is hubby downing too many nachos and not enough veggies? Wife hooked on bonbons and chocolate? Need a solution? Well according to Dr. Fuhrman, healthy eating should be for the whole family. That way everyone eats better. From
Disease-Proof Your Child:
Parents are entrusted with the responsibility of securing the selection of healthy foods for the family and preparing the food in a way that makes it desirable. Children are responsible for deciding how much they eat. If they are in an environmental of healthful foods they will have no problem regulating variety and timing. They can choose what they eat, when they eat, and if they will eat. Don’t use food as a reward or punishment. Don’t offer a treat because the child was good or ate well. Offer healthy treats as part of the normal well-balanced diet.
No rules only for children. If the parents are not willing to follow the rules set for the house, they should not be imposed on the children. Don’t argue about what your children should and shouldn’t be eating; discuss this in private. As parents, we must be consistent, but not perfect. Likewise, it is okay for the children to be consistent, but not perfect either. For example, if the parents decide that an unhealthy food or a restaurant meal is acceptable for the children once per week, then that goes for the adults, too. Setting an example supported by both parents is the most important and most effective way for your children to develop a healthy attitude toward food.
Lead by example sure seems like a good idea. Especially when you consider what might happen if you slack off on family nutrition. For starters, according to
HealthDay News filling baby’s sippy cup with sugary drinks is a one way street to cavity town:
"Sippy cups were created to help children transition from a bottle to drinking from a regular cup, but they're too often used for convenience because they reduce spills. When kids sip sugared beverages for extended periods, they are exposed to a higher risk of (tooth) decay," Dr. Philip H. Hunke, AAPD president, said in a prepared statement.
Between 1988-1994 and 1999-2002, there was a 15.2 percent increase in cavities among kids aged 2 to 5 in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If pricey cavities aren’t enough to get your family on the healthy eating bandwagon, what about this report claiming
adults living with children consume more fat. More from the
AFP:
The University of Iowa and University of Michigan health system study found that adults living with children ate an extra 4.9 grams of fat daily, including 1.7 grams of saturated fat. Adults living with children also were found to be more likely to eat high-fat foods and snacks.
"Adults with children in the home ate more of those snacks and other foods that we considered convenience foods," said Helena Laroche, a researcher at the University of Iowa.
I don’t know about you, but establishing a healthy family diet seems like the way to go.
