03 Feb Give the Kids a Chance!
I hear so many horror stories about foods that kids are ‘surviving’ on and it breaks my heart into pieces because I know firsthand it doesn’t have to be like that, I also know many of the problems adults face today started out when they were kids.
Thriving, Not Surviving
Many parents, often completely innocently, set their kids up for a life of misery, obesity, low nutrition, and food addiction, alongside all the symptoms those things bring with them. None of which are easily fixed – so when I say ‘surviving’ that is exactly what it can feel like, although we should really be thriving.
Anything For a Quiet Life
Kids are like sponges, and they mirror us by watching, learning, and copying what we do, whether that be good or bad, so if we eat badly it stands to reason our kids will too. Even in cases where we eat fairly well but have fussy kids, it can be easy to opt for a quiet life and give them what they like instead of introducing new things and developing their taste buds – I heard it can take up to 12 attempts before a certain food is fully accepted and liked – we must preserver.
Feed the Blank Canvas
For a start, babies are a blank canvas, they eat only what we give them, milk for the first six months usually, and then they get started on solids. We mash up cooked veg, and they are so sweet, it’s like heaven right there with that mashed carrot, pea or parsnip puree, what more could they want?
Mashed bananas or stewed fruits are off the scale, babies love them all until they get hold of sweet cereals, chocolate, salty crisps, and other ultra-processed foods, and bang there is no going back to those sweet, sweet fruits and vegetables. The taste buds have been indoctrinated and the good stuff simply doesn’t crack it anymore. (Next time you eat vegetables allow yourself to taste their sweetness – it is still there.)
Low Nutrition, High Profit
The food industry does this intentionally, of course, getting us hooked from a young age on their low-nutrition, high-profit foods, and we are allowing them to do it. It is easy, cheap, and accessible, no effort is required, just gobble and go, job done.
They even pay supermarkets to place food items at kids’ eye level in order to create what is called ‘Pester Point’ whereby the kids pester their parents to buy said products. This underhand practice may have been reduced during the government’s recent attempt to improve the nation’s health – small measures.
It is hard to ignore a pestering child, so even the healthiest of us succumb to this kind of clever marketing, we can’t say no all of the time, but if we continue to feed our kids with junk we are knowingly creating kids who are unhappy, stressed, depressed, undernourished and lacking in self-worth.
Right From the Start
If you are a new mum understand those fruits and vegetables are divine to your baby’s unadulterated taste buds, stick with it. For toddlers ensure they are trying new foods regularly, stick with whole foods, fruit and vegetables, whole grains like oats, and wholemeal pasta and bread, they will get a taste for this healthier, unrefined version as they grow. Keep sweet treats to a minimum, instead offer fruit or vegetable sticks, nuts, toast and marmite, or hummus. There’s plenty of stuff to eat that is easy and nutritious. Keep it simple but varied.
Developing Sophisticated Taste Buds
As they grow older develop their taste buds with a variety of different flavours, including herbs and spices where you can. Ensure all meals contain some fruit and vegetables, with carbohydrates being mostly whole grains. Protein should be included, but not as the main focus of the meal. Ensure it is of the best quality you can afford and any meat is lean. Fats are important too, use only good quality extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and grass-fed butter when cooking.
Fruits and vegetables don’t always need to be cooked, I often place a bowl of raw fruit and vegetables in the middle of the table for everyone to delve into, there is seldom any left at the end of the meal. Contents can include lettuce leaves, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, pineapple, mango, apple, radish, shredded cabbage, swede, etc.
Join Up the Dots (Spots)
Of course, it is not always possible to raise super healthy kids, they are only human too, and temptation is a powerful driver, however, if you can help them to see the correlation between unhealthy eating and their overall health you can make some great headway.
My youngest son, on a recent trip out with friends, decided to try KFC for the first time, along with some other unhealthy foods. Within two days his face had erupted into spots and he was very unhappy about it. I pointed out the connection and next time he chose a little more wisely. He won’t always and I understand that, but if you, as a parent, help them to eat well most of the time and have also helped them to see what happens when they don’t, you should be halfway there.
Feed Good Habits
Kathy Mac
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Kathy Mac – author Feeding Good Habits – 12 weeks to rewire your mind, reset your habits and renew your relationship with food for improved health and sustained weight loss.