How can my friends expect their kids to have healthy eating habits when they don't! Believe me, I'm not saying that it's easy to provide a healthy eating environment at home when you have picky eaters, you're working full time or if you yourself have always eaten traditional Latin dishes that were once considered healthy and you've only recently realized that they're actually rich in everything you should be having little of: fat, sugar, and carbs! There are three lessons I've learned on instilling healthy eating habits on our kids that I'd like to share with mamás who are just getting started.
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1. Lead by example: You can't expect your kids to have good eating habits if you don't. If you binge on junk food and are constantly on a diet then your kids are going to think that this is normal behavior. The messages that parents (especially moms) send and what we do plays a significant role in shaping our kids behavior and beliefs. And, if you're not eating junk food then you won't bring it into your home so your kids will be forced to eat the fruits, vegetables and healthy foods that you keep at home.
2. Don't nag them about what they're eating or not: You know how it is. I say black my daughter Carolina says white. Don't pressure your kids about what they're eating or not eating. Study after study shows that when parents pressure their kids to eat their veggies or certain foods, kids associate negative responses to these foods. Keep meals positive and stress free!
3. Get the kids more involved: Most of the time I'd rather cook or do the supermarket shopping by myself to get it done quickly and smoothly. But I've learned that getting the kids involved in meal planning and preparation makes them more interested in eating what they've helped make. I also find that preparing a meal as a family is another excuse to get us to spend quality time together. Recently I've also introduced family Sushi night as a healthy option once per week. I let them choose the restaurant and we have a rule of trying one new roll each week!
It's so good to see that years of hard work are paying off! My daughter Carolina is now 17 and she's well aware of what it takes to have a balanced diet. I can't take all the credit! Her health classes at school, her friends. and teen's obsession with eating right have all been highly influential factors. But she recently thanked me for giving her a good foundation by always providing a healthy food environment at home. Now I have to focus on my son Michael who is 15 and I feel is starting to stray. He's been emulating some of my gringo husband's poor junk food and soda eating habits! Our work never ends!
Image via healthy lunch ideas/Flickr
