I love and loathe the pearl you are what you eat. We parents have got a lot to answer for what our kids are eating.
As my niece is just beginning her relationship with “real food” (aka rice cereal) I look at my children and see what they are now eating and their relationship with food.
My daughter has a most open and welcome relationship with food whereas my son is much more guarded. He is on the “kids menu” diet (e.g. chicken fingers, fries, pancakes, pizza…) whereas my daughter will opt for anything.
My fault? Oh, probably. I was definitely more cautious and nervous when my son was first experimenting with food and more relaxed with my daughter, which may be why his is much pickier than his sister.
Eating is a very personal and oftentimes temperamental relationship. We literally take in outside produce which becomes part of our bodies and we do it 3, 4+ times a day.
Yet we stress at the thought of preparing 3 – 4+ purely nutritious and organic whole food meals and snacks. So we fall into a “got to get it done” automatic method and patch a meal between our chores and work.
More than ever our food relationship is being scrutinized particularly as we grow more aware of the positive and negative health effects of food and the raging phenomenon of childhood obesity.
Death by chocolate doesn’t sound so bad but is really not a joke. When I was pregnant with my son I remember failing my glucose test by what I joked was a Twinkie. Yet in the aggregate poor food choices can really be a killer. On the flip side we are learning more how positive food choices can be a life saver.
Many parents fall into a manner of convenience with their food choices and just throw together the easiest pre-made lunches or grab fast food. All is fine, yet moderation is key. In building healthy awareness of food in the home and on the go, mealtime with your family is a good place to start.
My mother was insistent upon our family having a home cooked dinner together without any distractions (e.g. no television). She preferred to prepare our food so she knew what went in it. As a kid it was both great and a pain in the butt to have to have dinner with my family every night. In college, I truly came to appreciate her home cooking and that we had that time together.
I follow her tradition with dinner time and love our Sunday pancake brunch. My kids love to help cook and I give them tasks like pour, mix, smell, taste. My son knows the ingredients for his pancakes and that the chocolate chips go into his sister’s pancakes.
Although they don’t always eat what they make I believe in time they will grow very comfortable with cooking and try all different foods and have a healthy relationship with food.
They do after all come from a long line of foodies! :)
Need some more help and food advice?? Read my cousin and leading child obesity expert, Dr. Joanna Dolgoff’s book “Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right!” and visit her website www.redlightgreenlighteatright.com.
Copyright © 2010 Cynthia Litman d/b/a Tigris Imprints. All Rights Reserved.