As a parent, I have always done my best to feed my kids a whole foods, natural organic diet. From the moment they began eating solid foods, I was in the kitchen pureeing organic fruits and veggies because I wanted to give them the best start that I possibly could. It was so important to me, that I made it my mission to seek out the healthiest options available, and continue to expand on my knowledge and tools as I know more.
Growing up, my Dad was really stingy with allowing us to have sugar. We never had junk food in our house, and the only time we would have pop would be if we were at someone elses house, and back then, you can believe I thought he was really lame!
I do also see now that he was a little overboard, but as an adult with children of my own, I am so very grateful that my Dad instilled this in me at such a young age. To this day, I am not a candy person, and I will never drink pop or sugary drinks because I have no desire to put that in my body.
So now, I carry on the legacy with my children, and I choose to limit these things from their diet as much as possible, while still allowing for some flexibility. My desire to teach them and guide them in this way, now comes from pure love, where in the past it came more from a fear place.
As parents it is our duty, our responsibility, to teach our children about healthy eating, and why it is so important. Part of this teaching, actually most of it, comes from the example we set for them. We need to teach them to love themselves enough to put healthy foods into their bodies. Teach them this life- lesson early! It's not about restriction, it's about self-love. It is never too early to begin teaching these concepts to our children.
Childhood obesity is rampant in our society, (as are eating disorders) and this is just so very sad to me because something can be done to prevent this. It begins by teaching our children about self-love.
This is a subject I am very passionate about, and is what drives me to always do my very best to teach my children by teaching them about healthy eating, as well as modeling this in the way that I choose to take care of my body. "When we love ourselves, we take good care of our bodies" is the message.
I read somewhere that child absentees in schools skyrockets right after Halloween. I have seen this happen every year in our schools, and if my kids have overindulged in sugar on Halloween or other special occasions, they often succumb to some virus that going around. While children do get sick and we can't always avoid this, we can reduce the number of illnesses, or at least the severity and duration of the virus simply by reducing sugar and sugar loaded processes foods (a.k.a. dead foods) in our children's diets. Keep this in mind: Sugar depresses immune function. Our immune system is compromised for 3-4 hours after consuming sugar, so we want to reduce the amount of times in a day we depress our immune system, if we want to stay healthy!
Here are my tips for keeping kids healthier during candy season- and all year round:
1) For trick-or-treating, make the evening special in other ways. Buy some dollar store items and give them goodie bags with trinkets, glow sticks, stickers etc. Make the evening about more than just candy. Then go out for a pre-decided amount of time, and stop when the time is up. I give my kids a very small treat bag for collecting- not a pillowcase I have seen some kids fill up! I don't want candy hanging around until the New Year!
2) Before heading out, make sure the kids get a nutritious, protein packed, whole food meal. This will help prevent the blood sugar spike that comes from eating sugar. And they will be so full from dinner, they won't have much room for candy...hopefully anyways ;)
3) A tip my naturopath gave me, which seems so simple, I can't believe I didn't think of it, is to set the limit with the kids, that they can have one sugar per day. This takes away the "if I can't have it I want it even more" mentality, but doesn't overload the child's system too much at one time.
4) Protein before sugar. As above, it slows down the affect of the sugar in their system. If my kids are going to eat sugar, I make them eat protein first..this also reduces the sugar crash that often comes 1-2 hours later as the blood sugar plummets. I am sure we have all experienced a cranky child after they come down from a sugar high! Not fun.
5) Be flexible, but firm. Being too rigid just makes kids want what we say they can't have even more. So, allow them to be kids and have treats, but also set the limit, and step in when they have had enough.
The truth is, we must teach our children the difference between having a treat, and overindulgence, so that when they are adults, they can better discern what foods make them feel good, and which ones make them feel gross. They must learn for themselves, "when I eat too much junk I feel sick" so they can make decisions when they are not with us, about what to put in their bodies, and how much.
I still remember so clearly, my youngest was at a Ruckers Birthday party last year, I picked her up and could tell immediately she was not feeling well. She almost looked green. As we went out to the car she was saying how she "felt like to puke" and that her tummy was hurting, she fussed and cried the whole way home. She had a slushy pop drink, cake, pizza and candy all within the short time she was there. No wonder she felt sick. Both of my girls have had this experience, and I trust they now have the tools to discern for themselves when they are not with me, weather or not to eat cake or not have pop, because they don't want to feel sick.
As adults we are still learning this one, so it is a constant learning and discerning. "How will I feel if I eat that?" This is a good question to teach our children to learn to ask themselves, and some invaluable life lessons that will serve them their whole lifetime.
Have a fun, safe, healthy and happy Halloween!
~Leanne
www.soulworkcounselling.com
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