![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
posted as a comment in parenting 101
Dec. 30th, 2008 10:25 amI think the most important thing is that you model whatever food and lifestyle choices you want your child to follow. Then it won't be an issue at all. That's been my approach.
I feel like if they have a strong foundation of good food and healthy habits/balance at home they'll police themselves, so to speak, when they're older/out in the world at school. At least, this is how I was raised and how I am raising my kids. It's easy to have these good intentions, but I'll be the first to tell you that over time you simply have to make choices on how to handle those situations when your kid might be the freak of the group. I wanted desperately to live with my kids in a bubble, controlling every detail of their lives, and it's just not possible. My kid is 3 and has never heard of a happy meal, and the only junk food she eats is what I make from scratch with all organic ingredients. This is not to say that it's all healthy--it's organic and free of additives and artificial anything, but I use butter and sugar and there you go.
The key is to have a set of standards. Truly believe in them, live them yourself, make them a nonissue, and teach your child WHY you make the choices you do. Then in the end, even if they don't make the same choices, they'll understand and respect yours and have a grasp on the thought process required to MAKE choices, which I think is far more important than any of the rest of this.
So, decide what elements are really important to you, make that your foundation, and then don't worry so much when they go off to a birthday party and eat crap, because you know it's a blip and they'll come home and pick right up where they left off with the good stuff.
This hasn't come up for us yet, but I like the idea--instead of forbidding things, let the child indulge in something when they specifically request it. Like twinkies. I would never in a million years buy twinkies, but if we're at someone's house and they want one, I might consider doing something like letting them have it, but explaining to them that they might feel yucky afterward and it's not something we choose to buy for our healthy house. Then stand back and see how they feel--let them learn for themselves. But my real feeling is that the stuff I bake at home is so freaking awesome that a twinkie really is crap in comparison. My kid is enough of a foodie to figure that out for herself even at three.
I feel like if they have a strong foundation of good food and healthy habits/balance at home they'll police themselves, so to speak, when they're older/out in the world at school. At least, this is how I was raised and how I am raising my kids. It's easy to have these good intentions, but I'll be the first to tell you that over time you simply have to make choices on how to handle those situations when your kid might be the freak of the group. I wanted desperately to live with my kids in a bubble, controlling every detail of their lives, and it's just not possible. My kid is 3 and has never heard of a happy meal, and the only junk food she eats is what I make from scratch with all organic ingredients. This is not to say that it's all healthy--it's organic and free of additives and artificial anything, but I use butter and sugar and there you go.
The key is to have a set of standards. Truly believe in them, live them yourself, make them a nonissue, and teach your child WHY you make the choices you do. Then in the end, even if they don't make the same choices, they'll understand and respect yours and have a grasp on the thought process required to MAKE choices, which I think is far more important than any of the rest of this.
So, decide what elements are really important to you, make that your foundation, and then don't worry so much when they go off to a birthday party and eat crap, because you know it's a blip and they'll come home and pick right up where they left off with the good stuff.
This hasn't come up for us yet, but I like the idea--instead of forbidding things, let the child indulge in something when they specifically request it. Like twinkies. I would never in a million years buy twinkies, but if we're at someone's house and they want one, I might consider doing something like letting them have it, but explaining to them that they might feel yucky afterward and it's not something we choose to buy for our healthy house. Then stand back and see how they feel--let them learn for themselves. But my real feeling is that the stuff I bake at home is so freaking awesome that a twinkie really is crap in comparison. My kid is enough of a foodie to figure that out for herself even at three.
