I was reading an article recently about how our attitude towards food can directly shape your children?s outlook towards food ? for better or worse. ?The article is from a NZ parenting magazine ? Little Treasures June/July, there is no copy online, but if you are interested in reading the full article, please let me know. As a mum and a health and fitness professional, I found this article really interesting and I took a few points from it that I want to pass on, which I have outlined below:
- There is a large amount of scientific research that demonstrates ?that we as mothers are the single most important influence over our children?s eating habits and in the case of baby girls, their body image in later life.?
- ?Like Mother, Like Daughter? is a phrase with deeper meaning than we often care to appreciate. Studies have shown that daughters copy their mothers eating habits ? whether they like it or not ? and that daughters of dieting or food restricting mothers are more likely to diet or develop eating problems.
- ?Very early in life, children begin learning about eating and foods.? It is usually mum that provides most of the information absorbed by the children in relation to what to eat, when to eat and when to stop.
- Weight problems are on the rise and so are behaviours such as dieting, restricting, bingeing and eating disorders, which are being seen in girls as young as six. Not only is rigid dieting harmful to the mother, it can be dangerous for children to be exposed to those attitudes.
- Researchers recently discovered that 50% of 5 year old girls in their study, knew a heck of a lot about dieting, and when the researchers looked further, it was easy to predict which girls were diet savvy. They were the ones with mothers who are calorie counting, hogging the mirror and hitting the scales.
As a mother of a daughter as well, this has all struck a cord with me.? I practice what I preach ? healthy eating and exercise is the way to feeling good about yourself. But don?t get me wrong. I do have treats, I do drink wine and I do have days where I don?t feel good. I do it all in moderation.? I like the fact that my daughter sees me exercising and taking part in Fun Runs etc. I never use the word ?diet?, that is why I use the word healthy lifestyle. And I would like to think that I will bring her up that way. Chelsea has a varied diet, and she does have the odd treat ? a hot chip or 2 if we are out, she has tried cup cakes and muffins ? but they are treats.
In this same article, Dr Libby Weaver who is an internationally acclaimed author and nutritionist, has spent a lot of time studying diet habits of children. She has a few tips which I would also like to pass on, which I liked the sound of and will be using these ideas as Chelsea gets older and more aware of food and eating.
- Avoid using the words ?good?, ?bad? or ?naughty? when talking about food to children. Teach children that food is how we fuel ourselves, how we get energy to do the things we want to do in a day, like sports, play games and learn. It?s also how we grow up to be big and strong.
- Teach children that there are foods that are great to eat every day and some foods are only for special occasions, such as birthday parties.
- Teach children that food comes from nature and nature gets it right. Grow herbs or veggies in pots or in the garden so children can experience this.
- Stress that sometimes foods come out of packets, but as close to nature as possible is best.
- Teach children from an early age the concept of nutrients: they keep us alive. The healthiest food has the most nutrients in it. Do NOT mention calories.
- Don?t mention the word ?DIET?. EVER.
- Teach children to listen to their bodies to determine when they are full. It?s OK not to eat everything on the plate. Eat slowly; chew your food well to allow the nutrients to fill you up. If you are still hungry go back for more veggies. So many adults have ingrained in their minds that they must finish everything on their plate, even if they are full.
- Encourage self-awareness in your child. Does this food make you feel strong and full of energy, or does it make your tummy hurt, tired and grumpy?
- Don?t complete about your ?fat thighs?, or ?jelly belly? in front of your child ? you are beautiful to her, so run with that.
- If you have eaten too much or something you regret, don?t lament it in front of your child. You don?t want her associating food with guilt and self chastisement.
As mentioned above, these points were taken from Little Treasures Magazine, June/July 2012.
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This is my daughter Chelsea on her 1st birthday. Safe to say she doesn?t like cake!
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