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Posts: 111
11/20/09 4:16 P

I wish I'd have been stricter when they were small, but then I didn't always eat so good then myself. I try to set a good example for the last 4-5 years especially. We eat lots of fruits. They eat salads too sometimes. Lately my girls have been seeking my advice about eating healthier, which I am so happy to give. We font buy chips, or fruit snacks , or cookies. It's very important to me that they are aware of how to eat healthy, and don't eat giant servings either. There ages are, 14,12&10.

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Posts: 358
11/20/09 7:47 A

yes

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Posts: 4,203
11/20/09 7:46 A

Most definitely.

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Posts: 1,023
11/20/09 3:57 A

good thinking.all the best

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11/20/09 3:56 A

weldone

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Posts: 782
11/19/09 11:40 P

I don't cook special meals for any member of the family. I include the kids in my daily walks and then we go down and play at the "park" in our backyard. I push them on the swing, go down the slide with them, whatever. Or I garden (right next to the "park") while they play. They know I take the dog running whenever Daddy is home to watch them and when he's not, Mommy uses the elliptical. I want my kids to know that being healthy is not a diet or a punishment but rather a way of life that enables us to truly live life.

Posts: 10
11/19/09 11:26 P

I say that I joined sparkpeople again because I wanted to lose the baby weight, which is true, but there's more to it than that. I want to be as healthy as I can be so that once Stephen is old enough, he sees his mother as a healthy, active person, and not someone who counts all her calories, makes an effort to find time to work out, and constantly reminds herself that she needs to be aware of what she puts in her mouth. I want him to see a mother who always happens to have time to work out, like it's just part of her every day routine, like brushing her teeth. I want to be a mom that automatically picks up a football or puts on her walking shoes after work because it's just what she does with her son every day. I am currently trying to force myself to cook a healthy meal and also workout three days a week. A toddler and older need a lot more activity than three 30-minute walks a week and they obviously need three healthy meals a day, not a week. My goal is to be a habitually healthy person by the time my son is 2. The only way I can teach him to be a healthy person and make healthy eating choices is to show him that it's part of who we are as a family. He will learn to eat veggies with every meal if all of us eat them with every meal. Don't keep junk food in the house and no one will be tempted by it. Don't eat out unless it's very special occasion, and there won't be so many poor choices at dinner. I am the last person to be talking about how to teach a child healthy eating habits, but if I give my 2 cents, maybe I will abide by my own advice and Stephen won't have to worry about his health and work so hard at making healthy choices like his mom and dad do.

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Posts: 309
11/19/09 6:28 P

The best way to teach children any good habit is to model it.

Posts: 17
11/19/09 3:02 P

I have the same problem with my mother...she has been dieting since the 80's and is obsessed with her weight...she transfers her own weight issues on to me..sometimes for no reason (usually when she is at a heavy point) she goes out and buys me clothes and ALWAYS buys me X-Large even though I am a medium in tops and a large in pants...even after I explain and return the clothes she does the same thing again...it's like she wants me to be heavier than her because she can't stand the idea of being overweight. She binges and gains 70 pounds or so, then becomes obsessed and loses it all, then gains it again. She has never figured out how to balance her love of food with healthy choices and moderation. Also, she is single and lives alone and has no outside activities to keep hear from binge eating. The more healthy goals I reach, the more she becomes frustrated with herself or just transfers my hard work onto herself. After I ran a marathon my husband was helping me out of the car at our house and my mom insisted he help her also because the two mile walk to the marathon finish line was so much effort that she pretty much ran a marathon herself! AHHH!
Enough of my issues, to tie this in with the topic, I am a mother of a three year old and I am mentally caught up in finding a way to keep her healthy and have her make good choices without projecting my own fears on her and continuing the cycle of dieting and weight problems and mental issues that my own mother created. I count my calories and try to eat only healthy foods, and my daughter sees that so I made a little checklist for her also, kind of like a food pyramid where we just check off each food group at each meal so she can make sure she has had a serving of everything in each meal, and we talk about how eating too much of one thing can make you sick, and sugary sweets are best left for special occasions. Even so, my husband tells me that it's too much to put on a three year old and I worry that i'm continuing the cycle. His example of eating a snack everyday on the couch when he gets home isn't going to help though! I include my daughter in shopping and cooking decisions (i'm the big chef and she's the little chef) and I think we are doing okay!
I'm glad you posted that, Molleemurphee, you were echoing my own thoughts!

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Posts: 21
11/19/09 2:15 P

I am trying to but he is so picky!!

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Posts: 411
11/19/09 2:04 P

I plan to...my daughter is 1 so I have the luxury of choosing for her...but the older she gets, I want to teach her the importance of eating healthy

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Posts: 27,502
11/19/09 2:03 P

we try to.

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Posts: 3,913
11/19/09 2:02 P

I have a typical toddler picky eater. We do a lot of sneaky veggies... but I had some left over pumpkin bisque soup for lunch today and after several tries... I convinced him to take a bite of it. He ate it all!!! I wound up having to steam some veggies for my lunch. So he refused the broccoli I gave him... he ate pumpkin soup! Thrilled am I! I am totally trying this one again!

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11/19/09 12:26 P

I do not have children of my own but I do have nieces and nephews. The biggest surprise I had was when my 2 1/2 year old niece came up to me at my house and said "I'd like an apple, please". (mind you there were no apples in sight). Its good to know that she has already decided that she likes apples. I've also seen her eat grapes and baby carrots like it was candy.
I think that if children are given good choices when younger it can help build the foundation.

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Posts: 60
11/19/09 8:27 A

Its up to a parent what comes into a household and what you do is the example so if you eat crap they eat crap food, if you are a couch potato then you are creating couch potatoes if your kids are obese chances are the parents are,, There are no excuses for not being a fit family, and with sparkpeople there is help for those who need to start.

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11/19/09 6:34 A

Yes.

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Posts: 2,065
11/19/09 6:24 A

When my kids were young I did things like adding
diced(small) carrots to smooth peanut butter sandwiches(was not a hit)and cookies sweetened with
fruit juice...but mostly,we tried to keep things
balanced and just keep it healthy-must have worked
both son's are 6'3" and strong!

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Posts: 9
11/18/09 9:21 P

While I don't exclude any foods from them, I often play the "how many fruits and veggies did you eat today" game with my 2 daughters. I have started them off the right way from the start. When they were babies I made all their baby food with a food grinder. To this day, my oldest has never been in a fast food restaurant or ever eaten at one. I know that won't last forever but while I have total control of her options, that won't be one of them. My husband hasn't had fast food since 1976 and I haven't had it since 1993. Tonight we went to the store and my older daughter could not wait to stock the house with fresh fruits and veggies. This is not to say that they don't LOVE sweets, but since they are getting at least 8 servings of fruits and veggies a day, a few sweets are ok IMO.

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Posts: 10
11/18/09 8:50 P

teaching/helping children to pick healthy foods that can be prepared before hand for them; the ladder will less likely work-as far as asking the children to be mindful- kids will be kids and want junk food. JUST BE THE PARENT AND THAT SHOULDDDDD TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM PEOPLE....
come on ppl....

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Posts: 27
11/18/09 8:15 P

My kids are grown, but I still tell them even if you do the wrong things you still need to do the right ones. I always give them a couple of fruit when I see them. I like the smiles too.

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11/18/09 8:13 P

Absolutely...he wants to be a chef when he grows up...a french chef in Italy.

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Posts: 26
11/18/09 8:08 P

when my youngest niece lived with me, I used to pack her lunches for the day. I'd offer her options. One fruit, one veg, and a healthy juice [Naked or Odawalla] or flavored water.

Sandwiches made on wheat or low carb wraps instead of regular bread.

all-natural peanut butter [the glass jar kind] instead of regular pb, organic or sugar free jams instead of regular jelly. Sometimes we'd mash up bananas and use that instead of jelly, or throw some raisins and cinnamon on it.

Soy yogurt [or regular sometimes], fruit cups, or organic applesauce cups instead of pudding or other junk-y desserts.

Sun Chips, pretzels, or Pirate's Booty instead of chips or cheetos.

She liked almonds too so I used to send those in the lunch as well....she also liked baby bananas [which fit nicely in a lunch box.

Breakfasts, we'd have waffles [whole wheat], pancakes [homemade half whole wheat, half white] with some fruit mixed in [blueberries were a fave], or some cereal [Cheerioes, multi-grain or apple cinnamon], or mini-wheats, or in the winter, oatmeal with bananas and vanilla rice milk.

Dinner was usually a family affair. We'd cook together and a few nights a week, I'd let her pick what we were going to have. Taco salad, sub sandwiches, spaghetti, burritos, soups...she liked it all and loved to hang out and cook.

So I guess my advice or whatever would be to get your kids involved in cooking, eating and even shopping and maybe growing food. That way they'll understand what good food is and they'll know what a balanced meal looks like.

Posts: 31
11/18/09 2:12 P

I think before you can really teach your children healthy eating habits is by learning them yourself first. You cannot tell your kids not to drink soda and then turn around and have one yourself. Or tell your kids at McDs to get apples and no fries and then get yourself a value meal. Once you accomplish it yourself its not so much teaching them it will just be something they do because that is how your family eats.

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Posts: 193
11/18/09 12:28 P

Teaching a child to eat healthy foods is through trials what ever is being served the child should be encouraged to try just one spoon full or fork full before they say they don't like it. If you never had it how can you say you don't like it. Also try
to make the food look interesting by using cookie cutters to make it into shapes.

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Posts: 56
11/18/09 8:40 A

Much like others posting on this board, our family follows a live by example approach as well. While I have a lot of weight to lose the one rule we have in our home is healthy is good for you. I never speak of weight, dieting, or body image around my daughter. No junk, tons of fruit, veggies, and whole grains. She is fussy, but we always have the stuff she likes to eat around, and we always ask that she take one bite. If she needs to drink milk to wash the taste down, ok, but at least try it.

In terms of food: I have taken a slightly different approach with my daughter in that I choose to inform her that junk food contains ingredients that are not even really food, and some of the ingredients cause diseases/illness. I have shown her how to read labels, and understand when she sees whole grains, and natural ingredients that are less than 4 ingredients listed, then that is good food! Just yesterday, I bought a box of dried fruit jujube type things, they were for toddlers, and I assumed they were natural fruit dried into little circles, I later read the ingredients, and they were full of garbage ingredients. I showed my daughter, explained that the ingredients are very unhealthy, and she chose to throw them away. Way better than me saying no, and then having her ask for them when I am not around.

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11/18/09 7:03 A

Yes.

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Posts: 54
11/18/09 5:36 A

well in my case it is a bit different as i never talk about dieting or anything like that , it is just that my daughter WILL NOT eat vegetables. well what i did last sunday is bought a packet of wafers and gave my husband and my son a wafer after they had eaten there food and not my daughter , she also wanted and i said no because she is full and had not eaten her vegetables . we after a while she came and said she felt like eating her vegetables and i went and gave her some and she ate it , bear in mind she has never eaten veg before and she is 5 years old , at school the must so i figure if she can eat it at school then she can eat it at home too. after she ate her veg waited about half an hour then gave her the wafer. she has been eating her veg every day at home. i am so happy that it worked because i had tried everything. her favorite is spinach, corn, beetroot,and beans

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Posts: 24
11/18/09 2:01 A

This is just my two cents and I'm not trying to upset anyone. I don't have children, but I know one thing that I will try really not do that would affects my kids eating: bash my body or talk about dieting or weight obsess in front of them. My mother has been on a personal attack with her body her whole life. I saw her battle anorexia, I saw her battle high cholesterol from being overweight. She's been all over the board but consistently I always heard her talking about getting skinny and wishing she could eat this or that but she can't because she's "fat". I think this really affected my own personal body image in so many different fashions, one because in some odd way it taught me to desire food like she did. To view it as some sort of forbidden reward reserved because of its decadence. Also because she hated herself at all points, I was so concerned that I myself would never look good enough to make her happy. I also yo-yoed as a middle and high school student because I would panic that I was going to end up unhappy like her. Besides myself she is still probably the biggest influence on my body image. As I recently gained weight she's been offering to share clothes with me (She's 52 and I'm 22 but shes really hip). This really upset me because all I hear her talking about is how much she is disgusted by her weight, and now I feel like she is putting this label on me by sharing clothes. Don't get me wrong, my mom was a wonderful mother in SO many ways...but I just wish she could see how much her personal struggles with weight has created some of my own. And again I hope that I can try to have my life in a healthy place before and if I have a child of my own to see my own personal self image as a balanced and self-loving one.

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11/17/09 11:26 P

I think that is a very good point. Even though something is healthy you can still overdo it. I think that is a very important lesson. Even if you are eating healthy foods you still need to keep portions in mind.

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Posts: 998
11/17/09 10:12 P

We didn't have to teach or children to eat healthy.We have always eaten healthy.Our problem was we never knew how much to eat.We always ate too much.So when we started on Sparks that helped us a lot.We never kept bad snack foods at our house.Always fruit an veggies.We just ate wat too much....

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Posts: 1
11/17/09 2:38 P

I try to involve them in the choices available- they choose the fruits and veggies we have in the house and we always try a new one we've never had before just for fun! I let them help with dinner- I give them 2 or 3 healthy choices and they decide. That way they still feel like they have control and I am happy because I know they are not filling up on junk!

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Posts: 309
11/17/09 10:37 A

If you want to teach your child healthy eating habits, you have to model them.

Posts: 55
11/17/09 10:00 A

I try to eat healthy snacks with him in between meals.

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Posts: 11
11/17/09 8:24 A

I plan with my sister for her kids. we along with kids plan for entire week and give the kids options to choose from. They are allowed junk once in a week

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11/17/09 7:04 A

Definitely.

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Posts: 358
11/17/09 6:52 A

I only fix 1 meal. If they don't eat good they don't get dessert.

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11/17/09 6:50 A

I have tried to teach but since their father eats non stop they do to. They are not heavy so it is OK now but when they become less active there will be a problem. Hopefully then they will remember everything their mom did.

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Posts: 62
11/16/09 8:51 P

I am always trying to teach my children about eating healthy. Just this afternoon while grocery shopping I explained to my 8 year old why we buy organic dairy products. For us it is not just about the calorie content but also about the source of the food we try to buy local and organic as often as we can.

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11/16/09 8:47 P

My kids have always eaten healthy.

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Posts: 821
11/16/09 4:40 P

planning meals together

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Posts: 257
11/16/09 2:36 P

Great ideas sparkpeople!

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11/16/09 1:34 P

If you live a healthy life, thats what the kids will think of as normal.

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11/16/09 1:30 P

children do what they see, they do not do what they are told. Be what they see

Edited by: JESUSLOVEME27 at: 11/16/2009 (13:31)

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Posts: 309
11/16/09 12:09 P

The best way to teach a child any good habit is to model it.

Posts: 255
11/16/09 11:57 A

Mell...nice idea, but if I don't get up and leave when I get done I end up eating just because it's there. I have to leave the table or I will over eat. Be careful your kids don't start a bad habit of eating just because they are bored sitting at table.

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Posts: 15
11/16/09 10:28 A

By example. We all eat healthy as a family. My husband takes a weekly trip to the market. They know when daddy comes home he's going to bring tons of fruits and veggies, which they love. I'm vegetarian anyways, so by default, there's always lots of fruits and veggies at every meal.
I don't buy junk food for the most part. I get granola bars and yogurt for their "snacks", which they love just as much as candy. They get maybe one piece of candy per week. And we only make a sweet dessert as a special, occasional treat.
Oh, and whats very important for toddlers, IMO, is to not force-feed them. Once my child says she's done eating, she's done. The only rule is that you have to try everything before you decide you don't like it or you're done. No snacking if you didn't get your fill on healthy food.
The other rule at dinner is that you stay seated whether you're eating or not. If you become a nuisance, you can go to another room in the house so that the rest can eat in peace (no tv tough). Usually, they don't like being away from the family, so they'll choose to stay and nibble on more veggies :)

Posts: 33
11/16/09 10:26 A

I give my 2 year old everything I eat. Since I don't eat junk neither does she. I also rarely eat the same thing fixed the same way twice so she has a giant palate for all kinds of food.

I have never asked her to try anything. I just put it in front of her and an identical plate in front of me and start eating. She has put everything in her mouth. It is on very rare occasions that she has tasted something and didn't continue to eat it. Which is fine. I don't make any remarks about it at all. That's key! I am never negative. (sometimes positive remarks are negative too, like try it, or did you like that, it makes them think that it actually may not be). If there was something, like brussel sprouts with their green taste, that she didn't favor then I just cook it differently.

Plus I have also started to let her supervise dinner making time. She loves it! She then wants to taste everything as it cooks on the stove.

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11/16/09 10:11 A

I make sure that the snacks options my child have are healthy ones. She likes to snack so we don't keep hardly any junk food in the house. I am lucky that she likes healthy things anyway. She will choose yogurt over candy any day.

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11/16/09 9:48 A

One specific that I do is the longstanding family rule that we eat breakfast together on school days and breakfast always includes a serving of fruit... Making something such a matter of fact makes it seem normal and routine and hopefully will carry over into adulthood.

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11/16/09 9:22 A

I agree with TBGRABAR. It needs to be a focus within the family to eat healthy not "this is fattening"

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11/16/09 8:43 A

Yes I am. But I think it is important not to cross the line which may lead to eating disorders. In other words, be careful saying things like "this will make you chubby". Instead, focus on health.

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11/16/09 7:39 A

Sure am.

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11/16/09 6:44 A

When the children participate, they usually are more apt to try and enjoy.

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Posts: 17
11/16/09 12:56 A

Trying to be a good role-model. I do most of the food shopping which makes me queen of the kitchen!
Treats for special occasions and basic, wholesome food for the rest of the week. Taking the kids to the grocery store is a good lesson in choices and to show them what processed food really cost!

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Posts: 998
11/15/09 8:14 P

My children have always eaten healthy.

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11/15/09 3:23 P

I thought I was doing great when my daughter as a toddler would eat all the healthy foods we offered her.

Now about all she wants is macaroni & cheese and cheesburgers. It is rare a vegetable passes her lips.

Posts: 821
11/15/09 3:08 P

we plan meals together

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11/15/09 12:22 P

I feel I do well with my little guy. The ex is also onboard so, yeah. I think we're doing quite nicely.

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11/15/09 12:10 P

I try to lead to by example, and just giving them good choices

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Posts: 517
11/14/09 10:37 P

If you want to introduce fruit juice but not calories, get sparkling water and a little fruit juice for homemade yummy soda!! Add yogurt for a refreshing shake. No artifical stuff and healthy. Olive oil with a little fresh garlic in it for dipping crab or artichokes instead of butter. Home made granola. Use honey and olive oil with peanut butter heated just enough to stir and pour over toasted oats, nuts, add golden raisens. Wonderful!! Also put milk on the granola or use plain yogurt for the most healthy and tasty breakfast!!! I make up a big batch and put in baggies in the refrig. You CAN also use dried fruit, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds. Keeping active is the best example for your children!!

Posts: 75
11/14/09 5:43 P

As a family we try to eat healthy on most days, I always put a fruit or veggie in their lunch & on their plates at dinner.

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11/14/09 1:13 A

I don't have kids, but i have a sister thta is 15 years younger then me and i used to watch her. i tried to teach her healthy habits. now that she is in high school she remembers some of it.

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Posts: 13
11/13/09 11:33 P

Hey Palominogirl3, totally agree with you. My little girl eats brussel sprouts, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, green beans...she also loves hummus. My parents did the same with us, we had to take a bite of each thing on our plate. So that's what I do with my daughter, and am so happy to see she likes her veggies!

Posts: 13
11/13/09 11:25 P

I have a 3 year-old daughter who loves to "help" in the kitchen. It takes some patience, but I find that if she has a part in preparing the food, she seems more likely to enjoy eating it! The other thing is, there is alot of food marketing directed at children and most of it is not good. She has a play kitchen, but the food that came with it was labled with certain brands, and all was junk food. I found her some wooden fruits and veggies instead, and am making her wooden "boxes" of things in our kitchen: soy milk, granola, oats, etc.

Posts: 998
11/13/09 10:28 P

I have always taught my kid to eat healthy.

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Posts: 1,802
11/13/09 9:49 P

My goal is to prepare one meal for dinner each night - no special requests, no picky eaters, and something I'd be proud to eat myself and serve to my kids. Of course this isn't what happens every night (tonight I re-heated some pizza and opened a can of green beans) but *in general* we all eat pretty healthy food. I have had to make white rice and brown rice (so much for the 'picky eater' rule...) but usually we're pretty good.

Posts: 1,892
11/13/09 3:44 P

Yes

Posts: 27
11/13/09 3:25 P

yes, we never fry our twinkies ;)

Actually my kids are health nuts all on their own. I was too poor to buy snacks, so I started calling fruits natures candy and they got hooked on it.

Posts: 821
11/13/09 3:24 P

yes, we plan meals together

Pounds lost: 51.0

0 12.75 25.5 38.25

51

SparkPoints: (10,322)
Fitness Minutes: (7,282)
Posts: 836
11/13/09 2:42 P

We have that policy too. Try it before you say you dont like it.

We also dont let only one try make the food yucky. YOu have to try it a couple of times.

Posts: 309
11/13/09 2:05 P

The best way to teach children healthy eating habits is to model them.

Posts: 227
11/13/09 6:33 A

Whenever possible, I include fresh salad or raw veggies and dip on the menu. They love it - like a party every day.

current weight: 199.4

205 200 195 190

185

Posts: 9
11/12/09 8:46 P

I hate when adults let their children fill up on junk food prior to dinner. It surprises me how many young mothers today give their children these fast food - ready made meals. I do not think they understand how loaded full of sodium, fat, and preservatives these foods are. I am happy to say that my grandchildren have monitored food programs in their schools and provide the parents with guidelines as to what is a healthy lunch, snack, and drinks. Some people did not grow up in a traditional family setting and just do not have the tools they need to provide nutritional support to their children. Sometimes all it takes is a caring person to lend a helpful tip or suggestion to improve a childs nutritional life.

Posts: 80
11/12/09 8:34 P

I can't tell you how many times I've heard parents tell their toddler, "Oh, you won't like that" rather than allowing the child to make that decision on their own. My own mother always told us to at least TRY what was on our plate and if we didn't like it, we didn't have to eat it. Even as a little kid, I remember being pleasantly surprised when I LIKED brussel sprouts, peas and asparagus and all the other "yucky" veggies that all the other kids in my neighborhood disliked. Everything in our house was a non-issue, which made us want to try it. Because of that, we have all grown up to be very health-conscious-veggie-loving adults. : )

current weight: 146.0

158 150.25 142.5 134.75

127

Posts: 501
11/12/09 8:11 P

Westie, I have been a child care provider for over 30 years. I work with infants and toddlers.Studies and nutritionist tell us that a new food has to be offered to a 2 year old as much as 12 times before they are comfortable enough to really eat it. (sometimes it takes much less, of course.) When I have a new group of kids in my program I offer the same vegetable (say, cooked carrots) nearly every day with a varied meal. One day it'll be carrots, mac n' cheese and applesauce. Next day carrots, grilled cheese,bananas, etc. I also only put 2 or 3 slices of carrots on the plate. Sometimes they get eaten, sometimes not. I have also discovered that if a new food is presented in a special way it's often more appealing. (Like, carrot stix in muffin papers with a little salad dressing dip.) It's a challenge, but very often fun to come up with creative ways to get kids to try stuff.

current weight: 280.0

297 284.5 272 259.5

247