body/image/food etc things you wish you'd known as a child?

Personally if I ever have kids, I want to make exercise a big thing....not force them to the gym ! But help them understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle in a fun way, for example joining sports clubs and having fun etc. !

But I think it's also important especially beginning of high school (this is where my healthy lifestyle went downhill majorly!)

Also FOOD healthy food for kids is important it drives me insane when I see a toddler in a push chair downing some soda ! eurghh

My mother and I are both pear shapes. Since I was a teenager and started developing curves she kept on telling me that my butt is big. She projected her pear shape complex onto me and made me hate my booty. I was at a healthy weight, so pointing out the size of my hips/butt was not necessary.
I am now a 29yo woman that still hates her curvy behind.

bump ...I want advice on this too!

This may sound stupid, but I remember being about 7 or 8 and my mom telling me that the only reason I was eating was so I could get boobs and have the boys look at me, and only bad girls want boys looking at their boobs. (You have to know that my mom was very old school, conservative-she also said sex should only be for procreation lol) So anyway, what she said really affected me to this day. I feel guilty if I eat and feel like I need to examine the reason why I am eating. Messed up, I know.

I can't say there's much I'd change, except maybe a couple little things. I remember my mom talking about how she thought she was fat and hated her body, always pointing out what she didn't like about it. In 8th grade, I sat down on the edge of my bed and my tummy rolled a little (it had never done this before) and I remember being horrified because I thought it meant I was fat.

I'm not sure how my body image would be different if my mom hadn't criticized her weight so much, but I suspect there would be some difference. I'm very critical about my own body even though I'm the smallest I've been since high school, maybe smaller.

As far as food goes, my mom made most things off limits and limited a lot of stuff, like dessert and soda. When I finally got a job in high school, I was able to buy whatever I wanted during lunch and I was a total glutton... I could finally have all the things I'd been denied! It got worse when I got to college and could eat whatever I wanted WHENever I wanted. And thus started an unhealthy relationship with food... I ate when I was sad, I ate when I was excited, I ate when I was stressed out. I used food as a comfort and as a reward. I packed on the pounds.

I wish I hadn't been denied those things so much because they became a novelty. The novelty wore off, of course, after a couple years of being able to eat whatever I wanted, but the damage was done. Food was no longer a novelty, now it was a coping mechanism. I have a friend whose mom always had soda and chips and stuff in the house and she could have them whenever she wanted. She barely ever ate them, and when she did she only ate a little bit. It wasn't a novelty for her, they were readily available.

Children learn A LOT from watching the adults around them so it's very important to set a good example. Keeping lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy snacks on hand and enjoying them yourself and with the kids will go a long way. Don't give them a lot of sugar, whether in sugary sodas, juices or snacks. No one needs to eat sugar, it should be reserved to have as an occasional treat.
Seeing your healthy active lifestyle will teach them it's normal and enjoyable to be active. Do fun playful activities together, even simply kicking a ball around the yard, playing frisbee or looking for butterflies during a walk at the park.
For me, I can say that I learned that sweets were a reward for good behavior. I wish I had learned that praise, love and maybe new crayons and paper were a reward for good behavior instead. I also somehow learned that eating would fill the void of boredom and bad feelings. I am still unlearning both of these behaviors. I think I learned them from observing my folks, but I'm not sure. They certainly could have done more to help me deal with those feelings in a more healthy way. There are probably many books available on the subject.
Good luck to you. I think you will be great as you obviously are a concerned loving parent.

A couple of these things have been mentioned, but this thread really resonated....
1. Food is fuel, not a reward.
2. Taking care of yourself, loving yourself, being proud of yourself are all good things. Your value does NOT come from how hard your work or what you produce.
3. Move for fun; enjoy life!
4. Take time to take care of yourself. Balance!

Parenting is so hard! (I don't have children.) Your children will benefit from your thoughtfulness and care!

I wish I'd been encouraged to go outside and take part in sports/activities. Most of my issues come from my mother who starves herself but is fat and hardly eats any healthy food. As a 19 year old, I weighed 8 stone (5ft 2) and she kept telling me the places I needed to lose weight.

I wish that my family hadn't seen food as a means of celebration or comfort or reward.

My mom's always made me feel good about myself, which is an awesome gift to give your daughter. I think the most "poisonous" things a mom can say to her daughter (or son) are any limiting comments..."You shouldn't run so hard in baseball with those breasts", "don't wear stripes as it will draw attention to your belly". Kids are cruel enough and will point out stuff like that - parents shouldn't be offenders, too.

I wish I had not been raised to expect a sweet ending to every meal. My mom is a dessert freak. There were times, growing up, we had dessert during breakfast! It's taken me over 30 years to stop planning my meals around a cookie or pie at the end, especially dinner...but even lunch.

I also wish I'd been more exposed to vegetables. As a kid, I thought veggies equaled iceberg lettuce, raw tomato, overcooked carrots, and canned peas, green beans & corn. NOTHING else. In my 20's I started to experiment with sauteed mushrooms, baby spinach, and adding onion to everything...changed my cooking & eating habits completely. I think I'd have been a healthier and happier kid and teenager if I'd eaten more veggies and viewed them as an integral part of dining rather than an occasional boring necessity.