People with children....

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  • BReit1
    BReit1 Posts: 28
    My kids are 7, 6, 4, and 2.5 years old. 1 girl, 3 boys. It's all about starting healthy habits EARLY! That's not to say my kids beg me for vegetables (well, my daughter, the 4 year old, does, but not any of my boys) but they all LOVE fruit and they will eat vegetables on their plate at meal times. My kids can be fussy eaters at times, making it fun and different makes them more apt to eat it. We get outside when weather permits, and they ride bikes, scooters, play basketball, soccer, or we go to the park. My oldest child has autism, diagnosed 5 years ago. One of his sensory symptoms is that he has some texture issues, some foods make him gag because of the texture. We're always trying new recipes and ideas to mix it up and find things that work for him. He recently changed medications and his new medication has a side effect of weight gain, it can also cause high blood sugar. Because of this, I've been more conscious than ever of creating healthy habits for my kids. My daughter was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and began taking a medication with a side effect of decreased appetite/weight loss, healthy eating has become more important then ever around my house! Sounds like you've got a good handle on creating healthy habits for your son!
  • ritmeyer
    ritmeyer Posts: 136 Member
    I just posted something along the lines of what type of mentality/self image I want to instill in my children. The main thing for me, besides the food they eat, is the self talk I do around them & the lifestyle I lead.

    My mom always fed us very healthy. My mom has pretty much been thin her whole life. Maybe 10-15 lbs over what she would like at times. We kids grew up eating very healthy & were all in year round sports. That said...she and her friends were always on a diet. ALWAYS!! My parents were pretty active until their mid 30s, when 4 kids and life prioritized working out right out of their lives. BUT, a few months of eating "bad" and one would try a new diet or going to a workout class because they gained 5-10 lbs. These are the things I constantly heard from she & her friends "Today was a good eating day" "well, I already had a cookie, lets just eat a ton of crap since I already screwed today up!!!" Blah, blah. I believe from these things, and my all or nothing type personality, created this warped view I had of weight/fitness/self talk.

    When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, I knew I had to change. No more labeling days or food "good" and 'bad". No more eating 1 cookie, then declaring my day ruined and eating my face off the rest of the day. No more talking so horrible about my body and myself. I had already commited to working out 5-6 days a week right before I became pregnant, but I needed to work on my mental game. I did some, what I believed & still kinda do, silly mirror affirmations before a shower everyday. "My body birthed my son. My body is making another life. My body is strong. My body is amazing and should be praised, not criticized!" I learned to eat a cookie...and have one...gasp!...and eat healthy, well balanced meals the rest of the day. Somedays I slipped into the good/bad day thing, but now not much at all!

    My kids see my husband and I do races. Run marathons. I am an instructer for a stoller fitness class that both my children have been going to since birth. We bike with them in the bike trailor, ride it to go get ice cream...after they ate chicken breasts and veggies for dinner. This morning I looked in the mirror at myself. I see a body that is below it's prepregnancy weight, a body that's stomach is wrinkled from those babies, A body that has run 13.1 miles on road and trail, A body that is STRONG! A body that is committed to living a healthy lifestyle. A body that will show my beautiful children what words and thoughts to direct at theirs.
  • jsmith2377
    jsmith2377 Posts: 208 Member
    Our son is four and we had the discussion about what is 'good' for his heart. We told him that vegetables and fruits are good for his heart. He knows lots of candy is bad for his heart. It all started because he loves the taste of butter and we told him that he can't eat too much because it would hurt his heart. We are careful about it because it can scare him. He was afraid to eat butter for a few days at all because of it. So we tell him 'too much' is bad for his heart. It's really helped because even now at daycare when the pass out treats like cookies, he says to the teachers 'I only want one, because I don't want to hurt my heart' He's learning moderation. He also is constantly asking what foods are good for his heart. He loves to ride his bike now and run around because it's good for his heart. He even says he wants to be a runner when he grows up.
    My side of family is chock full of heart disease, hypertension and diabetes so my husband and I are really careful about our habits so we can live long lives and so our children can too.
  • steadk
    steadk Posts: 334 Member
    I think i have made better choices for my daughter (17 mos) than i have for myself. I give her fruit and veggies at almost every meal. If she wont eat a true meat protein, i make sure she gets it with cottage cheese or plain fat free yogurt that we make. I'm doing my best to be able to show her how to eat by doing it myself. It's difficult, but we must also show them that treats are allowed and shouldn't be discouraged.
  • laurelderry
    laurelderry Posts: 384 Member
    My little guy is almost 2 and he eats ALL veggies and fruits- and only discriminates against onions (must be a texture thing for him). We get all of our food from a local co-op and make everything from scratch. I'm just proud to say that he has a very broad palet and loves Beecher Flagship cheese that is made her in Seattle Washington- and is very much an aquired taste. Every now and then he gets what I call "junk food"- which is what they feed the kids at daycare, which is a BUNCH of processed crap. That is why I pack his breakfast and lunch daily and he only partakes in their food on the very rare occasion that I'm running late.

    .... and like any two year old he likes to run and dance :)
  • Stymie977
    Stymie977 Posts: 12 Member
    My son is 2, and i guess I am kind of lucky because he simply is not a fan of sweets. He chooses to eat raw veggies over candy or cookies! He does have graham crackers or cracker from time to time, but his normal snacks are fruits or veggies. He LOVES bell peppers, and cold peas.
    What I do is limit his processed foods. His diet consists of veggies, long grain/brown rice, whole grain noodles, etc. and lean meats. I dont do fast food, but if we do go out, I choose somewhere with a salad bar, and he will eat from there or have plain steamed broccoli, or green beans.
    He does eat processed foods at daycare, so that is one thing I cant control, and i do give him pizza on rare occasions. One other thing I cant control is what he eats when he is with his mother, which isnt usually the best things in the world. He is with her about one week each month, and i trust that he eats more healthy food than not, but there is no way to control that.
    As most 2 year old kids go he is very active. If the sun is shining we get outside whenever possible. I plan to try to keep him active with sports that he is interested in as he gets older, and continue with his diet.
    I think that if I eat clean, and pay attention to what I buy, or make, he will continue to eat healthy, and continue on with a healthy, clean lifestyle.
    I am not a tall guy, but he is about the height of kids one and two years older than he is, but lean and fit, so I like to think his diet has something to do with it.
  • merricker
    merricker Posts: 7 Member
    My kids are little, so they are just naturally very active. They don't need any encouragement. I've often wondered how many calories I would burn if I bounced everywhere all day long the way my 4-year-old does.

    We don't do any juice, just milk and water. They were breastfed babies. The kids eat what we eat, no "kid food." They love asparagus, broccoli, hummus, you name it. We do go out for ice cream at times, but there is no candy, chips or sweets in the house ever, since we don't eat that stuff ourselves. We follow the rule posted in my peds office about food: "You choose what. They choose how much."

    This is the same way I was raised. There were very healthy food habits at my house, and a kitchen full of healthy food. It didn't stop me from putting on some weight when I got to school and had other influences and other choices. It will get MUCH harder when they are in school and out of the control bubble of my house. I don't know what I will do then, so I appreciate reading about those of you with school age kids.
  • DiannaMoorer
    DiannaMoorer Posts: 783 Member
    Sounds like you're doing the right things already. :flowerforyou:
  • karenwill2
    karenwill2 Posts: 604 Member
    my kids rarely if ever drink juice. Pure sugar. I give them the fruit to eat instead. My kids drink water and about 8-16 oz a day of milk. They get junk in moderation. They will fight you for broccoli and carrots and bell peppers. They beg for grilled salmon and talapia and shrimp. They eat a lot of salads. We have little to no processed foods except on rare occasions. They are always running, dancing and playing. They also force me to go to the gym! My boys are 7 and almost 4. The weight I lose is because they inspire me. Although my almost 4 yr old is a candy junkie so we have to keep it down to 2-3 pieces a day when he gets it on holidays until it is gone. My 7 yr old is a health nut. He makes sure every meal is balanced. I love my boys.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    I just don't buy it. Kids are healthy eaters with fast matabolism by nature. They will graze and snack all day. If you don't buy junk food they won't eat it. My kids do get junk food at cookouts and b-day parties, etc. They can't avoid that, but it teaches them moderation.
    I have 5 kids my oldest is 17. She is the only one with a weight problem and even that isn't so bad. She could lose a little bit, but she is also my bookworm. She will sit and read all day and weekends and is not too active. My other kids are all perfectly healthy weights. My youngest is 6.
  • karenwill2
    karenwill2 Posts: 604 Member
    please forgive me. Accidental double post
  • Bmontgomery613
    Bmontgomery613 Posts: 200 Member
    I have 2 girls, 7 and 5. I think they have a pretty healthy diet. They love fruit and vegetables and are pretty adventurous with what they'll try. They were both breastfed, so I think that does have a lot to do with their willingness to try new things as they were introduced to new tastes from the getgo. Also, I think it has a lot of to with what my husband and I are eating. If we eat healthy and we exercise, then the girls want to mimick us. If we eat crap and lay around, they want to do that too. They're actually a big part of the reason I started on this journey. I want to be a role model for them. I don't want them to have the food 'issues' that I have. Nothing is off limits in our house. There are no bad foods. There are however healthy foods that help your bones grow (bone growin food) and there are sugar foods that are not as good for you so we don't eat them as often. We also talk about how important it is to eat the right foods and we use analogies that they can understand. I've had an issue lately with my oldest not eating breakfast in the morning and then getting stomach aches at school. So we talk about how her body is like a car and the food is her gasoline. If she gives her body bad gas or not enough gas, then it won't work properly for her. It seems to click.

    Best of luck. I know that teaching kids proper nutrition (especially when so many of us were not taught how to eat) can be a tough one.
  • JenGranzow
    JenGranzow Posts: 116 Member
    My daughters are 3 (nearly 4) and 6. First, my husband and I lead by example, and I think that is crucial.

    We don't do fast food; we don't reward with food. Both my girls take ballet and participate in a track & field program that is geared toward kids between 3 yrs old and 4th grade, and my older daughter will play lacrosse this summer. We encourage a lot of outdoor play all year.

    Their diets are not perfect; neither are ours - but they are learning that they can have everything in moderation, and they are learning that being active feels really good.
  • Metsfn4life
    Metsfn4life Posts: 125 Member
    You are all doing great! Keep it up!
  • projectconsistency
    projectconsistency Posts: 44
    I have a very active three year old. We hike together for one-three hours at least weekly, and we go for walks around the neighborhood and walk to our friends' house and the few nearby restaurants when we can. We plan vacations around marathons and hiking. When one of my marathons has a kids race, he participates in that. Last week we were only away from home 48 hours, and the little guy managed to hike eight of those hours. He knows that he gets one treat/day, so we can walk down to the ice cream shop and get a cone, or he can have a cupcake on his grandpa's farm. We go out for pizza weekly, and we go out for chili or Subway weekly when we see my dad. Meals out aren't the norm for us, but they're also not a special treat or a big deal - it's just food. My goal is to raise a healthy kid without focusing him too much on food. Most of the time he'll choose fruit over cookies and playing outside over watching TV (not that we watch much of that), so I feel pretty lucky that he makes it easy to raise a healthy kid.

    I do bring treats along when we head out for a few miles with the jogging stroller. The little guy usually has two Oreos or something like that while I run. Sometimes I have a few Oreos while I run, too. :)

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