Taking excellent care of our young ones is a one of the best gifts parents can give to their children to ensure their optimal health as they grow and mature. This is imperative as youngsters are building an intricate system of physiologic processes and laying down physical structures for a lifetime. Their bodies are undergoing a major construction project– building bones, increasing blood supply, eventually leading to puberty, a time with tremendous internal demands on their bodies for growth and development. Sound nutritional principles need to be in place because eating habits that begin during childhood, affect the choices made as an adult. It’s important to select the most nutritious foods for growing youngsters and to understand that children have needs that are quite different from those of their parents.
Nutrient rich dishes are as essential as ever, given the physical and emotional stressors, demanding extracurricular sports and rigorous academic studies, that our children face everyday. When children are taught excellent eating habits during their youth, they are more likely to keep those wonderful habits as they mature. However, because children are still investigating their environment up until their adult years, parents need to be actively involved in their youngsters’ health choices to ensure as they grow, they not only select foods rich in nutritional value, but also have the ability to make decisions independently. From infancy to young adulthood, children need guidance, protection, and training on how to eat to live, rather than to live to eat. In other words, instilling the correct eating habits at an early age will ensure that children will have healthful futures.
However, teaching children how to eat to live, can be problematic today because getting your youngsters to eat healthy meals are not always easy. Children are easily swayed by the perpetual onslaught of advertisements selling faux-foods, shockingly low in nutritional value but highly effective in marketing their goods through flashy commercials and seductive packaging. Children’s TV shows are interspersed with commercials selling faux foods and kids aged 2-11 are blitzed with 26,000 TV ads with 2 percent of those marketing food. Even worse, countless snack foods advertise bogus health benefits, from so-called vitamin drinks to energy bars. These commercials glamorize their products and seduce young children into believing that these foods or drinks, will make them sexier or stronger. Fast Food chains constantly impregnate the minds of children utilizing advertising mediums such as TV, print media, billboards, branding and even children’s report cards to communicate their message. In 2008, Ronald McDonald was adorned on the cover of children’s report cards in Seminole County, Florida promising free happy meals to student with good grades, behavior or attendance. “Check your grades,” the jacket advised, “reward yourself with a Happy Meal from McDonald’s.” Although this fast food served as a reward for A’s, it was eventually stopped because this confusing message allured innocent children to value junk food as a reward; fast food, devoid of nutritional value should not be thought of as a reward because it does not provide the body with the building materials it needs to sustain health. These foods are highly processed to extend shelf life and its flavors are comprised of chemical additives that damage cells at a molecular level. Moreover, a chicken nugget contains modified corn-starch and hydrolyzed corn gluten making these bite sized foods nearly 60 percent corn. Yet corn is what farmers use to put weight on their cattle. If these young kids are not being “supersized” by these poor choices, they are in turn facing other astonishing health issues. Despite all the knowledge we have regarding health and nutrition, young people possess an astounding number of illnesses, most of which are directly traceable to their diets. Approximately seven million young people a year are afflicted with learning issues such as ADD and ADHD. Autism is at an all time high in this nation and considered to be of epidemic proportions. Drug resistant viruses, chemical sensitivities, and problems with the immune system now affect both young and old. While poor prenatal care might account for a number of these maladies, studies demonstrate that the surplus of high sugar, empty calorie, and nutrient-free concoctions, chemical laden foods rich in additives have had an enormously negative impact on American health.It’s time to stop playing nutritional roulette with our children’s health.
Good eating practices can begin at home with food preparation. As a parent, it is your duty and privilege to set an excellent example, of healthy eating habits by explaining and engaging children in the cooking process. They will not only learn what optimal health entails, but will also have fun; when children partake in the cooking process, they are more likely to try new foods and in turn be more open to healthful eating suggestions. The acts of chopping, peeling, and mixing entice youngsters to take a taste of the batter with which they are assisting. I often let my children thumb through the cookbook recipes and have them pick out what they like so that they are more inclined to give a new food a try. So, let’s get started. Check out some of the recipes in this blog and on my website. They are fun and easy.
Such a good article, caught my sympathy!