PARENTS- how do you keep your kids from eating junk?
Hello all. Although I'm not a parent, I'd like to be eventually. I want to know how you would teach your kids to eat healthy besides preparing healthy snacks and lunches/ meals for them. I mean, how to keep them from 1) asking you why jimmy at school gets fruit roll up candies or packaged "LUNCHABLES" 2) spending their allowance on their secret trips to the corner store and 3) picking at the veggies at dinner time? When theyre really young, its easy to just feed them and say "NO" whenever you need to, but as they grow older, what do you do then? I love the thought of having a kid in my future years, but I wouldn't want them to slip into the same road I did as a teen. (eating mountains of doritos, spending all my money at the pizza store on saturday night, pigging out til my stomach hurts...eventually feeling guilty like a slob)
And I'm sorry if I placed this in the wrong section. I just realized it after I posted!
I have three children. I know that as they grow I will have less and less control over what they eat and when. The best I can do for them is to teach them early on about proper nutrition, set boundries for them while I can but also teach them that any food can be enjoyed in moderation. I also want my children to be active. I don't want them to grow up believing that exercise is a chore. It can and should be fun and it doesn't have to take place in a gym. I do my best to lead by example on both fronts.
My oldest is in the first grade. Children this age are motivated by marketing because they don't have the expericence to know better than believing everything a company says. I've actually had the "Tommy gets lunchables" conversation with him. After repeatedly telling him that lunchables weren't a good choice I finally allowed him to buy one with his own money for lunch one Saturday. The look on his face when he opened the package and saw how little he got and how unappealing it looked was priceless. Even better was the face he made when he bit into the first cold, chewy chicken nugget. He learned his lesson to say the least. Incidently, his classmates who are sent to school with lunchables and fruit roll ups are jealous of his lunches. LOL
I don't buy it. Plain and simple. My kids are still young so about 80% of their meals are eaten with us at home. So if we don't buy junk, then 80% of the time they are eating pretty well. They still have grandma's house for cookies, and when kids bring treats into school they can have them, I don't freak out if they are at someones house and are offered chips or pop.
I really play up the things they do like that are healthy, like fruit. We spend a fortune on fruit, except in the summer when we get it fresh from the farmers market.
It is funny too, the neighbor kids who are always toting a Kool-Aid Jammer, and a Little Debbie, love to come over in the summer and play, when they do I always make a huge platter of strawberries, grapes, watermelon, canteloupe, triscuit crackers, cheese cut into cubes, nuts, pretzels etc... By the way they devour it I'm pretty sure that they would rather have that than a fruit roll up.
I've actually had the "Tommy gets lunchables" conversation with him. After repeatedly telling him that lunchables weren't a good choice I finally allowed him to buy one with his own money for lunch one Saturday. The look on his face when he opened the package and saw how little he got and how unappealing it looked was priceless. Even better was the face he made when he bit into the first cold, chewy chicken nugget. He learned his lesson to say the least. Incidently, his classmates who are sent to school with lunchables and fruit roll ups are jealous of his lunches. LOL
WOW, that is such a funny story! I could only imagine how he felt with the lunchables... You know, the problem is, maybe I haven't met any kids that would rather choose fresh veggies over fruit candy. BUt then again, you guys know wayy more than i do about kids. thanks so much for the info!
everything a company says. I've actually had the "Tommy gets lunchables" conversation with him. After repeatedly telling him that lunchables weren't a good choice I finally allowed him to buy one with his own money for lunch one Saturday. The look on his face when he opened the package and saw how little he got and how unappealing it looked was priceless. Even better was the face he made when he bit into the first cold, chewy chicken nugget.
Those Lunchable Chicken Dunks - blech! My son (6 years old) calls them Chicken Dumps.
Well veggies are still a bit of a challenge, they both have loved salad since they started getting teeth and could eat it, but most other veggies are a struggle.
Another thing, and I know this won't last forever....but for now my kids don't really see the stupid commercials for sugar cereal, fruit roll ups, twinkies and all that. They watch mostly Disney Channel and Noggin, or dvd's and they don't have commercials.
Here are some more of my kids favorites
one loves yougrt (the other hates it)
nuts
raisins
kashi mighty kids cereal
triscuit crackers and cheese
peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat
Grilled Cheese on whole wheat
any fruit
Fruit smoothies
100% fruit popcicles in the summer
ham or turkey w crackers
jello w whipped cream for dessert
Soy Chips ( Quaker white cheddar)
Some things that helped were that we have always had whole wheat bread. So it wasn't a fight to get them to switch. They have had white when we go out to eat etc.... but they don't give me any trouble about having WW at home.
We sometimes negotiate, 2 more bites of the chicken before you can finish the noodles. Otherwise they fill up on what they prefer, even if it is healthy, I still want them to have balance. But I don't reward them with junk if they eat the good stuff.
So far it has been pretty easy, but I may be in for a shock when they get into grade school (they are 3 and 4 now)
PARENTS- how do you keep your kids from eating junk?
thanks so much for the info!
