With our daughter 3 now, I think this is the perfect time to start building healthy eating as a habit rather than a challenge.
I don't think I could deny her things like her Disney Princess Fruit Chews and other occasional indescretions, but in general, I think it's important to give her the tools and habits of healthy eating early.
Are there any health or nutritional concerns (as odd as that sounds to me) in a child being on SB that anyone can think of?
Monsterjoe, you and your wife are smart forwarding thinking parents..Start her off right and she won't have to battle "addictions" to sugar, and processed foods and all the ill health effects it brings. I don't see any health issues, but I would check with the pediatrician . You might want to consider adapting the SB principles with more dairy products .
A dear friend of mine has his daughter on SB, since she was 2. Concentrating on whole foods,grains,fruits,nuts, veggies and lean meats... While he is doing the right thing you'd be surprised the number of strange looks he gets from folks at picnics and parties - that in some way he is a "food nut". For her birthday he made a fruit Tort rather than the traditional bday cake... the kids at the party at first crinkled their noses, but in the end... they loved it! Good luck and stick with it !!!
I haven't raised kids, but I can give you my input from how I was raised. My mom was very into healthy eating and we were even vegans at one time. She also went on various diets on her own such as low carb and weight watchers, and didn't make us eat the same, but educated us on how the diets worked. I feel like I have a very healthy attitude towards food and know far more about nutrition than most people I know my age. I think it's a great service to your children to teach them about how nutrition works when they're young, so later in life they won't struggle with weight.
The only flip side is some parents take it too far, banning everything unhealthy in their house, which makes those things even more desirable. Those kids are just forced into it, and might rebel or have strange attitudes about food later in life. As long as you keep it balanced and let them know it's okay to indulge on occasion, everything will turn out fine.
My daughter is also 3 now and I am all for her developing healthy eating habits. I feel if she learns about healthy eating now she won't have problems later in life. Strangely, she seems to enjoy fruit and veggies more than candy
I have 3 little ones and I do push more fruits and veggies on them. More so now then I use to due to SB. I think the only thing that you would need to remember is to push more grains, breads etc with your daughter, since on SB we tend to restrict those servings for ourselves and of course, allow her that little treat every now and then. My children would actually prefer to eat a sliced up apple for a snack instead of some Doritos. I think that introducing your DD to SB can only teach her good eating habits.
Hubby and I have had weight problems for quite a while, but could never get our act together and do something about it. Then, my 11 year old daughter starting puttting on a lot of weight and we realized that she had learned our unhealthy eating habits. She would head to the kitchen when she was bored, when she was upset, when she was celebrating....everything centered around food...just like Mom and Dad. In January, we went on SB. All junk food, white bread, sugar, Mac & Cheese, hotdogs, etc were removed from our house. The girls (11 and 7) eat what we eat. We never weighed my daughter as I don't believe the scales should be of any importance in her young life...but, she quickly lost her pudgy tummy and her older jeans and T-shirts fit again! The girls are much less whiney and they seem to have more energy.
Southbeach is a healthy way of eating. The kids can only benefit from learning how to eat wholesome foods, healthy fats in moderation, tons of veggies and no refined or added sugar. Our daughters do get occasional treats....they get McDonalds maybe once every 2-3 weeks or we take them out for ice cream.
it is never too early to instill good eating habits and tastes in our kids....
my boys were raised on low fat milk, lean meats, veggies and cottage cheese as small kids... cheerios were their cereal not frosted flakes... or fruity os
there is no need to teach kids about fast food, and junk....
Kids and SB?
