TheDoctorsTV and Raising Children With Healthy Food Choices Instead of Processed Food and Junk
The repeat episode of TheDoctorsTV show today reminded me to remind you that children are very flexible when it comes to what they will eat.
Many parents think that they have to cater to their children’s limited preferences and cravings, but I have never found that to be the case…only an excuse.
Children will eat what they learn to eat as sustenance in their parent’s home, so they will either learn to eat a wide variety of healthy whole foods or they will be learning the restricted choices that their parents bestow upon them.
The Doctors TV Show and the Food Choices of Children
Dr. Jim and Dr. Travis were role playing as father and son. Travis, the son, asked for a soda and Jim, the father nearly sent him to his room denying him a soda that he said was not allowed in their household. They didn’t really do the scenario justice…
Parents can learn to give their children choices. Jim, the father could have offered his son, Travis, juice, a natural soda like China Cola or Ginger Ale, or natural lemonade to quench his thirst. When you give your children the advantage of having the freedom to choose from five different healthy beverages; then they will pick one and be happy with it. It’s very different from telling your child ‘NO” all the time. You are guiding and redirecting their behavior and yet giving them the autonomy to decide which one of many suits them at that moment.
When my children were very young, we would make a number of side dishes and a main dish. The table was set buffet style, so the individual could take what they wanted of anything and pass it on to the next family member. It gave them the freedom to choose what and how much of it they put on their plate as well as being able to pass over what they chose not to eat. We never forced them to clean their plates or eat even a bite of something unless they wanted to do so.
Furthermore, they always had healthy snacks that they could nibble on at anytime. We wanted them to self-regulate their eating patterns based upon actual hunger and thirst, instead of arbitrary meal times.
They ate a variety of ethnic foods and cuisines from around the world. Thai food to Vietnamese dishes, Italian to Ethiopian, and Vegetarian to the finest French cuisine were all sampled over time. I don’t think that there was ever any food that they didn’t like. It was all natural or organic and most of it was whole foods to the extent that it was possible in those years.
Children are more fortunate now than ever before. They have even more choices of healthy foods to befriend and find nourishing to the body while being delightful to taste. I wish that I had a Whole Foods Market when I was young and even when I was the parent of a young child. We often ate out of the garden and from exchanging with others who grew their own food.
Children are adaptable and any parent or doctor that tells you otherwise is inexperienced.
If a child avoids a certain food, it could be that they intuitively know that they are allergic or sensitive to that food. Don’t force your kids to eat what they don’t like. Just be patient and allow their natural curiosity to reveal the world of food to them over time.
The doctors gave some perspective on reasons why children gain weight with parents at work and not parenting… If you want to keep your children healthy and keep them from having to deal with obesity or being overweight; then a Whole Foods diet which is plant-based with no processed foods or beverages will ‘seal the deal’. They will learn healthy habits for the rest of their lives and when they are exposed to unhealthy choices at school, in public, or at other people’s homes; they can say “No Thank You”…”I treasure my health far too much to eat this”.
