Getting Kids to Eat Right

When I overhauled my own eating habits last year during my Shape column, my family's reaction ranged from polite support to downright mutiny; in fact, the words "kicking and screaming" come to mind. See, they were OK with me changing, but I'll admit I didn't always have much success with getting them to come along. Although neither of my children has a weight problem, I'd love to get them on a better nutritional track -- and set them up for a healthy adulthood -- as they head into their teen years. But as any mom knows, getting your kids to do what's good for them is about as easy as herding cats.

Talking to kids about nutrition can also be a slippery slope emotionally. What kid wouldn't hear, "My mom thinks I'm fat," if mom suddenly started talking about the importance of balancing food calories with calories expended? I used to think those moms who fed their babies only organic and never let sugar pass their lips were, ahem, a bit overzealous, but I'm starting to see the point. When good habits begin in infancy, there's no painful overhauling to be done later.

We've made many changes that I picked up while writing the Weight-Loss Diary column: We eat much more lean protein and vegetables than ever before, and all of us are absolutely more thoughtful about what and how much we put in our mouths. But, like a cold that we all pass to each other and can't seem to shake, bad food habits have a way of rearing up on a regular basis.

As a health writer, I often get copies of new books and I've just finished devouring (pun intended!) Fat Families, Thin Families: How To Save Your Family From the Obesity Trap by Amy Hendel, R-PA, a family lifestyle therapist and iVillage coach. Though I'm not a fan of the judgment implied in the title, it's loaded with great information about nutrition and exercise, including a practical, how-to guide for creating a realistic nutritional plan for your family.

Practical information aside, what I liked best about this book was simply this: Hendel gets it. She knows how hard it can be to convince kids to do the healthy thing and she offers lots of tips and recipes to do just that. Each chapter includes specific tips for getting kids and teens to buy into the healthy changes you're trying to make.

There's no guarantee it'll work, of course. Kids have this annoying habit of making their own choices. But there's good information here and as we all know, even a few healthy changes can have big results.

Hendel addresses the emotional side of healthy changes, too. There's a great chapter on supporting each other and another on emotional eating. What I liked most, however, was that through it all, Hendel reminds us that as parents, our kids look to us to set the tone and serve as an example. As always, what we say about and do to our own bodies has a lasting effect on how they treat their bodies.

Check out Fat Families, Thin Families here.

Comments

[Sagan]

Hehe, "kicking and screaming" indeed comes to mind when I think about my mum and sisters reactions to me trying to encourage them to eat healthier. My dad likes hearing my health suggestions but my mum would prefer to eat A&W whistle dogs and my sister wants to have lots of flavor in her food (so she doesn't usually think much of my baked goods with their reduced sugar etc).

I like how doing something yourself and showing the positive changes that happen to you can encourage other people to start being healthier as well.

[MizFit]

Ive never seen the book and will definitely check it out now!

and I completely cling to this fact:
our kids look to us to set the tone and serve as an example.

here's hoping theyre right.

[Dara Chadwick]

That's what this book is about -- being a positive example, but also making it easy for your family to eat healthfully.