Inspiring Healthy Eating Habits in Children

I had an experience in which I witnessed a mother belittling her 15 year old daughter for being fat. She went on at great length about how the daughter clearly didn't care, would never find love, would never be attractive, would die early, etc, etc.

The kicker is that the daughter was a near carbon copy of her mother. Same size, same features, same demeanor.

Unfortunately, this mother's behavior was not going to solve the problem. When one gets right down to it, there is only one way to help children to eat well and maintain a healthy weight:

LEAD BY EXAMPLE!

Children, regardless of their age, learn from their parents. If you eat healthy foods, that will be their normal. If you eat unhealthy foods, that will be their normal. If you are active and regularly exercise, this will be their normal. If you sit on the couch every evening watching the latest episode of reality-TV-at-its-worst, this will be their normal. If you are constantly trying the latest and greatest celebrity diet, starving yourself to be skinny, or binging on junk food every few days, this will also become thier normal. If you want to inspire a change in your offspring, stop harping on them and focus on yourself.

Understand, however, that if you always eat perfectly healthy  foods, this does not automatically mean that your children will always eat healthy foods. There will always be influences outside the home that will occasionally lead them astray. The point is, however, that being open and honest and setting a good example are the best things you can do for your children. You, as a parent, define what is normal for your children.

Make a choice. What normal do you want to create?

My challenge for you is this: If you want to inspire your children to be active, eat healthy foods, and be physically fit, invest the time to become so yourself. Involve your children. Discuss what makes a food good (or bad) for you. Walk together. Play together. Grocery shop together.

It takes dedication and commitment, but I promise you it will be worth it. Both your health, and the health of your family, will benefit.