Mom's Confessions: Childhood Obesity!

First clarification: none of my children are overweight, nor do they have a problem with childhood obesity. Second clarification: I like my children to eat well, but I’m not a food fanatic. Now I can tell you this… It turns out that my daughter Elena has a weakness for sweets and soft drinks; she eats well, but if I don’t set a limit, she can spend the whole day eating sugar. And since I don’t want to constantly say “no more sweets, you’ve had too many,” I thought it would be a good idea to try to make her aware of what a proper diet is, so she can control herself if she is eating well or not. It’s funny because Martín doesn’t need any teaching; he always chooses well on his own. I guess everyone has a different personality when it comes to food. The thing is, I was eating with my kids in one of those cafeterias where there are a thousand options and everyone serves themselves whatever they want, when I turned to look at Elena’s tray and she had: chicken nuggets, a hamburger, fries, and a soda. With this idea of trying to educate her, I said, “look at your tray, what does it lack to be a balanced meal?” And of course, she didn’t pay much attention to me. We sat down at the table, and right next to us was a very overweight man, the kind that impresses you, and guess what he was eating?… exactly the same thing as Elena! When Elena saw that, she turned to me and said, “Mommy, can I trade my hamburger for a salad?” It was the best nutrition lesson I could have dreamed of. I don’t know if this will work, but with the problem of childhood obesity in the world, I’m very concerned about instilling good eating habits in my children and that they can distinguish between eating well and excesses on their own. Nowadays, children have access to junk food everywhere and at any time, and I won’t always be there to ensure they eat well. I want them to know that obesity is not healthy, to enjoy eating well, and not to obsess. Eating ONE sweet doesn’t hurt.   View the original article Article courtesy of:             Recommended notes: Mom's Confessions: My Daughter Has ADD Mom's Confessions: Sending Your Kids to a Summer Camp Mom's Confessions: The Biggest Lie I Tell My Children