I've written about parenting and about TV.

Here's a short post about all 3 topics.

Parents! You and the TV have an impact on what your child chooses to eat.

If you let your child know your opinion [and we hope it's to choose healthier food] your child is more likely to chose healthier food – even after seeing a TV ad for less healthy food.

BUT – if you are neutral – your child is more likely to choose the less healthy food.

Moral of the study? TV is powerful in influencing children's choices of foods – but – and this is important – parents – you have more clout than the TV if you give your  kids your own input.

So watch that TV with your kids and let them know what YOU think about the commercials.

Thoughts? Comments? Thank you.

 First we must recognize that it is an epidemic – a major health problem.

 This is important because many people do not or will not see obesity, especially in children. But almost 1/3 of our kids are obese. It's why I wrote a book called: It’s Not Always Baby Fat!  [Available for your Kindle or for your Nook]

In my book, I write about some of these suggestions in more detail. I know that for some families my suggested strategies may not be easy – but parents – these are your children and no one ever said child rearing was easy [especially me!!]

Here are some simple strategies for YOU – as the parent you can:

•  set a good role model
•  learn about nutrition
•  talk about nutrition
•  discuss the effects of obesity
•  get more exercise

Here is an easy-to-do strategy – plan, cook and eat meals together with your kids.

Kids like to cook. Have chats about what meals they can make – with your help and without! Work out the menus; plan fancy meals, quick meals and meals to freeze. Plan this out before shopping. Make a list of the meals and needed ingredients and then go to the store.

Cook up a storm together with your kids one day a week and freeze the foods you are not eating that night. It makes it very easy then to have good, healthy and fast meals all week. Microwaves are good defrosters – but if you do not have one, take out the frozen meals in the morning and they will defrost by dinnertime.

Cook or warm up the meals or let the kids do that. Have the kids set the table and maybe let them decorate it as well. A festive table makes for a nicer meal.

Turn off the TV, the radio and the "whatever-your-kids-own" stuff.

Sit down. Eat. Converse. Laugh. Enjoy a meal together!

Comments? Thoughts? Thank you.

As I write much about nutrition, I have been asked: In terms of healthier children, what is the best time for a female to start eating well?

Answer: BEFORE you even consider getting pregnant! Preferably when still in your teens!

So – BIG OOPS!!  What happens if you did not? We all know teen diets outside the home are not usually nutritious and that adult women may not eat well either. 

What to do?

If getting pregnant is in your future – start eating well NOW!  Or as soon as you think you are pregnant – start getting good nutrition Immediately.

In the USA we have a long history of not taking care of pregnant women; especially poorer pregnant women – while knowing that good nutrition during pregnancy would help solve many of the problems that newborns come into the world with.

Decades ago I saw a film about the high costs associated with early prenatal care of infants born to malnourished mothers. Intensive care nurseries are very expensive – yet the cost of feeding a pregnant woman with good food is minimal. Over those decades, the cost of food has not risen to the levels of the costs for the newborn intensive care – so why do we still not feed pregnant women?  Answer: Politics…..[and that's for another day and another eBook or blog: http://lynnsrants.com]

A growing fetus needs protein – so the mother must eat that protein or the fetus does not get it. A long held myth is that babies will take what they need from the mother's body.  Not true. The mother needs to ingest the nourishment while she is pregnant or it is not there for the fetus.

Long term effects of poor nutrition during pregnancy are problematic births, delayed physical and cognitive growth and ongoing illnesses. This is worsened if the child continues to be malnourished after it is born. And malnourishment, while found more often in poorer homes, is not absent from homes of the wealthy.  Just having money does not create common sense!

What is good nourishment? Protein is important as is a balanced diet. Junk food is not nutritious for anyone! Diet sodas and chemically doctored food that supposedly tastes good is not nourishing….Prepackaged "stuff" [I dare not call it food] is not nourishing.

Look at the labels on the food you are buying next time you in a store. You might find words there that you cannot pronounce. One of my mantras is that if I can't read the small print or I can't even pronounce the name of the ingredient – I don't want it in my body…and I'm well past child bearing age

Look at our current child mortality rates. 

The USA lags behind many Asian nations and even Cuba.

In fact, the USA stands worldwide at 49.  That is a number to NOT  be proud of because it means we are not taking care of children and pregnant women.

And worse – is that we have dropped to that 49th spot from a 29th place spot.

And on top of this, we also learn that  child gun deaths are as common in rural areas as in urban areas.

So much for the myth that children far better far away from cities.

We seem not to take of our children – period!

Comments? 

Use the comment function to post your questions..

I’ll use your comments to post more articles on those topics in 2008..

Have a great new year…

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