Healthy Living

Now all parents go through this when they go out to buy groceries with their children. The child starts crying and whining unless you put in your cart the thing that they are asking for. And what is the kind of stuff that they ask for? Just what they shouldnt be having. You see households across America buying their children stuff like Coco Puffs cereal, candy bars, soda, chocolate covered granola bars, cheese & macaroni and hot dogs. When you are letting your children have things like that to eat, just because they want them, what kind of health and future are you offering them?

I, myself, was raised as such a kid, munching away on potato chips, chocolate bars and hot dogs. I, just like all the other children, also used to bother my mother unless she gave in to whatever I wanted to have. Parents just dont have the patience for that.

When I was 12, I stood 411 and weighed 135 pounds. In simple words, I was badly overweight. I was prescribed a restricted diet by our physician and suddenly I was not allowed to have anything that I could have just yesterday. The restriction was beyond me.

Anyway, I didnt care any more myself and still bought the stuff I wanted to eat stealing money from my parents. But it certainly wasnt the best feeling in the world.

It was way back in the 80s and at that time I was one of the odd obese kids in the neighborhood. Now the oddity has become the norm. One out of every three children in the United States is overweight and their eating habits are not any different to mine when I was a kid. Most of the parents are involved in full time jobs, and they dont have any time or patience to look after the health and diet of their children. As a result, children live fully on junk food and fast food unrestrained and unguided.

We have to change these eating habits if we want to save our children from obesity, which has become a major health issue for children in America. And the responsibility for that falls on the parents. Im sorry to say this but it is primarily the negligence of the parents that let children choose such harmful eating habits. The children only follow and learn everything from their elders, and eating habits are no exceptions.

Lead by example and create a health conscious environment at your home, which allows your child to learn about the importance of a healthy and balanced diet. Here is how you can start making some family lifestyle changes:

- Teach and explain to your child the difference between health and non-healthy food choices.

- Sit with your child and along with his or her participation, complete a to-buy groceries list.

- Shop along with your child only for the items on this list.

- Encourage your children to adopt healthy eating habits. Involve them in preparing a healthy diet plan for the family.

- While comforting your children against the ridicule of their peers for being overweight, you should also encourage them and support them to overcome obesity, which is a threat to their health.

- Be health conscious, but also trust your child and keep an open policy about food. The kids should be able to express freely when they are hungry without any pressures.

- Dont force your child to clean their plate if they are full.

- Use things like baseball as a reward or incentive, instead of using luring food products like candy.

- Encourage your child to engage in physical activity and sports, and to engage with other kids socially. For this purpose, allow video games or TV for only an hour a day.

- Dont let your children eat in front of the TV. Passive eating has the worst effect on a healthy diet and your children will lose all the sense of when they should stop eating.

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