Children of any age do not feed themselves; they don’t go to the supermarket and buy their food. They do not decide on the weekly menu. They don’t buy sodas or artificial snacks; they eat what you, as a parent, feed them. We all know that school meals are lacking in nutrients and high in fat and carbohydrates. As parents, we also know that many times it has been easier to buy fast food on the way home after a difficult day than to cook something nutritious and healthy. We are responsible for the welfare of our children; it is our hands to prevent our child from becoming diabetic at an early age.
There are things you can do before it’s too late, now is the time to do them. There is not much you can do about the school menu, but you can talk to the person in charge of the cafeteria to keep your child away from mashed potatoes and fried food. Ask this person to help you by giving your child salad, fruits, and foods that have little or no fat and carbohydrates. If this doesn’t work, pack him a lunch to take to school. A small sacrifice on your part will go a long way to the health of your child.
Plan your dinner menus in advance. Keep carbs low and add more fresh produce like salads and less pasta and fatty foods. We know you’re tired after a long day at work, so schedule for part of the week’s cooking on Saturday or Sunday, put it in the fridge so all you have to do is heat it up and serve it. This will save you preparation time and will be easier on your tired feet and brain. Skip the second servings for the kids and bring dinner to their rooms. Dinner at the table allows you to spend time as a family and also allows you to control your food intake.
If your kids don’t like sports, that’s fine too. Take them for a walk in the park or surf evil with them for half an hour to an hour. Believe it or not, walking is great exercise and burns calories. Keep a tight grip on games, computers, and televisions, assign your kids lawn borders, and pay something when these borders are ready. Exercise, sun, work, and pay will also do wonders for their spirits and bodies. You have to be creative to keep them moving, hibernating or hanging out on a cushion or bed is bad for them. Plan trips to the local museum or amusement park, or community pool; make them walk, make them move, exercise is the key to health.
Candy, junk food, and soda are your biggest enemies. Do not keep them at home, this does not mean that you will never eat or drink them; Sure you can, but do it every now and then and not as a routine. Kids don’t need dessert every night, save it for special occasions. They don’t need soda, soda doesn’t even quench their thirst, it helps them get used to drinking water, lots of water every day. The same goes for junk food; Leave it for the times you are away from home, at the mall or at the movies anywhere but inside your home. Teach your children to eat well and they will live well.
Go the extra mile today and your kids will get used to good food and drink. They will get stronger and feel better when they exercise and spend time outside. They will learn to manage their time better and become better students and communicate better with you and each other when they lose that horrible addiction to video games and television. Restricting the time they spend in front of games and television will help them learn communication and interaction skills that they do not need now because they communicate with machines, not people.
It is not easy and we know that the younger generations have fallen into a lethal trap. They have lost the ability to express feelings and communicate thoughts. If this continues for a long time, they may not talk or think anymore. They themselves will become machines. Some of the horrible episodes that we see on the news today have started with a lonely child who is closed in on himself and in his mind; a child who hates himself because he is fat or different from his peers. This is the age of communication, it is true, but we should communicate with each other, not with machines. We should use all of these gadgets to improve human communication, not loneliness.
