Junk Food: How to Keep Your Kids Away from It

I went out with my sister and her two small children to a restaurant last week and I sat in wonder as she made the decision to leave the restaurant that served vegetables and meat to go to the closest fast food establishment to get a kids meal for her children. As we sat and ate healthy ingredients, they were slurping away on their milkshakes that had been intended on being the dessert portion of their meal. As we talked and ate, there was the occasional reminder from their mom that there were chicken strips to eat and warnings that the shake would be taken away if the child did not put it down to eat their food. Warnings of course that were ignored and consequences that were never acted upon. And as I sat there I wondered, how did my sister get to this point? I was amazed that she had "buckled" under the pressure of society, her children's desires, convenience. But I realized how easy it is to fall into this pattern. But it's not inevitable. There are ways to survive this culture without feeding your children processed, sugary, fat-filled foods, thus giving them the chance to establish healthy eaten habits into adulthood.

If you are a new mom, chances are you have thought a great deal about what to feed your child. From birth we are faced with the decision between breastfeeding and bottle feeding. Then as they age we must decide whether to feed our children packaged baby food, or mash up their food ourselves. But one thing is certain. No matter what you decide as a new mom you are concerned with the health and development of your children.

However, sometimes we as parents make mistakes that we learn to regret. It may begin with the crying toddler who we just want to make happy, so as a reward we give our child a treat full of sugar to calm them. Perhaps, they are particularly cranky and we find out that a bottle of juice works. We begin to believe that the only way to reward our children is by providing them with snacks in the car or bribing them in the store to behave so they can get some candy when its over. If this has happened to you, you are not alone. If you are looking for ways out of this cycle look no further.