Comments on: Reader Response: Practical Advice for Parents http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/ Serving up health and fitness insights (daily, of course) with a side of irreverence. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:29:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Mark’s Daily Apple » Blog Archive » Healthy Options for Seedlings http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-74453 Mark’s Daily Apple » Blog Archive » Healthy Options for Seedlings Thu, 15 May 2008 20:38:52 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-74453 [...] don’t sell this as the perfect MDA meal plan, hence the faint of heart warning in last week’s post. If your kids eat what Mark eats, more power to you! For the rest of us, here are some decent [...] [...] don’t sell this as the perfect MDA meal plan, hence the faint of heart warning in last week’s post. If your kids eat what Mark eats, more power to you! For the rest of us, here are some decent [...]

]]> By: Crystal http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-69045 Crystal Fri, 09 May 2008 21:15:04 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-69045 Good tips. Eating healthy as a family can be overwelming for most. Making changes in steps is a good idea. For example, homemade meals (not semi-homemade) is a good start. Hopefully, their tastes will change and they will start to prefer real food. Next, lower the sugar, grain etc. etc. There isn't a dinner that goes by that someone doesn't complain about my cooking. Oh well, I'll be apreciated later, so I tell myself. I like the idea of having the kids take turns planning, cooking, and cleaning up!! I might even through in a complaint or two for the full learning experience....or not. Good tips. Eating healthy as a family can be overwelming for most. Making changes in steps is a good idea. For example, homemade meals (not semi-homemade) is a good start. Hopefully, their tastes will change and they will start to prefer real food. Next, lower the sugar, grain etc.
etc.
There isn’t a dinner that goes by that someone doesn’t complain about my cooking. Oh well, I’ll be apreciated later, so I tell myself. I like the idea of having the kids take turns planning, cooking, and cleaning up!! I might even through in a complaint or two for the full learning experience….or not.

]]> By: Migraineur http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-69012 Migraineur Fri, 09 May 2008 20:26:16 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-69012 Those photos are hilarious and appalling at the same time. Those photos are hilarious and appalling at the same time.

]]> By: brassica oleracea http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-68954 brassica oleracea Fri, 09 May 2008 18:59:27 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-68954 Barry, that's a really ignorant statement. Cake is not some inalienable right of childhood. The junk-food-as-reward model hasn't been around very long--certainly not one of society's finest achievements. Not to mention the junk foods have been getting worse and worse too. There are far better special-occasion foods than cake (particularly the usual sugar-bomb-style birthday cake; something homemade with quality ingredients, OK fine), and much better means than food to make a kid feel special. Jessi Thompson's comment aptly demonstrates the way it should be done. And from Charlotte: "Before my five-year-old eats something he always asks me, “Will this help me grow?” I try to keep the focus positive though - on all the good stuff we can eat - rather than on the negative - what we can’t have. The last thing I want to do is pass on my eating disorder to my kids!" Right on. The more people--especially little 'uns--learn the difference between "junk" and "food," the better. You know, make healthy foods and healthy attitudes toward food the norm in society. Barry, that’s a really ignorant statement. Cake is not some inalienable right of childhood. The junk-food-as-reward model hasn’t been around very long–certainly not one of society’s finest achievements. Not to mention the junk foods have been getting worse and worse too. There are far better special-occasion foods than cake (particularly the usual sugar-bomb-style birthday cake; something homemade with quality ingredients, OK fine), and much better means than food to make a kid feel special.

Jessi Thompson’s comment aptly demonstrates the way it should be done. And from Charlotte: “Before my five-year-old eats something he always asks me, “Will this help me grow?” I try to keep the focus positive though - on all the good stuff we can eat - rather than on the negative - what we can’t have. The last thing I want to do is pass on my eating disorder to my kids!” Right on.

The more people–especially little ‘uns–learn the difference between “junk” and “food,” the better. You know, make healthy foods and healthy attitudes toward food the norm in society.

]]> By: Katie http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-68950 Katie Fri, 09 May 2008 18:49:18 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-68950 Barry, an equivalent argument might be to not have an observant Jew or Muslim raise their children to eat kosher or halal food, respectively. If the parents model appropriate behavior to their children, the chances are that the child will follow in their footsteps. Junk food is not a necessity for life, it is a choice. Barry, an equivalent argument might be to not have an observant Jew or Muslim raise their children to eat kosher or halal food, respectively. If the parents model appropriate behavior to their children, the chances are that the child will follow in their footsteps. Junk food is not a necessity for life, it is a choice.

]]> By: brian http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-68949 brian Fri, 09 May 2008 18:48:24 +0000 http://www.marksdailyapple.com/practical-advice-raising-healthy-children/#comment-68949 As a fellow parent of 17 and 14 year-old boys along with 15 month-old twins I have both some experience on this front and I'm doing it again with my twins. I know the boys eat junk food sometimes and we basically don't make an issue of it because we otherwise cook healthy meals about 95% of the time. One thing to remember is that you need to take advantage of your children's tendancy to be lazy. Make them a healthy dinner and then put it in front of them. Don't like it? Hungry later? Fine, go make yourself something to eat. What, you don't feel like it? You're too tired. Sorry, I did my cooking for the day. You'll be surprised how often they eat and begin to enjoy dinners when they have fewer choices and can either rely on you to make their dinner or otherwise scrounge something up for themselves. (PB & banana gets old especially with organic, no-salt PB they don't particularly like). Now, obviously this doesn't pertain to toddlers but they just seem to eat whatever we give them. It may sound harsh but it isn't taken that way because it is very honest and sincere and is not done with any malice. We want the kids to eat well and be healthy so we do the two things that seem to provide the biggest inpact: Be a healthy eater yourself (good example). Put healthy food in front of them at each meal. Most other things are just tinkering. Will they trade lunches? Sure. Will they buy Oreo's with their money when they walk home from school? Yep. Will they be excited about dijon chicken and green beans almondine for dinner tonight. Surprisingly, yes. In fact, they will make a special point of being home on nights we make this "healthy" dinner. Hopefully they burn off some of what they ate by walking home from school and sometimes they complain that we're running low on fruit which means that they are in fact eating it at lunch. Another up side is that both of them can cook pretty well. Once kids start cooking they almost inevitably start to discover vegetables, nuts, spices, herbs along with color, texture and presentation in addition to taste which goes a long way towards getting them away from tater tots and grilled cheese sandwiches. Good luck. As a fellow parent of 17 and 14 year-old boys along with 15 month-old twins I have both some experience on this front and I’m doing it again with my twins. I know the boys eat junk food sometimes and we basically don’t make an issue of it because we otherwise cook healthy meals about 95% of the time. One thing to remember is that you need to take advantage of your children’s tendancy to be lazy. Make them a healthy dinner and then put it in front of them. Don’t like it? Hungry later? Fine, go make yourself something to eat. What, you don’t feel like it? You’re too tired. Sorry, I did my cooking for the day. You’ll be surprised how often they eat and begin to enjoy dinners when they have fewer choices and can either rely on you to make their dinner or otherwise scrounge something up for themselves. (PB & banana gets old especially with organic, no-salt PB they don’t particularly like). Now, obviously this doesn’t pertain to toddlers but they just seem to eat whatever we give them. It may sound harsh but it isn’t taken that way because it is very honest and sincere and is not done with any malice. We want the kids to eat well and be healthy so we do the two things that seem to provide the biggest inpact:

Be a healthy eater yourself (good example).
Put healthy food in front of them at each meal.

Most other things are just tinkering. Will they trade lunches? Sure. Will they buy Oreo’s with their money when they walk home from school? Yep. Will they be excited about dijon chicken and green beans almondine for dinner tonight. Surprisingly, yes. In fact, they will make a special point of being home on nights we make this “healthy” dinner. Hopefully they burn off some of what they ate by walking home from school and sometimes they complain that we’re running low on fruit which means that they are in fact eating it at lunch.

Another up side is that both of them can cook pretty well. Once kids start cooking they almost inevitably start to discover vegetables, nuts, spices, herbs along with color, texture and presentation in addition to taste which goes a long way towards getting them away from tater tots and grilled cheese sandwiches. Good luck.

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