I am a man who writes speakers about food, and my husband doesn't care at all ...
Source: Mother.ly (Charity Curley Mathews)
The mother of the four children of Chariti told about how she coped with experiences about food, and at the same time he learned his children not to be afraid to try new dishes, choose a healthy food, avoiding constant conflicts at the table. And we transferred her story for you.
"Mom, you no longer love us?", "Said a nine-year-old daughter suddenly asked me. "Previously, you forbade us a lot of harmful meals. But all holidays we ate cookies, sweets and other goodies, and you didn't get angry at all."
"This is yes," I thought.
You have to know something about our family. I am a man who writes speakers about food, and my husband does not care at all this topic. He loves chips, and fast food and take-off food often prefers freshly prepared homemade dishes.
He belongs to the type of "thin fat man", technically he is thin, but he has no muscles and other signs of a healthy body, which are ensured by sports and healthy nutrition. All this I am not telling not to chite it, and to be clear who bought all these cookies, sweets and other things that our children have spruce during the holidays.
It is he who gives children all these harmful treats. And guess who is because of this upset?
Oddly enough, this is not me.
But it was not always so.
We have four children: 6, 8, 9 and 11 years old. I became a mother quite late, before you have time to make a career and develop leadership qualities and volitional character. With all this set, I rushed to solve problems that food can create for our children.
Here is just a short list of my eating concentrations:
- Children in infancy will not raise enough weight.
- Hading children will have overweight or obesity.
- Diabetes.
- snacks and disordered food.
- Food allergies.
- Too much energy.
- Too little energy.
- Condemnation by other people.
- Problems with a heart in the future due to bad food habits.
And most importantly, whose wine will be? We live in the 21st century, which means, in any case, I will blame. In our society, whatever the problems arose from my children with food - will always be considered that I could correct it or avoid, but did not do it.
It was extremely tedious. I constantly thought about food. You swing a baby with one hand, and the other at this time is looking for new recipes of healthy dishes. Trying that all the food is ecological, organic, healthy and at the same time delicious. Without end, you persuade all at least try.
Theme of food led to tensions in relations with her husband. After all, while I tried to feed all the useful products, he enjoyed buying treats. And then I decided to change my point of view. And explained to her children.
I love to cook and feed my family a meal that benefits the body, but at the same time delicious. I am sure that every dish, which I am with love and care for them is preparing, lays the basis of healthy habits in nutrition. Such food is not just a nutritious product, but also a reward, a gift, a memory.
And if I serve fresh eggs in the morning for breakfast, then let the afternoon, they will drink a large cup of hot chocolate. If for lunch, they eat crispy carrots, then I do not mind that they have enjoyed candy. Every day we ride bikes. We have dogs that we walk, trampoline, on which we jump, and parties where we dance. Our bodies live an active life, and a little extra calories will not harm.
The reason for my fears was my own childhood. When I was small, I was much more capricious than my own children. I did not eat peppers, fish, mushrooms, onions and in general half of what my mother was preparing. No, no, salmon, too, and that brilliant fish, which was preparing my grandmother on the grill for family lunch. Instead, I got a hot dog, preferably with chips.
Like many children of 70s and 80s, I left not the most ordered lifestyle, and was also a swallow. And I did not allow me to forget about it. Not that I was actively criticized, but they spoke about my weight. For example, grandfather, instead of a greeting, could say: "And you recovered."
Of course, I hated all this, and for my children I wanted the best.
I baked healthy cupcakes, cooked soups with "disguised" vegetables, gave them fruit on a snack. We ate Thai cuisine, curry and kebabs. We tried a lot of things. Children still have favorite delicacies, but still they are with me in the same team. And more than it sometimes seems to me.
I recently did not have time to cook lunch and offered them to buy burgers. Guess who asked more useful food? That's the way children. I bought a salad and grilled chicken. Saved time, money and got an excellent useful lunch.
And which way I do it:
- I no longer criticize them for choosing food.
- I do not limit sweets and other delicacies.
- I help them take the right decision.
Every evening we dinner together. But I try not to turn it into a problem. First, there are always fresh bread and fruits on the table, I think it never hurts. Secondly, I put them quite a bit of different meals so that they tried it. Literally, two spoons. Then they themselves ask for adding what they liked. They have freedom to make a decision, and the pressure disappears. For meals, we are not talking about who dared or did not reach, ate too much or a little, but we divide the events of the day, jumped and laugh.
And I have introduced the system "thumb up - a thumb down" to learn from time to time to learn the opinion of your personal critics. We are banned with words like "nasty", but the constructive comments are welcome about taste or texture of the dish.
Previously, I endlessly worried about all the children to try all the food, and now it ceased to be the center of my attention. Perhaps this is because they became older and easier to negotiate with them. Perhaps because I managed to raise the skill in them a new one. Perhaps because I learned not to perceive someone's unwillingness to try me as a personal insult ...
Of course, not everything is perfect. And still there is a food that children refuse to try. And most likely, it will always be. But it does not matter. The main thing is that now they are not afraid of their plates, they understand that food is pleasure and peace in the family. And that even if one dish did not like it, then there will be different, and perhaps it will be tastier.
Today at lunch, they ate tomato soup, in which I added beans for smooth texture and as a protein. And then "plotted" useful dinner biscuits and ran into the street. A good way to spend a day - calm and without stress. For all of us.