Sue Scheff: Wealth vs Health - Money is always good to have, but good health is priceless
Guest Blogger, Susan White, from Radiology Technician Schools, has provided an educational article for parenting your kids towards good health!
Give Your Children the Gift of Good Health
By Susan White
By Susan White
The best legacy we can pass on to our children is not money or wealth; it’s good health, and the only way we can do that is to instill in them the value of eating the right food and leading an active life right from childhood. With all the varieties of junk food and flavors of soda crowding the market and jostling for space in your cupboards, it’s hard to get your child to eat vegetables and fruits, but the only way to ensure that they are not obese children who grow up into unhealthy, pasty and fat adults with high levels of cholesterol who are at risk for diabetes, cardiac diseases and strokes is to make them understand that their food choices at an early age dictate who they become when they mature into adulthood.
Your job is made more difficult by the commercials that tout the benefits of burgers and chips and other fried and processed foods that are loaded with saturated fats, chemicals and additives and have zero nutrition value. To add to the burden, your kids’ friends are all eating the food they like, at fast food joints and out of packaged bags. Yes, it’s an uphill climb to make your child eat healthy food in this unfavorable scenario, but you must do what you must do, for it’s your child’s future at stake.
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Your job is made more difficult by the commercials that tout the benefits of burgers and chips and other fried and processed foods that are loaded with saturated fats, chemicals and additives and have zero nutrition value. To add to the burden, your kids’ friends are all eating the food they like, at fast food joints and out of packaged bags. Yes, it’s an uphill climb to make your child eat healthy food in this unfavorable scenario, but you must do what you must do, for it’s your child’s future at stake.
- Eat healthy meals at home, ones that are prepared in house and include proteins, carbohydrates, good fats and vitamins.
- Make desert a fruit rather than cake or pudding that’s loaded with sugar. Find ways to make tasty, healthy fruit salads. Ice cream that’s low in sugar and rich in milk can be added as a treat.
- Make sure your kids drink milk instead of sodas filled with sugar. Flavor the milk if that’s what it takes to get them to drink it up.
- Stay away from the aisles that stock sugared cereals. Instead, get your kids to eat wholegrain breakfast cereals with low fat milk.
- Make fresh fruit juices for them to drink rather than sodas.
- Include fruits and vegetables as a part of every meal.
- Give your child a home-packed lunch rather than money for lunch at the school cafeteria. Use whole wheat bread to make healthy sandwiches.
- Encourage your child to play outdoors rather than sit on the couch and watch TV or hole up in their room playing video games on weekends.
- Offer your children a choice between vegetables, fruits and dishes before you prepare a meal.
- Get your children to eat their meals at the table rather than in their rooms or in front of the television.
- Set an example for your kids by eating healthy yourself and working out on a regular basis.
- Most important, make your children understand why you are adopting a healthy food routine at your home when all their friends are able to eat what they choose.
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