What Is Wrong With Children Today, In My Opinion, Part One

Many parents are already addicted to the salt, sugar, caffeine, and artificial flavors of all the prepackaged and fast foods that have flooded the general population and they in turn feed it to their children. Doing so virtually ruins any chance they have of ever enjoying the wonderful benefits and flavors of natural foods.

There was a time when parents understood that it was important to feed children real food. Today, thanks to marketing, laziness, and social brainwashing, our children are suffering. Almost from infancy, they are filled with empty, and unnecessary calories. Crying must mean hunger right? Plug up the mouth and stop the noise. Put the babies to bed sucking on a bottle, by doing this you as a parent create an emotional imprint, it becomes a form of 'self' soothing with food. It's no wonder so many people are triggered to run to food when life is unfair, or they are under stress, they have been programed from the crib. Feeding them in your arms, and then laying them down, and letting them cry a little has a different imprint. They were comforted and fed by someone. Now it is time to be alone and it is okay, any fear that may be causing distress can be soothed by remaining close to your baby. Lullabies were created for this purpose, a soft voice, a soft pat on the back, or a rub let's them know you are there. Anything, other than more food.

Candy, crackers, chips, cookies are all used to stop a child from fussing by many parents. Again, it is emotional imprinting, and it revolves around eating, only now it is also 'rewarding' unacceptable behavior with food. Unacceptable behavior should have an unpleasant consequence, not a bribe from parents. Candy, crackers, chips, cookies are also used as a reward for a job well done by many parents Why? A child should receive praise for a job well done. It really is all they want from you.

No wonder there is rampant lack of self control in children today, make no mistake here, I am not saying this is the only reason for a lack of self control.

I do find it interesting though that we never heard of ADD/ADHD or juvenile diabetes, and childhood obesity when parents did not have all the processed foods to feed the children. Sure there were always a few 'chunky' kids who were usually stuffing their faces with something, but as far as the majority of the population, kids were lean and toned and they had energy to run and play. Goodness knows that today, as a society, we can not blame the parents. No, that would be politically incorrect I'm sure. The sad truth is, and always has been that it starts at the home.

My children did not eat super sweet foods and never candy. They occasionally had chips, crackers, or cookies (always homemade with oats, fruits or nuts), as a treat/snack, not as part of the meal (or as a 'reward' if they ate). They had julienne vegetable sticks and sliced fruit with their sandwich and they ate them. Why? It is all that I would give them. This way of eating has been proven to keep blood sugar balanced and energy levels up. I knew one day they would venture into the world beyond my protection. I was IMPRINTING GOOD HABITS, and I only had a few short years to do it. People were always justifying wanting to feed the junk foods to my kids, completely dismissing the fact that my kids were not 'feeling' deprived. My kids would scrape off the frosting from birthday cakes, their choice, it was too sweet, and to them it was gross. Why? Because I stood firm in my commitment to develop in them a desire for real food, and to this day, they acknowledge how bad they feel when they make poor choices of food, and how much better they feel when they eat the way Mom fed them.

Part Two: I will address 'possible' solutions to turn kids around when it appears to be too late.

We must begin at the beginning. In the beginning was a garden and everything needed to sustain life was within the Garden. I am a grandparent, I want my children's children to know the lessons and not repeat the mistakes. I see them, I talk to them, I tell the stories.

I have a website and a new t-shirt line to help raise awareness of how critical REAL FOOD is. Your support enables a voice to be heard all across the world. http://eatingrainbows.net/eating_rainbows_t-shirts.

Original article

What's Wrong With Kids Today, In My Opinion - Part Two

In Part One, I exposed several ways that parents have perhaps unknowingly contributed to the health issues facing our kids today. If you have not read it, please do so before you read this.

Today in America our children are plagued with chronic health conditions including Colds, Allergies, Asthma, Ear Infections and Tooth Decay. As well as, Behavior/Learning Disorders like ADD/ADHD, and Eating Disorders, primarily Anorexia, Bulimia, Diabetes and Obesity. All linked to processed foods and poor nutrition while parents are not being accountable.

If you are dealing with a child who has become addicted to processed foods, it will be like doing a drug rehab. I am sorry, but that is the sad truth. Children are like sponges and even when you squeeze out as much as you can, they will still hold the imprinting unless they are left to 'dry out'. Information can only do so much. Action must follow. That means that you, as a parent can no longer continue to provide the poor choices. It also means that they will sneak over to a friends house and get it anyway (depending upon age). They will be surrounded by it everywhere, and your home should be the sanctuary. As the authority, it is up to you to eat the same foods that you are expecting them to eat. Don't fool yourself into thinking you can hide it from them either. Just like kids find the loaded gun, the booze, or the drugs that some parents think they so cleverly hide or lock up. They will find the snack stash.

If you are somehow under the delusion that it is 'bad parenting' to deny a child what it wants, you need to get help first. No child will starve itself, and missing a meal due to stubbornness won't kill them. You are not being cruel, and CPS will not come banging at your door. Parents often create picky eaters by giving them the option to be picky, in the first place. No child under the age of 6 should be choosing in the foods they eat. Parents should be noting which 'good food' they enjoy and serving it to them, as a portion of the entire meal.

Expect tears and fits, whatever the child is use to doing, in order to get the 'reward' (food) from parents in the past. If you are easily embarrassed, grow up! If they throw a fit take them aside and deal with it. This is your child, disciplining your child is good parenting. Discipline does not mean punishment. It is defined as an activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training. I left an entire cart of groceries in the store, apologized to the people who had to put all the food back, plopped my sons who would not stop arguing into the car and went home. That night, we had peanut butter sandwiches and green beans. I told them we could have been having meatloaf (their favorite), but they would not behave, so it had to stay at the store. The next trip to the store they remained quiet and were very excited to know that meatloaf would be dinner this time.

An excellent activity for getting kids to eat real food, is allowing the child to prepare part of the meal. Discuss the importance of the food and why it is necessary to eat it. How does it help the body grow? Why does it help keep illness away? Make the food into fun shapes or funny faces on the plate. When they are eating something they claim to not like, watch the child, the gag reflex can not be faked. You can see it at the bottom of the neck, the muscle will push food back up. Never force the food to be eaten, encourage and experiment with it.

Many 'overeating' habits are formed by parent forcing kids to eat, or finishing everything on their plates, often with a bribe of dessert (imprinting). This is not necessary, just don't 'reward' a child who will not eat real food, with a snack food later. Always give small portions on a big plate. This forms a mental thought process of perhaps not having enough to eat. If the meal is not finished and not being hungry is the reason. Let them leave the table. Put the plate in the fridge. If 'hunger' arrives later, and a snack is requested take the left over food from the meal and offer it a second time. If they are suddenly not hungry again, dispose of the food, in front of them. and Inform them that there will be no more food that night, then let them go to bed without eating. By morning they will most likely eat a better breakfast. Stay strong, do not be an enabler.

Enabler: one who enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior by criticizing or rescuing.

We must begin at the beginning. In the beginning was a garden and everything needed to sustain life was within the Garden. I am a grandparent, I want my children's children to know the lessons and not repeat the mistakes. I see them, I talk to them, I tell the stories.

I have a website and a new t-shirt line to help raise awareness of how critical REAL FOOD is. Your support enables a voice to be heard all across the world. http://eatingrainbows.net/eating_rainbows_t-shirts.

Original article