Today I’m going to re-visit a subject I talked about quite a while ago on this site. Many parents ask me, “Aren’t you afraid of your kids rebelling against you because of your strict nutrition rules?”
I do think about this a lot. My daughter has actually shown signs of this at school during all their various parties and celebrations where they serve sweets to the kids. At the class Christmas party, one of the activities the kids participated in was decorating a sugar cookie. I think I actually saw her salivating as she waited her turn! You’ve never seen a cookie decorated with such speed and determination! I suppose because she rarely has anything like this, she does go a little loopy at the opportunity!
I always tell her that as long as she has “filled up with health first” she can sample a little bit of the sweet, if she chooses. It’s interesting how the word ‘sample’ means something completely different to a kid! I had to whisper in her ear several times, “Put the cookie down, sweetie.” I swear she’d try to polish off an entire cake if someone put it in front of her!
Parents who know my health and nutrition beliefs find this hilarious, of course. I do too, at times!
So, what am I to do? The way it stands right now, she doesn’t have ‘sweets’ like this at home, in her lunch or when we go out to eat. Not even when we go to grandma and grandpa’s house! Along with us, she will enjoy birthday cake on occasion, or a special pie for Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. We've even been known to go out for ice cream! Once in a great while we might grant a request for dessert at home. When we do, it’s organic frozen yogurt or organic yogurt with granola and some berries. In the summer we make homemade popsicles. Several times a year, the kids and I will bake organic cookies together. They may have one per day for a couple days, then they usually forget about them!
If I were to listen to the advice of many well-intentioned others, it would be to “chill out” and give my daughter sweets on a more regular basis so that she doesn’t over-indulge when she is exposed to it outside of our home. I suppose I understand that kind of rationale. Initially, it seems to make sense. Then I remember that I’m not doing this to be controlling. I’m doing it because it’s my job as a parent to protect my children and give them the best opportunities I can. I also remember that she’s only 5… she doesn’t have the maturity to make the best health choices for herself yet.
I have a few challenges with the theory of giving her a bit of sugary, sweet, ‘junk’ food on a regular basis. First of all, it’s bad for her. Let’s not forget that. There’s no possible way to argue that this helps her in any health-related way. I’ve also been advised that she needs to eat like this so she can fit in with society… because “everybody else eats it”. Yet another comment that makes me want to home school and keep my kids in a bubble! Look around us… I do NOT want my children eating the way the majority of ‘society’ does! That is definitely not a selling point!
As parents, can you imagine if we bought into the “because everyone else is doing it” theory for other things, like drugs, alcohol, sex…? I don’t think so!
Another thing - I think that giving my daughter her daily dose of sugary, sweet snacks would be like giving a recovering alcoholic a daily drink… you know, so they don’t go overboard when that party comes along! Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?!
Finally, I have no idea whether the daily dose theory would even prevent the once-in-awhile “freaking out” about sweets that she experiences. I could give her a cookies and ice cream every single day, and she may very well still inhale the entire cake at her next birthday party! Who knows!
What I do know is that I’m perfectly comfortable with the healthy food and nutrition guidelines I’ve set for our kids. It’s just the rest of society that doesn’t seem so comfortable! Soon enough, they’ll be spending more time ‘out there in the real world’ and they’ll be making their own choices. I don’t kid myself that I’ll be able to make every food decision for them. But I CAN teach them now what foods create health and which ones create toxicity. They do understand that… whether they like it or not is another story!
Oh well, just another learning experience in the lifelong journey of raising healthy kids!
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