Healthy Green Moms » Kids health

Teaching Kids To Listen To Their Bodies

admin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:00:04 +0000

The following article is written by HGM contributor Dr. Scott Olson.

Your kids don’t eat as well as you want them to. I know this because I have been studying health and nutrition all of my life, I know the importance of a good diet and even my kids don’t eat how I want them to.

You may struggle from time to time with what to do with your picky eater, or the kid who won’t eat their broccoli, or your kid who is a sugar hound, but there are ways to encourage your children to make better choices. The key is helping kids make better choices without giving them a complex about what they are eating; healthy or not. My wife and I practice teaching our children to learn how to listen to their bodies.

Food Crazy

If you think about it, we are all a bit food crazy; we think about what we are eating more than any other species.
Part of the reason why we do this is because we have wandered too far away from food in its natural state. Our diets have slowly evolved over time from foods simply eaten as they appear to us on the earth, to more and more processing of our foods.

Most of the foods you put in your mouth (if you are typical) have been processed in some way. Breads, chips, candies, jams, sauces, sodas, bagels, and even restaurant foods are highly processed and far removed from the original foods and eating these types of foods is a recipe for ill health.

Even though it is true that many of our food choices are not good, I have to admit another feeling about the food we eat: To me, food is also a celebration and a miracle. Think about how wondrous it is that you can grow something in your garden and that food then can become energy and nourishment for your body. Simply amazing! Sitting down and sharing foods with friends and family is one of the greatest joys of life.

The challenge becomes to maintain this joyous relationship to food for us and our children and lead them in the right direction towards better, healthier, choices. The question is: How do you do that?

Learning to Listen

The ideal goal is to have your children take on the responsibility of their own health and not have you standing over their shoulders all the time. Simply dictating what they should and shouldn’t eat puts the responsibility for their health on you (as it should be when they are very young), but does nothing to develop your children’s sense of taking care of themselves. Dictating food choices can have the effect of creating kids who hide food, feel ashamed about eating, and who go crazy when they are out of your reach.

I have three kids, one aged sixteen, one nine years old, and one four years old. When I look at the four-year-old I despair that she will never eat well in her whole life, that is, until I look at the sixteen-year-old. My sixteen year old son eats mostly fruits and vegetables and proteins. He will occasionally have some cake, candy, or other junk foods, but generally regrets having eaten it. When I think back, I can remember him eating more junk than he does now; what has happened?

What has happened is that my wife and I constantly talk to our children about the choices they make and how it affects them and their health. How do they really feel when they eat that cake? Sure they get a burst of energy when they first eat cake and it tastes good, but that stomachache one-half hour later – how does that feel? What about their mood? Do they like feeling grumpy and fighting with their siblings after eating cake?

While asking kids to take responsibility for their health is a daunting task and takes a long time (you have to be patient as they make wrong choices) it is the best way to not only keep the spirit of food and sharing alive, but to also to teach them that what foods they put in their bodies do matter and that foods can radically change how they feel and function.

Being too insane and aggressive about food choices may only create a child who will rebel against eating healthy. My wife and I play both roles (dictator and encourager), and, in truth, we don’t give them too many choices that are not healthy. But then when our kids head over to a friend’s birthday party, we don’t police them. It is a balance.

Healthy Choices That Are Fun

Besides encouraging your children to make good choices, you can also show them what you want them to eat. Here are some ideas that work for us:

If you child will only eat one type of vegetable, then give it to them as often as possible. Try putting butter or cheese on the vegetable to vary its presentation.
Use food “bribes” such as peanut butter (I prefer the no-sugar version) or whipping cream (once again: no-sugar) on all sort of foods such as celery, apples, carrots, berries, bananas and anything fresh. Many of these ideas work great for dessert.
Leave snack-sized food around where the kids can find them. We use grapes, small carrots and dried fruits and simply place them in bowels where the kids can reach and find them.
Tell them what is important: when we sit down at the table, our kids often ask us what they have to eat before leaving the table. We usually highlight the protein and vegetables.
Eat something crunchy with every meal. This is a principle in our house, and, no, it doesn’t mean chips and crackers, but something fresh and crunchy, something that grows that way.

If you balance between good choices and encouraging your kids to use their bodies as the barometer for what is good for them, your work will pay off with children who make better choices as they grow older.

Let’s discuss. Do you have any tips that help teach children to listen to their bodies?

Dr. Scott Olson is a Naturopathic doctor, expert in alternative medicine, author and medical researcher. Spurred on by his patients’ struggles with sugar addiction, he was determined to discover just how addictive and harmful sugar can be and ways to overcome that addiction. The result of that study is his book Sugarettes, which describes the addictive qualities of sugar and the harm that sugar does to our bodies. Dr. Scott also writes a blog (www.olsonnd.com) which highlights the latest in health and healthy living.

Hey, come visit the me and leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you. If you enjoyed this article, thank you for giving it a boost on social media. Â© All rights reserved. This post is from HealthyGreenMoms and cannot be republished without express written permission.

Teaching Kids To Listen To Their Bodies

Healthy Tips When Your Child Won’t Eat Their Vegetables

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:26:22 +0000

In almost every class that I have taught for parents someone raises their hand to say, “My (husband, daughter, son) hates vegetables. What should I do?” This is a common worry, especially since the “Five a Day” fruit and vegetable campaign hit the media.

Vegetables are rich in vitamins not found in refined foods so parents are right to be concerned if their children subsist mainly on refined processed foods, sugar and white flour products.

Here are a few suggestions for managing this worry and some creative ways to add more veggies to their diet:

First, what are your own thoughts about vegetable eating. Make sure that you love them, like them or at least appreciate them before asking your children to eat more of them. What you are thinking about foods also has an affect on your kids.

Next help your child create a relationship with vegetables. One excellent way to improve your child’s interest in vegetables is to let them help you plant and harvest a small vegetable garden. If you don’t have space for a garden, take them to one for a visit. Let them see, touch and even smell vegetables being grown.

Bring your child with you to the grocery store or market and let them pick out fruits and vegetables that look good to them.

Invite your child to help you prepare vegetables. Let your child make beautiful arrangements on the plate using the bright colors of vegetables.

Don’t make a big fuss if your child refuses vegetables. Instead, eat them yourself and regularly offer them to your child.

Remembering that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, here are some ways to prepare and serve vegetables that may appeal to your child.

Juices

Students who take my classes report great success in getting children to drink various vegetable juices. Carrot juice is a favorite, especially mixed with a little apple juice. But remember, juice is not a whole food; the fiber is gone and the sugars become highly concentrated. Dilute vegetable and fruit juices; one half juice, one half water.

Dippers

You can use raw vegetables as dippers for your child’s favorite dip. Bean dips, guacamole and tofu dips can be scooped up on a carrot stick, celery stick or a slice of zucchini. To make vegetables easier to chew and digest, as well as enhancing their flavor, try blanching them.

Soups

Children who refuse a serving of vegetables will often eat the same vegetable in a soup. If vegetables in their whole form are a turn-off, puree the soup instead.

Muffins

You can add vegetables to muffins and other baked goods. Zucchini, corn, squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes taste great in a muffin mix.

Sandwich spreads

When you’re pureeing beans or tofu or avocado into a tasty sandwich spread, add vegetables. Parsley, cilantro, fresh basil, red pepper or scallions work well to enhance flavor and nutritive value. Sometimes I add corn, grated zucchini or chopped green peppers to burritos. Amidst the beans, salsa, tortillas and all, they are hardly noticed.

Salads

Sometimes it’s just the sight of combined ingredients that turn kids off to salads. Experiment by offering a single raw vegetable or raw vegetables in separate piles, not mixed together. Try different shapes and sizes. Grated beets or radishes, finely sliced cabbage, zucchini, summer squash or daikon (white radish) or even plain lettuce bites can be fun to pick up with small fingers.

With children who eat their fair share of whole grains, fruits, and beans, you can relax some; these foods contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals are present in these foods.

Here’s my video on making roasted potoatos kids will love!

I hope these suggestions will help you to introduce a gentle and fun way for your children to appreciate eating and cooking with vegetables.

How do you help your kids appreciate vegetables? Please share your experience in the comments below!

Original HealthyGreenMoms article. You can learn more about how to cook fresh local organic whole foods despite life’s interruptions by visiting www.cookusinterruptus.com

2 Tips For Raising Happy Kids

Guest — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:00:57 +0000

Winsome Coutts holds a teacher’s certificate in education and has written hundreds of articles on self-development. She has studied with Bob Proctor and John Demartini, popular teachers featured on “The Secret” DVD. She is the passion behind the www.4lifehappykids.com and is a parent and grandparent.

As a grandmother and self-help writer, I’m often asked by readers, “How do you raise happy kids?” This is a question near and dear to every loving parent’s heart. No matter what we teach them, if we haven’t taught them how to be happy, or can’t parent in a way that makes them feel happy, it’s rather all for naught, isn’t it? So it’s a very pertinent question.

I’ve been blessed with having two happy children and two happy grandchildren. I applied certain principles in raising my kids, and see my son and daughter-in-law apply the same in raising their adorable daughters, Klara and Stina. In this article, I’ll share two tips I’ve learned along the way.

1. The importance of modeling happiness.

You can’t give something you don’t have. How can you teach kids happiness if you don’t have it yourself? Some parents think loving their family means living only for them, driving them everywhere, cleaning up after them, and putting their kids’ needs and desires way ahead of their own. Parenting shouldn’t turn us into a short-order restaurant or a cleaning or taxi service. It does for some parents. That teaches kids a bad lesson.

A child who perceives his parent as a servant, someone whose life has meaning only through catering to his whims, learns to be selfish. He comes to believe others exist to do his bidding. I have a friend who was raised like that, and she tells me when she grew up, she kept having the strange feeling, “Where are all the servants?” Being catered to was such an ingrained part of her childhood that adjusting to adulthood was difficult for her, because “the servants” were missing.

Kids who are raised this way tend to feel the world owes them a living. So breaking out of the “doormat” mode, if you’re in one, is pretty central to giving your kid a chance at a smooth transition to happy adulthood.

When you take care of yourself, make time for yourself, and do things that make you happy, your child learns those behaviors from you. If she sees you going for your dreams and making decisions based on your inner truth, she learns that doing those things is good. On the other hand, if you model dropping everything to fulfill her latest dictate, she learns that parenting means self-denial and victimization. She may then become a self-effacing parent herself or go the other extreme and fore-go parenting entirely because it looks like such a sacrifice.

So to raise happy kids, be good to yourself. Treat yourself with respect and dignity the same as you treat your child. Don’t allow disrespect toward you any more than you’d allow someone to be rude to your kids. Make time for your creative desires and dreams. Plan in some scheduled personal time each week (or day), and make sure that you take it.

Let your kids see you’re doing this, and tell them the reason: “Mommy needs to have some fun, too,” or “Moms need time every day to relax.” This shows your child that you value yourself, and that personal time is important to everyone’s happiness.

2. The tremendous value of focused attention.

The best form this can take is uninterrupted, one-on-one personal time with your child. Think back to your own childhood and some of your happiest memories. Chances are they include that hike you took with Dad, or the time you and Mom went to the restaurant for a dessert.

When we set aside an hour or two to be with our child, away from distractions and interruptions, we tell him he is important and loved. Giving focused attention is much more powerful than the diffused attention kids get while we cook dinner, drive them somewhere, or break up conversations to take calls on our cell phone.

Children thrive on loving, focused, personal attention the way plants thrive on sunshine. Structure in some focused attention every day, even if it’s only for five or ten minutes. Look at your child when he talks to you, so he knows you’re completely with him. In love, it’s the subtle things that count.

Giving focused attention teaches self-worth: your child knows she’s valuable because you value her, enough to carve out time for you and her, uninterrupted by the world, for those moments. That spells love, and when she knows you love her, by your actions not your words, that brings security and heart fulfillment, essential foundations of happiness.

In this busy world where parents work two jobs and where kids’ social calendars can rival those of Debutantes, it isn’t easy to make time to take care of yourself and uninterrupted time for you and your child. But for happiness, nothing could be more important. Think about your schedule, what is nonessential that you can cut out, or wasted moments that you can eliminate. Use that harvested time to be good to you and your kid. Your child’s happiness, and yours, depend on it.

Learn more about Winsome’s “Go for Your Goals” for kids – a set of downloadable e-books that guide your child through the joyful steps of learning visualization, goal-setting and the Law of Attraction. Simple language enhanced with beautiful illustrations and worksheets make these books appealing and motivating.

5 Ways We Teach Our Kids To Be Picky Eaters and How to Fix It

Guest — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:25:59 +0000

The following article is from new HGM contributor Cynthia Lair. Cynthia is a certified health and nutrition counselor who has been coordinating and teaching whole foods cooking programs since 1994. She is a regular contributor of Mothering Magazing, runs Cookus Interruptus, and is the author of Feeding The Whole Family: Recipes For Babies, Young Children and Their Parents.

Unfortunately, we often give the power of deciding what to feed our children away to food manufacturers by letting them train our children’s taste buds to prefer poor quality food. All is not lost to the food giants however and you can take control again and be the main source of influence for your kid’s nutrition. Learn some ways you lose the food battle from the beginning and some simple tips for getting back in charge and successfully making the changes you want at home.

It’s so easy to go with the flow when you have a new little one at home. So many products are suggested as being ideal for our kid’s from trusted brands and one by one, the cupboards are slowly packed with boxes of “easily digestible” or “nutritionally superior” refined foods. We unknowingly encourage our kids to become picky eaters right from the start by:

Choosing formula over breast milk. We buy into the myth that it is more convenient and that it is somehow the same (or better!) than breast milk. (Obviously this does not apply to Mothers that are not given the option of nursing their little one.)
Introducing manufactured refined baby cereal when babies are ready to start trying solids instead of simply feeding them fresh food from the family meal. This teaches children to expect “special food” and prefer bland refined carbohydrates. (Do I hear macaroni calling?)
Believing that toddlers and small children need “kids food” and purchasing boxes and bottles of refined manufactured foods. This perpetuates the myth that they need “special food” that only comes in cute packaging with smiley animals. Put you money into a trip to the farmer’s market with your child, or into planting a small garden.
Choosing from a nutritionally inferior “kid’s menu” when dining out.
Making separate meals for our children instead of eating the dinner that is prepared for the whole family.

There is no doubt that parents who want to choose healthier options for their family will have many challenges when it comes to changing habits at home. Rest assured, the benefits of a wholesome diet are numerous and it is well worth some “growing pains” to get back on track.

If you have nutritional habits you would like to change at home or just want to start off on the right foot, keep these suggestions in mind:

Be Aware of your own food preferences. Many times we transmit our taste onto our children. What foods do you love, and which ones would you never care to eat again? I have a friend who would always make a scrunchy face when serving her baby mashed yams. Sure enough, yams became the baby’s least favorite vegetable! What about sugar? It it considered a reward for good behavior in your family? The idea is to take stock of your food attitudes and decide which ones really serve your children. Be a model, not a critic.
Set boundaries about food choices. Gentle but firm boundaries help children feel secure and protected and this applies to food as well. Set boundaries that you can follow too. If you don’t want your young children to have ice cream, it’s not fair to have a tub in the freezer just for the parents.
Create fun rituals around food. Create a fun tea and cakes day where you invite guests over. Get the children involved in setting out the special plates, tablecloths and napkins. Fun days like these can be very rewarding during the ups and down of life.
Take time to educate. Offer simple reasons why you don’t want them to eat certain foods such as “this soda has things in it your body can’t use, let’s buy something else to drink.” Reflect back to school age children how it sems they act or look after eating certain foods, skipping meals or eating too much. Preteens will respond with suggestions on foods that help their skin look clearer.
Spread Joy! Let your children see your appreciation of fresh picked summer fruits and delicious home cooked meals. Be expressive in your enjoyment of good wholesome foods rather than sweets or candies.
Be adventurous when shopping. Take your kids shopping, ask them to be detectives and find items without certain ingredients like high fructose corn syrup or to look for organic canned black beans. Try something new, grab a fruit or vegetable you’ve never tried and sample it as a family when you get home.
Let go! You will be able to relax around birthday parties if you know what is being served at home is nutritionally sound. Let your children have fun without the guilt and rules. Watch out for “forbidden fruits” which can seem even more appealing to children once denied. Respect their food choices and individuality, while maintaining the integrity of the nutritional plan you have for your family. Have you ever witness your child deny food all day only to later realize they are coming down with a cold? Children have a great food intuition to select bits and pieces of what they need. It’s up to you to provide a variety of healthy choices.

Check out my Cookus Interruptus video about picky eaters:

Children are remarkably flexible. They invite us to experience the world with awe. Give them the opportunity to be flexible and make changes to your family’s nutrition with confidence because they may just surprise you!

Original Healthy Green Moms article

Do you have a “picky eater” at home? What creative ways do you ensure they get their nutrition?

2 Great Childrens Books For Mindfulness: Another Giveaway!

admin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:18:24 +0000

This giveaway is now closed. Winner details are at the bottom of the page. Thanks for entering!

I thought this week since we are careening towards the holidays at light speed I would offer a review on one of my favorite books along with a giveaway! The book is written by Rachel Vail and it’s called Sometimes I’m Bombaloo. It is one that I use often in my yoga class for the 2-5 age group. My daughter will be three next month and it is one of her favorites.

The story is about a girl named Katie Honors who is just your average ordinary happy little girl. There are lots of things she can do and as all toddlers and preschoolers love to share she goes through some of the wonderful things she has mastered all by herself. You can feel the pride in each statement and I know it makes my children think about all the great things they have learned to do. Being proud of one’s accomplishments is something everyone should learn from an early age. Katie also talks about manners. How she knows what is right and what is wrong . Treating people kindly, being thankful, and understanding that sometimes accidents happen are all part of who Katie is.

Then there are days when none of that comes into consideration. We’ve all had them – being a foul mood for no reason (or some reason that we just aren’t aware of). Not being able to communicate effectively, being stressed about something and having it ooze out of every fiber of our being. Katie calls that being Bombaloo. She grunts, she groans, she growls, she stamps her feet and throws her toys. Sometimes she even hits. This is what happens when one is Bombaloo and it can be really scary. Katie knows when this happens she has to take a bit of time out for self-reflection, to find out why she is a Bombaloo and how she is going to stop.

These are skills that we all need to learn in life. If you have ever had to do any self-reflection your self, trying to go back and figure out what your triggers are and why they are triggers can be really challenging. This book makes kids think about these things as ordinary life experiences. They learn to acknowledge the anger and frustration that we all sometimes experience instead of pretending it isn’t there.

During Katie’s Bombaloo experience she encounters something that makes her laugh and breaks the Bombaloo energy. At this point she is ready to be sorry and take the consequences of being Bombaloo. The beautiful part is that Katie’s mom knows that being Bomabloo is scary and she isn’t made to feel bad about it – it just is what it is. I also think this piece is so super important – there is plenty of guilt in this world and we shouldn’t be passing it on to our kids. I also know that if that’s a part of how we’ve been raised it’s darn hard not to use it yourself.

So overall I think Sometimes I’m Bombaloo is an awesome book. I would highly recommend getting a copy for yourself or to give as a gift. Being able to understand the intense emotions and have words to describe it makes the emotion a whole lot less scary for all those little people in your life.

Rachel has also written a new book, Jibberwillies at Night, which I have not had the pleasure of reading yet but I am confident that it will be just as fabulous as Bombaloo. It is another story with Katie Honors and this one is about some of those fears that come out at night. If you know someone who has some fears about going to sleep in the dark – this book would be perfect.

Original Post for HealthyGreenMoms.

To read more from Anita you can subscribe to her blog for free updates at Organic Yoga Mom

Enter To Win Both Books!

Rachel has been so kind as to offer one of each of these books for me to share with you.

To Enter:

Leave a comment here letting me know why you’d like these books and what you’d use them for.
For a second entry, subscribe to for free updates from Healthy Green Moms OR Twitter about this giveaway. Be sure to leave another comment so I know.

Winner will be picked randomly using Random.org. You have until midnight, December 10th (PST) to enter. This contest is open to both Canadian and American residents.

Thank you to all of you for entering. A big CONGRATULATIONS to Jessica (comment # 37) We have contacted you by email