‘My child was hit at play school today. They should expel that child!’
‘Julie has uncontrollable tantrums! We often don’t even know what kicks her off. Sometimes they can last for 1 hour.’
‘We have never been able to feed Ben any vegetables. All he wants to eat is yoghurt. He makes himself sick if we force him to try.’
‘I have to run around the room with a spoonful of food chasing her to get one mouthful in, unless I have the TV on to distract her.’
As an international Parenting Coach, I found that the complaints from parents are the same wherever I go. What parents do not seem to realize is that children do not have the wisdom to understand the connection between health and wellness.
- They want, what they want, and they want it NOW! That is why they were given parents who have far more wisdom than they have; with the bigger picture in mind.
- You cannot give anyone choices when they do not understand the full implications of those choices.
- Children need age appropriate choices like, ‘we are having eggs for breakfast. Would you like scrambled or boiled?’ or ‘would you like your oats with cinnamon or without?’
- Children do not know, like adults, that what you eat as a child lays a foundation for a healthy future.
- Good eating habits are established from a young age.
- From sitting at the table (with good manners!) to learning to eat a variety of foods because your body needs the nutrients from many sources, not just 2 minute noodles, bread and yogurt.
What you put in your mouth affects your mood, health and overall feeling of wellness. When children eat junk, at any age, they act out. We all know the mood swings after dreaded birthday parties! They are either on a sugar high or in floods of tears.
For this reason I wrote my book called ‘Raising Happy Healthy Children’ in conjunction with Clinical Nutritionist, Sally Ann Creed because I do not believe you can discipline a child when you feed him junk nor can you get him to eat healthy if he is not disciplined. The two go hand in hand.
