The Battle of Raising Healthy Kids
Have any of you parents ever struggled to get your kids to eat a well balanced meal? Have any of you given up and thrown some snacks down on the table instead? Guilty!
The other day I bumped into someone and we ended up on the this topic. Instead of encouraging one another in the battle that we deal with on a daily basis, I ended up leaving feeling overwhelmed with guilt.
My daughter - kids don’t like vegetables.
James - well, MY kids love vegetables!
Daughter - but have they tried brownies?!
James - I don’t let them eat sweets
Daughter - *mumbles*.....yea, I’ll stick with my daddy.
......
I mean, have you tried brownies? They may not need to be the main course, and they are obviously not the source of nutrition, but they surely are delicious.
If you are the parent who can get their child to consistently eat a well balanced meal, you are not the majority and the rest of us parents don’t wanna hear it. The struggle that us parents have with most of our kids, or husbands in some cases, to eat healthy is real.
When you’re serving food, have you ever had a plate thrown in your face or onto the floor? Maybe you have seen a 20+ min meltdown over what you had served? In some cases you have even seen your kids chew up and spit out food. If you are one of those parents, you are not alone. If we are honest with ourselves, those kids have more will power than you and they will outlast you nearly every time.
Let’s be real, it is typically the dad who caves first. They are powerless to those puppy dog eyes and the word please.
Though I do let my kids eat just goldfish for lunch sometimes. And you know what, they’re still perfectly healthy and alive. Almost all of us do it. There’s no shame in my parenting game. Most of us lived off Kraft Mac n cheese and ramen for our childhood years. Our kids will be just fine.
Next time you come across that judgmental person who makes you feel inferior because you aren’t perfect, just remember that nobody is, and that you are doing great! You’re an amazing mama!
