This week I read an article on how there is a relationship among a child's home food environment and their dietary patterns during their childhood/adolescent years. The article draws a connection between the food the parents consume, what they serve at the table, and what is generally available in the household to consume. If parents consumed healthy foods and kept healthy foods in the house, the child was more likely to consume more fruits, vegetables, and dairy instead of unhealthy foods. Also, if the parents served a vegetable at the dinner table during meals, the child was more likely to eat that vegetable than refuse it. These habits were being compared with families who didn't make a positive influence on the dietary intake of their children. The difference comes into play when the child begins high school and they are no longer subjective to exactly what their parents make for them; they now will actually get a choice. The adolescents who were exposed to positive influences as a child were more likely to choose healthy foods during lunch in high school than those parents who didn't make a positive influence on their children with the appropriate eating habits. The article also states that children who had strict rules about eating, chose not to consume unhealthy foods, whereas the children who had more lenient parents, engaged in random, unhealthy eating.
Now, this article seems like it should be common sense, but for all parents this isn't. From my experience so far, some parents think that making good habits as children doesn't matter. Some say "Oh, I can work on that later and they'll listen because I'm the parent." In reality, making a habit of something when the child is small is crucial, not only to their eating habits, for all the habits they pick up as they grow older. By making good eating habits as a child, the child is less likely to become overweight and obese, unlike those children who have poor eating habits. This usually leads to obesity, which is the beginning of a downhill battle if the parents don't start doing something about it when their children are young.
Parents really need to take the initiative to make sure their children eat properly. It is well known that children take after their parents, and this is no different. It would also do parents good knowing that by setting a healthy standard for food, they are also eating well themselves. I feel that the reason I eat well now, despite the temptation of junk food, is because my parents ate well and served me good, healthy food.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good point. Many parents do not realize exactly how large of an affect they have on their children. It is also tough for some families though when they have to work long hours in order to just feed their family. They do not have the time to fix complete meals and sit down as a family. It is a good idea to atleast eat something healthy earlier on in the childhood.
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