Parenting

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In addition to our special Parenting articles listed below, all our cover stories and many of the Q & A's contain parenting information. 

Be a Healthy Role Model for Your Children

February 2009

As a mom, you are one of the most significant role models your children will ever have.  You are sending them vital
messages, both verbal and non-verbal, conscious and unconscious, with every word you speak, choice you
make and action you take.   As your little ones continuously absorb, watch and listen for your direction, support,
encouragement and approval, they learn what are to become the lifelong beliefs, habits and attitudes toward themselves, others and the world around them.

With this responsibility comes a wonderful opportunity for you to shine and be your best so that you can teach your
children how to do the same. This is true for every facet of life, and when it comes to healthy eating and positive living habits, it is no different than anything else. You’re probably great at ensuring your kids brush their teeth, learn to read and write, learn their manners and do their homework properly. But what about healthy eating and positive living? In order for your children to develop a healthy relationship with food, activity and their inner self, they need to understand what this healthy relationship looks like. This learning all starts in the home and what is modeled before them.

Here are five ways to be a healthier role model for your children through your own healthy food and lifestyle choices, habits and attitudes.

1. Stop dieting – If you’re on a different diet every few weeks with one week cutting out all carbohydrates and the next only eating cabbage soup, then what message are you giving your children in terms of what healthy eating actually looks like?  Instead, you need to look at your own relationship with food and start making healthy changes gradually, starting today.  When you eat better you will feel better, and as you feel better you will live better. Your energy will increase, your health will get better and you’ll be even more inclined to continue your own healthy living journey. Rather than go on and off another fad diet, focus on relearning how to eat properly. If you are having trouble getting the results you want on your own, then enlist the help of a healthy lifestyle counselor.

2. Stop using unhealthy foods as a rewar d system – This typically includes chips, chocolate, cookies, cake, ice cream and other sweets, fatty and salty snack foods. Find other ways to reward yourself that don’t involve these types of food.  Remember, by continuing to use these foods as a reward, it is sending the wrong message and encouraging your children to create the same unhealthy relationship with these less healthy food choices that you are now struggling to overcome. What happens as we grow older is we continue this habit by overindulging in these less healthy foods to reward ourselves after a particularly bad or good day. We learn to associate these foods with both “comfort and celebration”.

3. Stop filling your cupboards and counters with high calorie snack foods – By having your favourite high
calorie snack foods like chips, cookies, candies and such in plain view, you are more vulnerable to reaching for them on automatic pilot. It also makes it way too easy for your kids to grab handfuls of these less healthy snacks without you even knowing. Keep them out of sight. Instead, leave a bowl of fresh fruits on the counter and limit the amounts of less healthy snack foods in your cupboards.

4. Avoid regular overindulging in fast food, take-out and highly processed choices. With all the fast food restaurants, microwaveable meals, highly processed and convenience foods so readily available, it’s becoming easier and easier to fall into unhealthy eating and lifestyle traps. At the end of the day you may be too tired to prepare healthy meals for yourself and your family from scratch, so it’s perfectly understandable to be tempted by the ease and convenience of these less healthy options. One way to combat the temptation is to prepare larger quantities of food when you do cook healthy meals and freeze the leftovers for easy future meals that you can simply defrost and heat up when you don’t feel like cooking. Find healthy recipes that are quick and easy to prepare. Many people have pre-conceived notions that healthy cooking means hours in the kitchen. This is not the case. You just need to be willing to try new things and seek out the recipes that suit your likes and busy lifestyle.

5. Avoid skipping meals – When you’re overtired, overstresssed and overwhelmed by by the demands of of daily life, its all too easy to get so caught up that you end up skipping meals during the day. This will lower your energy levels and leave you vulnerable to binging, overeating and overindulging in less healthy choices later in the day and into the evening when you do finally sit down to eat. It will also make you less patient and more irritable with your children. As a Mompreneur, you need to keep up your energy for both your children and your clients, so be sure to eat regularly and don’t let yourself get over-hungry. Keep healthy snacks with you in the car and in the office for little tide-overs till your next meal.

Don’t set your children up for developing the same bad habits that you now struggle with. Follow these five tips and your children will notice the difference in you because you will have rediscovered your own inner smile, be happier with yourself and have more positive energy to share. When you look at what is truly important and meaningful and what you can start doing differently to simplify your life, you will then find the time and energy to plan and prepare healthy meals, eat regularly and incorporate more activity into your daily routine. Your children will thank you for it.

If trying to follow these guidelines feels scary, that’s okay.  Perhaps you’re afraid to try for fear of failure. Or, maybe you just don’t deal well with change. I ask that you not let the fear stop you from going after what you want for yourself and your family. Believe in yourself. If you have trouble doing it alone, reach out for the guidance and support you need. You don’t have to do it alone! Start taking better care of yourself. The positive lessons your children will learn from you will last a lifetime so get started on healthy changes today and keep it going.

By Roslyn Franken

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