Family food culture
I have a 7 months old girl and 6 year old boy. I am giving rice cereal and some veggies to my baby girl. But I want to improve on it. My older child is a fussy eater and prefers junk food. He does not eat fruits at all. How can I make him and may daughter eat fruits and other good foods.
I am a working woman and am tired of cooking!!. The main reason being, I need to cook different types of foods for my husband and children. Please advice how I can help myself.
My one year old baby eats only if the TV is put on. He likes songs. Is it advisable to continue that?
The food culture in the family is also very important for good acceptance of healthy foods. If parents eat oily, strong, salty foods in front of the baby, he or she is likely to pick up eating such foods easily. Food culture comes from parents. Parents who have erratic eating habits must switch over to eating healthy foods so that they can preach what they practice. This may also be the right time to give up smoking, alcohol intake, tobacco abuse and drug abuse. Remember you are the role model for your child and your child is likely to learn habits from you. Healthy food habits come from practice. The foundation stone has to be laid in infancy itself. These days, junk food is available even in schools. Your child is likely to be away from your supervision from 11 years of age itself. So if the foundation is not strong, he is likely to indulge in unhealthy habits which can be detrimental to his long term health. Lifestyle diseases like stroke, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and others are coming much earlier than the previous generation. Even as parents, you must ensure that you have good health. Otherwise you will be wasting money and time on medicines and hospitals and your children will bear the brunt of this. Giving good education , good values and good health to your children is more valuable than giving money and property. Parents must have atleast 2 meals a day with their children on dining table. They must eat well-balanced foods. Feeding babies in front of television is a wrong practice. Later in life, eating in front of television is a risk factor for obesity. So you would not want your baby to pick up that from the beginning.