I see this terminology used all the time, even on foodie blogs. I can understand and appreciate that the short people who live in my house have immature taste buds. However, I refuse to make mac-n-cheese, hot dogs or PBJs for dinner just because they might prefer blandness over the “foodie” preferences of their mother. This refusal actually has little to do with my desire for yummy food, instead it has to do with more with my theory of parenting. Now raise your right hand and place your left hand over your heart and repeat after me, “I believe that a nutritious diet filled with variety of whole foods and flavors is what is best for my children.” I truly believe it is our duty as parents to feed our children healthy food that is within our capabilities and budgetary constraints. If we are smart and not lazy then our capabilities are nearly endless so really there is no excuse, right? Now no one can ONLY give their children HEALTHY food. To not indulge a sweet tooth or whatever craving here and there would mean overindulgence whenever one could get away with it But if the core of a child’s diet is healthy and they are continuously exposed to new healthy flavorful foods, then shouldn’t these individuals grow into strong healthy adults with good eating habits? This is my hope.
In our house supplying kids with healthy food is a basic requirement to raising kids. It is as important as providing them with shelter, clothing, opportunity for physical activity and love. It does not make us good parents, it just means that we meet their basic needs.
Ok, so assuming that we all agree that providing a child with a healthy diet is important, I haven’t necessarily said why I will not do Kid Friendly Meals because I can hear someone reading this saying, “kid friendly meals can be healthy.” I agree. My kids generally do get Kid Friendly Meals for breakfast and lunch because the foods that my husband and I eat for those meals happen to be kid friendly. For one meal each day I think it is important that they are exposed to flavorful and healthy foods that are often new to them and sometimes even to us. I want them to know that mommy and daddy enjoy trying new foods too. It’s not only healthy, it is fun so we enjoy doing it. In my father’s house when I was growing up it was equivalent to swearing if you said, “I don’t like it” before trying it. To this day I can not stand hearing anyone say that when they haven’t even tried a food. It’s a terrible terrible habit to get into that some people carry into adulthood. To give a healthy food no chance to ever nourish your body based upon looks, smells or one disliked ingredient is a crime. If we do not expose our kids to normal non-kid friendly meals then how will they learn to eat healthy?
I don’t get the Kid Friendly Meal approach to feeding a kid. Why waste away 3 opportunities a day to expose them to a variety of healthy foods? The more often you expose a child to something that you want them to learn the quicker they will master it. So why slow down this food acceptance process by filling them up with buttered noodles 3 days a week till they are 12. I don’t have a 12 year old but I bet it is much more difficult to get a 12 year old who has eaten “Kid Friendly Meals” for half his life to try Moo Shoo Pork than it is a 4 year old who has been trying new Non-Kid Friendly Meals every day since she starting eating solid food.
No comments:
Post a Comment