Real Solutions To Children's Health

INTRODUCTION

Our children are our future so we need to teach them health. They say the best way to teach is by example. Learning to live a healthy lifestyle is teaching your children what it takes to live healthy. It is our responsibility to teach them health.

What they eat and drink can make a big difference in their behavior. Children can have less mood swings and be calmer and less out of control. Most times it is as simple as taking them off artificial colorings (red) and cutting back on the sugar. Other times you need to get them allergy tested or take them off of things like dairy, wheat, chocolate, corn or whatever else tests positive. Diet plays a much larger role in health and behavior than we realize.

Supplements can also make a difference, but knowing what to give, how much, and in the right forms, can be a challenge. Certain conditions give us signs that the body is lacking specific vitamins and minerals. Herbs can be taken to boost the immune system, strengthen the respiratory system, and for many other uses. You just need to lower the dose according to weight and age.

Health is a lifestyle. You will not get healthy by just changing one thing, but each thing you do change will be another step towards your goal of health. To provide a positive atmosphere that will nurture and teach your child to become an independent, responsible member of society is the parent’s goal. Let the child become what they desire yet still set up proper structure. Keep the communication lines open and teach them consequences, especially when they choose not listen to us. Teach them love and respect for themselves, for others, animals, and the world around them. Parenting uses all our resources, our creativity, our patience and much more, but the experience of watching your child grow, develop, and then make their way in society compares to nothing else.

CHAPTER TWO HOW TO FEED YOUR CHILDREN

How and what you feed your child, even at an early age, can make a much bigger influence on their life than you think. If you feed them processed, sugary, refined foods, they soon develop taste buds only for those foods. As they grow up eating their diet of predominately processed food, diabetes, cancers, heart disease, behavior problems and other conditions begin to develop. Studies show that signs of heart disease are seen in children as young as three-years-old. Combine this diet with lack of exercise and we really have a problem. If the pattern is not broken, they will feed their children the same way and so on through the generations.

Babies do not need sugar and salt so read the ingredients or make your own baby food. You can purée cooked vegetables or fruits and then freeze them in ice cube trays. Defrost as many as you need for the meal. Do not heat up the food in a microwave as your baby can easily get burned this way. Remember to give them whole fruit, not just the fruit juice.

Toddlers should be fed vegetables. If they don’t like a certain vegetable, try others. Be creative if you need to—cut them into different shapes, put them in soups, and provide dips. Always be the example and eat them yourself. If you cannot grow your own organic garden, buy as much organic as you can; BC Hot House products use very little, in any, chemical pesticides. If you cannot get fresh, frozen vegetables are the next best thing. I always keep frozen peas and other vegetables in the freezer. It makes a quick snack or combined with brown rice, a healthy dinner. Cook the brown rice in a natural, MSG-free soup cube for more flavor. If you choose to feed meat, combine it with non-starchy vegetables.

Fruits are also important. 70% of our diet should be fruits and vegetables. Fruits should be eaten alone. Fruits have a shorter digestion time and can cause gas if eaten with meats which have a much longer digestion time. Eat fruit for breakfast or for snacks. Remember that children can easily choke on fruits such as whole grapes. Dried fruits also make a good snack to carry with you. You can even dehydrate apples at home, but only give a small amount as they will swell in the stomach. Raisins are best organic, as grapes are high in pesticides. They are a good source of iron, too.

If you are still having a problem feeding them fruits and vegetables, try a Rebar. It has two cups of fruits and two of vegetables in each bar, yet doesn’t taste like vegetables. Even just a piece of the Rebar is good. Also Juice+ Gummies contain 17 fruits, grains and vegetables, in a tasty gummy form. A serving of vegetables to a toddler is a lot smaller than for adults so give them a smaller portion. Try taking them out for Chinese food. Chop Suey contains lots of vegetables—request no MSG when ordering. Their taste buds will change with time and day to day. A vegetable they didn’