Post pregnancy most women will miss their old body and we diet and exercise just to get our old self back again. However we forget, children are observing what we think, say and feel about food and our eating habit can possibly lead to children having a similar opinion about it too. How can we as parents instill healthy eating habits in our home without compromising our own self esteem or that of our children? How do you teach children to have a healthy body image?
Re: healthy body image
I think one of the hardest concepts to instill in children is eating out of boredom vs eating out of hunger. It's the mindless snacking and emotional eating that is the downfall. Let's face it, for adults, women in particular, this is such a bad habit to drop..
Re: healthy body image
My kids are still young but a few key rules I try to live by:
- never use the word fat
- teach them to try thing before they hate them
- excersizing is fun (we put on DVD's and all of us have it in between fits of giggling)
When my plate is full of fruits and vegetables I always point it out that look mama is eating healthy. I am trying to be mindful of the words I use and not bring up the word diet in front of them. We do kids yoga here and there and that is always fun. We put on music and pretend we are zumbaing. I am trying to teach them that their bodies need the nutrition from every food and I try to explain how some food is good for hair, some for eyes, bones but then I think would that make them vain. I want them to have a good self esteem but I don't want them to become girls who.put other girls down.