How I Stopped Stressing Over How My Kids Eat ⋆ Earth and Water

What my kids eat use to be one of the biggest stressors in my life. I can feel my stress levels rise just talking about it now. I fully believe in the power of a healthy diet and I completely believe that food is medicine.

So when my family would give my kids junk and sodas despite my protests, I died a little on the inside. And when my son needed his tonsils removed, it destroyed me. The stress of how my children ate and the fact that I couldn’t control it is probably why I’ve had as many health problems as I have over the recent years.

My philosophy had always been: Feed them the vegetables and healthy stuff first and they’ll learn to like it because they don’t know about the junk. Of course that was short lived as everyone was giving them everything without limit as soon as they developed their first tooth.

Kids Eat What They’re Meant to Eat

Something that’s helped me to come to terms with the fact that I can’t control what my kids eat is that everything happens as it should. It’s a spiritual belief that things play out as they’re meant to and although we have some influence, things are what they are and happen as they should. I’ve applied it to what my kids eat so as to let go of the stress of it all.

The philosophy stands that they are their own people and will make their own choices. That they have their own path to walk and everything that happens to and around them are a part of that path. All I can do is lead by example. Focus on my own food intake and hope it inspires them.

Since my own journey with food has been so difficult with figuring out my soy allergy and managing hypoglycemia, it’s been more or less relatively easy to let go of the ideals I had for what my kids eat.

It’s already next to impossible to feed myself. The last thing I want to do on top of that is fight with my children and family over vegetables and sugar. I don’t know what things have in store for them but I can stress myself out about things not going my way or I can hope, wish and prefer and then allow to happen what will.

It’s Not My Job to Make My Kids Eat

It’s not my job to micro manage their food intake. It’s not my job to make sure that they have food that they like or that they eat what I give them. Nor is it my job to ensure they make good food choices. The only thing that’s my job is to ensure that they have food to eat. Period.

I put food in front of my kids and after that, I let go of what happens. If they eat it, great. If they don’t, they’re not allowed to snack. That’s the extent of that. They’re not going to starve and honestly we could all use a little portion control ourselves.

If you don’t like what you get, I can’t help you. I don’t make them eat. Nor do I stress over it. They’ll eat when they’re hungry.

This teaches them to be grateful and considerate. To not be picky or wasteful but that it’s a gesture of kindness when someone gives them food and they shouldn’t be rude about it. It teaches them this because that’s what I tell them about it. The reasoning behind why we eat what we’re given or we don’t get snacks.

I don’t do picky eating. If you take 3 bites of something and you just really don’t like it, then okay, I’ll work with you. We don’t refuse food without giving it a try, though. Eat it or don’t, but you’re not getting anything else while there’s untouched food on the table.

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Let them Listen to Their Bodies

My husband stresses me, himself and the kids out at every meal we eat together by constantly telling them to eat their food over and over again. I don’t subscribe. You have to pick your battles and this isn’t one for me.

As a society, we’ve become accustomed to terrible eating habits. Not only in regards to what we eat but when and how we eat as well.

People from other countries are always blown away by American portion sizes. Citing them to be at the very least twice the size of the portion sizes in their own country.

We don’t eat because we’re hungry. We eat because we think we should, it tastes good, we’re bored, we’re emotional, the list goes on.

Kids aren’t yet attuned to this cultural way of eating. They only eat when they’re actually hungry and then they stop eating when they no longer are. They’re still attuned to their bodies and how they should be eating.

We could all stand to take a few pointers.

My 4 year old has already realized that he likes “real food” such as fruits and vegetables more than processed junk and nutritionally void food. He prefers it which goes to show that we all can eat better if we simply keep offering ourselves the better choices.

I Have Enough To Do

Being a mother in this world is impossible. We’re expected to do a mile long list of things and we’re expected to do it all perfectly. We’re expected to shape and mold our offspring into perfectly well mannered, well educated, flawlessly healthy, kind, compassionate, strong, confident, straight laced contributions to society. And we’re expected to do it while running a household, being a wife/sister/daughter/grand daughter/aunt/ friend/co worker and contribution to society ourselves without help.

We also have to schedule in taking care of ourselves in the middle of all of that. Add a full time job, health concern or anything else on top of it and people wonder why we crumble under the pressure.

It’s a list that no one can keep up with and yet, no matter how perfectly we juggle (or at least appear to) we’re still always going to be criticized about something.

When you look at all of the things a mother is expected to do, it’s astounding. Realize that society never supports her in making anything easier but always has something to point out about her not being good enough and it becomes a little bit easier to just let your kids have the happy meal.

This isn’t to say that I just give them whatever. This just means I don’t stress when they eat less than ideal foods.

How do you handle your kids and food? Is it stressful or a breeze? Tell us about your side of life in the comments below!