Finally took the time today to dig into this Huffington Post article I’ve seen several times in the last few days. I suggest reading it – not too long, but gets the point across.
Check out this brief video that is featured in the article:
This is such a vital issue to the health of our children. As a nutritionist, I have voted with my dollars and have not purchased any of the junk foods that this article writes about. In my home, I make the purchasing decisions and do not feel any influence from those companies.
The challenge, however, is once my child goes out into the big wide world and goes to school (that buys snacks for the kids), has playdates (and the parents buy the junk), goes to a birthday party (need I continue?). As a society, we need to all make some changes, for the greater good.
Why is it that a parent who does NOT want to feed food additives, aspartame, msg, and other chemicals to their child is considered neurotic/paranoid/uptight?
Let me be clear – I do give my child ice cream, gummy bears, cookies (as an occasional treat) but if it is at my home, you can bet it’s organic.
(Not that organic ice cream is a “healthy” food, but it sure as heck beats the non-organic kind. I teach my child, and my clients, about balance. And pick your vices. Life is also about living, and being happy, and if you love a bowl of ice cream, or french fries, I’ll be your #1 cheerleader to eat it (as long as you make other healthy choices elsewhere in your life). But I digress….)
Why am I the one who has to work harder as a parent to work around all the societal marketing touch points?
It should be the NORM to have healthier food options be readily available everywhere, not just at my kitchen table.
This is one of the tenets of ConsciousParents.org. My vision to shift the norm – and this is one of the places we can do so. Companies need to act responsibly, AND so do parents. It is about taking 100% personal responsibility for not only yourself and your family, but the greater community around us.
The more parents that know they can actually make change happen, the better for our children. Let’s take back “the village!”
Leave a Reply