FEATURE The junk food culture It is unfortunate that we are living in a junk food culture, and it is only too easy to allow these foods to take over in a child’s daily diet. The term ‘junk food’ includes not only snack items and candies, but also those made of white flour, other refined grains, and high sugar foods, including canned and packaged juices/sodas, cakes, cookies and breads. As a parent, one of the best things you can do for your child is to ensure that he or she develops good dietary habits, which will have a long-term and positive impact upon physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Despite the slick advertising and the fact that eating junk foods may be condoned by other parents, it pays to be strong in instilling good eating habits in your child. This does not mean that your child should never have sweets, cakes or other snacks, but they need to be put
in the ‘occasional’ category. It’s wise not to use foods as treats or reward, as these will become associated with ‘being good’, and this association can extend throughout life, often to our detriment. One way of dealing with this is to let the child go shopping with you, and with his or her pocket money choose one or two snack items which have to do for the week. This way, they learn a couple of useful life skills – how to value their money and how to delay gratification – and they won’t develop junk food cravings. On the other hand, if your child’s life involves going to lots
As a parent, one of the best things you can do for your child is to ensure that he or she develops good dietary habits, which will have a longterm and positive impact upon physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. of parties – then that more than suffices, so at home, keep meals and snacks natural and wholesome and have water as the beverage of choice. Daily diet that gives the necessary nutrients The first consideration in anyone’s daily diet needs to be – “will what I eat provide the necessary nutrients required by my body for growth, cell renewal, energy and wellbeing?” Junk and processed foods do not contain the necessary nutrients vital for growth and development, and nutritional deficiencies can manifest as
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poor growth, health problems, obesity, failure to thrive, emotional and behavioural disorders. Ultimately, a child who has any of these issues is not going to excel educationally or fully realise their potential in other areas of life. Eating for good health does not have to be a chore or boring. With children, presentation is as important as taste, and it doesn’t take too much effort for either to be appealing – just a few good cookbooks, thought and a little imagination. Developing good eating habits begins at weaning, and as the little one
grows, a diet using a variety of whole and natural foods should evolve, with the parents/caregivers noting if any negative reaction, either physical or emotional occurs as each new food is introduced, as this may indicate allergy or intolerance. Signs of allergic reaction Children are very sensitive little beings and react readily not only to environmental allergens such as exhaust fumes and dust but also to certain foods. Some of the common problem foods are sugar, dairy products, wheat, apple juice, eggs and citrus.
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