As the marathoners, previous professional athletes, tennis players, and the high school athletes came in to talk to the students about health, nutrition, and how they take care of themselves and prepare to perform as a healthy and strong athlete, we asked them to stick with mainstream thoughts and not "sell" any extreme ideas to the school children. Interesting. Talking to a person about their beliefs about nutrition is about as controversial as talking about religion, politics, or sex.
You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue this way. ---- Ephesians 4:3
We were ready for the weeklong unveiling of our NUTRITION CORNER in each of our school district’s schools elementary through high school. Taking our time spending 4 meetings and 6 months for the book selection process, our parent advisory committee for food and nutrition services thought we did a pretty thorough job selecting the 20 health and nutrition books/games per school for each grade level to enjoy. For the kick-off, we planned a week long guest speaker schedule to come talk to each class in the library including all elementary and middle schoolers.
Overall, there were some really good speakers who reached the children about healthy choices in a great way. Asking questions, giving examples of a bland colored plate, and asking what they could add to make it colorful. One speaker asked them if they like bacon and soda. Then he explained it is OK sometimes and suggested no more than once a week and NO REFILLS on the soda. Some used the food pyramid to help the children learn. But then the extremes rolled in.
NEVER eat or drink foods with Red 40…NEVER drink soda and…Power Bars are a good choice. This is why we asked them to talk in general terms, not "never" and "always". I am not saying I never eat power bars, I just think that regardless, for kids, it is not REAL food. I do not buy foods with food coloring because it is ARTIFICIAL and processed, and regarding soda…well if we are out with friends and because my kids normally do not drink soda, then I am OK with that. This is what I believe, but based on the talks, we vary in our beliefs.
Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as those who do not know the meaning of life but as those who do. --- Ephesians 5:15
Although we all may have different views on nutrition, one thing I am sure we can all agree on is that our children eat too much sugar, or at the very least, have access to sugar too much of the time.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 1 Corinthians6:19-20.
Teaching our children to care for their bodies and provide nourishment for them is our parental duty. It says in the bible under DUTIES OF PARENTS that parents are obliged to care for the temporal and spiritual needs of their children. Their temporal needs are satisfied when their parents provide them with food, clothing, shelter and any other physical necessities.
In our children’s world of school snack bar, sports concession stands, school events concession stands, friend’s houses, team parents bringing in junk, grocery store check out lines, movie rental check out lines, stores that wouldn’t normally have junk for sell…they do and more. Junk is sold EVERYWHERE. With food advertisers marketing to your children at the tune of $3 billion annually, you have an uphill battle if they watch TV. Saying NO gets old, but it is what we need to do. But, teaching them why is better and helpful. Talking to your children about advertisers helps them learn that the ads are targeting them and that it is mostly junk and for the toys…a little exaggerated to say the least. Let them tell you what they see and ask them questions about the ad. The University of Texas School of Public Health is going to do a study on exactly that. Will children choose less junk if they are aware and understand what advertising is?
Teaching children that their body is the temple of God is also helpful. Teaching them to take care of their body, God’s creation, may help them want to take care of it. What does that look like? Parental modeling and what foods we have available for our kids are major factors. Whole foods do not need to be fancy or time consuming. Fresh foods are all you need. It is as simple as the one speaker asked, "How can you make your plate colorful?" Let your child choose the vegetable for dinner. Provide a quick veggie tray for an after school snack or let them skewer fruit for a fruit kabob. That will keep them busy for a while! If they want dessert, let them have a sensible portion, or say, "you already had cookies after school." Help them recognize what moderation looks like. Helping children learn to self monitor is probably another thing we could all agree on. Speaking to other adults about what foods are good and bad for us will get us into a big controversial mess!
