“We turned out fine.” The excuse to justify giving any food to babies and children and believing that you turned out fine, so they will too.
Here is the shocking truth. We are not fine!!

Our children are not fine!! What is happening is that if you serve unhealthy foods, processed foods, salty and extremely sugary foods in the first two years of life, they are predisposed to want those foods more. Unfortunately, we live in a rat race and parents do not have “time” for healthy cooking, but do have time to binge Netflix. It is all about investing in your health. Children follow your example and not what you tell them.

Anneke Joubert, owner and founder of Bouter Happies, and registered Dietitian, looked into some snacks presented to babies from a very young age. In this snack comparison she takes, colourants, flavourings, MSG, sugar, sodium and preservatives in account for parents to make informed decisions. READ MORE INFO HERE.

So, saying you are “fine” as you were exposed to junk food, sweets, fizzy cooldrinks and salty treats daily is not a medical definition of no effects that have been seen. I am not talking about a balance and eating these kinds of foods now and again.

Can you say, that you don’t have ANY of the following… weight issues? Obesity? Blood pressure? Diabetic? Heart conditions? Stroke? Cancer? ADD? ADHD?

According to the Global Obesity Observatory, they predict that 28% of South African children aged 5-9 will be obese, and 27,1% of children aged 10-19 will be obese. Download the full report via this link.

This means that 1 in four children will be obese. This is a 15% increase in the number of overweight kids from 2016!

Are our children really fine?? Our children’s health starts with us as parents. Yes, it takes a lot of effort to raise healthy kids! We make sure we drink every vitamin while pregnant just to make sure our little bundle is perfect. And then…we just let go once they start eating solids.

Building a food reference with baby food will result in most foods that adults won’t eat.

Building a food reference on junk food.

Building a food reference on chips and sweets even before they HAVE TRIED ONE VEGETABLE…convincing yourself they will be fine, while you are adding so much stress on their immune system, digestive system, neurological system, and heart to cope with all the nasties that are served.

Sure, my kids eat a sweet and a chip now and again. Please don’t get me wrong…but I am the kind of parent that kept away sugar and salt for the first year of my children’s lives. Even when the parents say aww, shame the poor child. I know that I have kept their nutritional needs first before serving empty calories into a tiny body that can’t handle all the nonsense added in most treats and even ‘HEALTHY” baby food (as it is promoted by companies) only interested in your money.

I have taught my kids, that they can have a treat now and again, but it’s not an award for actually eating your healthy plate of food. YES, I also had 3 toddlers, I had many food fights, but I didn’t give in to demands from my two-year-old not wanting the broccoli. I simply said, “No problem you don’t have to eat it now, but this is what is served for dinner.” There is no yoghurt, nugget, or sandwich for plan B. 

How can we let our two-year-olds dictate what they want to eat? If they showed you, they want beer or wine, would you give it to them?

How can we let our two-year-olds dictate what they want to eat? If they showed you, they want beer or wine, would you give it to them?

Come on parents we can do better and create a healthier generation of children.