One of the biggest struggles I face as a mom is my little girl's addiction to video games. It takes a lot of effort to get her majesty to take a break once she gets started. Slowly, however, we are making small gains. The other struggle I face is much sneakier and far more pervasive. I am referring to our family's love hate relationship with sugar. Video games have the benefit of being contained in a console or hand held. Sugar,the evil ninja bastard, hides in Doritos, ranch dressing, peanut butter, and the usual suspects we encounter every day.
We are fortunate, as a family, that diabetes is not an issue. I am a big proponent of moderation but that's not easy to keep things down to a dull roar when your opponent is ubiquitous. My spouse is also in the process of losing weight. Diet sodas and artificial sweeteners are creeping into my kitchen. Normally, I'll take all the help I can get but when it comes to those "packets" I'm not a believer in better living through chemistry. I have no idea what the long term impact of that crap is on the human body so oddly enough, diet cherry Pepsi is an occasional treat and for all I know, we consume too much of that.
I happen to know they make this magical stuff called water that's cheap, good for you and doesn't stain if you spill it. How do you lead by example when you can't stand plain water yourself? You resort to soda, and by "soda" , I mean seltzer. We use the stuff to cut fruit juice and make powdered drinks. It is by no means a perfect solution but it helps. I haven't tried making fruit water for everyone yet. My gym bottle has crushed lime and ginger in it, maybe I should consider a larger volume? I also find myself reading a lot of labels. Some granola bars can be just as bad as Pop Tarts. Yay marketing!
Marketing, I believe, is also responsible for recruiting both other parents and my daughter's friends. Did you know the grade school lunch table is actually a minefield with uncomfortable seating? My daughter may see it as more like Wall Street, Oreos are worth way more than Apple slices on the trading floor. I have talked to her about what goes on and have been increasingly dismayed at what other people are sending their kids to school with for lunch. I'm guessing that since I have the luxury of being a stay at home mom, I can pack more healthy things. Adhd or not, my game plan is to get her more involved in packing her own lunch. So fellow parents, how goes the sugar fight at your house?
No comments:
Post a Comment