The role of a mother in the life of their children is tremendous. They also, therefore, play a role in both causing and preventing childhood obesity. If you are a mum, you may feel that preventing obesity in your children is a daunting task, particularly if you are overweight or obese yourself. However, help is out there for you, including through clinics like http://bariatric.stopobesityforlife.com, who can help you transform your own life and that of your children.
A Mother’s Role
There have now been numerous studies that have demonstrated that the habits of a mother rub off tremendously on their children. They, more than anyone else in the family therefore, must set a good example. If they do this as soon as possible, the impact on the overall health and wellbeing of their children can be tremendous. This is particularly important in terms of diet and exercise. Think about how you, as a mother, can help to stop the deadly obesity pandemic in its tracks.
What Mothers Can Do
As a mum, it is your responsibility to:
• Be understanding and patient. Children will resist you when you tell them about the foods that are good for them. Be patient, allow them to speak, and counter their arguments reasonably.
• Become a better observer and listener. Look at what your kids do, and whether they do anything your own mother would have been very upset with. Unless you come from a household where both parents are obese yourself, you can guarantee that your own mother was setting a very good example. If your parents were both obese, try to identify which behaviors you are duplicating and reverse those.
• Allow your children to say what they think and feel, and how they experience the food they eat. Listen to what they are saying so that you can try to figure out where they get their bad habits from. This may be from you, but it may also be from their peers, for instance.
• Provide lots of variety in your cupboards, fridge, and daily meals. Turn this into a game, asking children if they know what the nutritional value of different foods is, for instance. You can also have taste journeys, eating things from different countries every day or week.
• Set an example, even if they don’t follow you straight away. Give them the option to join you, but don’t falter from your own healthy eating efforts just because they don’t want to.
• Make it more difficult for them to access unhealthy snacks, foods, and drinks by simply not buying them anymore. This will also make a tremendous difference in your own health.
You are a mother and you are one of the most important people in your child’s life, not just emotionally but in terms of their overall health and happiness as well. The majority of people who are now obese and require surgical interventions started to become overweight as children, and this could have been stopped before it go to this point.
