You know the feeling—you’re rushing in the morning to get your children off to school, you’re hurrying in the afternoon to drive them to soccer practice, and you’re racing home from work in the evening to make sure they have time for a study session at a friend’s house.
When something’s got to give in a schedule like that, it’s often family meals. Many families never sit down at the dining room table even once during the day. When everyone is eating on the run or the kids are having some of their meals or snacks away from home (eg, at a child care center, at friends’ homes), that’s when healthy foods can give way to the easier, higher fat, higher calorie choices. Sound familiar?
Even if there never seem to be enough hours in the day for your family to eat as healthfully as you’d like, don’t despair. Here are some suggestions to help keep your children on the right track.
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Plan ahead for those times when you know you’re going to be busy. If it means spending time on the weekend preparing meals for the upcoming weekdays, then do it.
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Sit together at the table for meals as a family whenever possible to eat and talk together.
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Discuss how the family can decrease eating out at fast-food restaurants.
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Fix breakfast the night before. You can precook hard-boiled eggs or have your child’s favorite cold cereal already in the bowl and the fresh fruit sliced and ready to go at the crack of dawn.
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Keep things simple. You don’t have to cook an elaborate dinner every night. For example, why not prepare a bowl of soup, a sandwich, and a salad, topping the meal off with a piece of fruit and a glass of nonfat milk, on evenings when you’re particularly rushed? It will provide your child with a nutritious meal without pushing yourself to the point of collapse. The key is to make good nutritional choices, no matter how simple or extravagant the meal is.
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When your child spends time at friends’ homes, why not call the parents of your youngster’s friends and offer to send over healthy foods or snacks for all the kids? Turkey sandwiches or apples may keep your child from grabbing higher fat choices that her friends might otherwise offer.
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For a youngster who goes to a child care center or after-school program or eats at the school cafeteria, you need to find out what the nutritional environment is like there. If the menu relies too often on cheeseburgers and french fries, your child needs to bring her own meals and snacks from home. At the same time, talk to your school or child care administrator about improving the nutritional choices. Don’t forget about the school vending machines, either; if they’re weighed down with candy and soft drinks, you and other parents should lobby for an improvement in the available selections.
