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Too Many Treats?

In our well-meaning attempts to give the best to our children, we push the limits until the only possible way to get everything done is to cut corners. These corners frequently impact the food choices we make (for ourselves and our kids) when our lives become hectic and out of control.

So another bad news equation (we seem to be on a math kick!):

Let me give you an embarrassing example of overplanning gone horribly wrong.

Before I understood the importance of a sane lifestyle, downtime and reduced stress, I had my kids enrolled in anything I could sign up for. From the minute they finished school until the minute they were all sleeping, every minute was planned. We had to be at a game, practice, or event every evening, often doing homework in the car on the way. Very often I'd have at least one of my four children crying because they just wanted to be home playing.

One day, I grabbed some chicken nuggets to "feed" them during our shuffling. As we drove from one activity to the next, I started flinging chicken nuggets over my shoulder to my kids in the middle and back rows of my SUV. I was in a panic because we were running late, and the kids were crying because they were tired from all of the running around, and my aim was so bad that no one could "catch" their dinner as it flew past! When I finally took a moment to think about it, I cringed at my behavior.

That was my daughter's last day of soccer practice. She doesn't miss it and we haven't veered back into that overplanned life since.

Take a look at how your lifestyle impacts your kids and see if it's contributing to the development of unhealthy habits. Consider making changes that make healthy choices and a sane lifestyle part of the plan for everyone in the family. From stocking the snack cabinet with healthy choices, to making a plan to sit down as a family for a real dinner on a regular basis, to planning activities that get you all away from the TV for a few hours, you can make sure your kids start off on the right foot building a healthy lifestyle.

Do you have some examples of how you have worked to build healthier habits into your family routine? Any tips for keeping the holidays fun without an overload of treats? Please comment or drop me a note to share your thoughts - I always love to hear from you!

Debi Silber, "The Mojo Coach"