As a new mom to a four month old baby girl I have found that there are behaviors that are highly stressed during the early stages of the child’s life. Behaviors that are precautionary in nature, like constantly washing your hands when handling a baby, is appropriate and should turn into a habit that is practiced long past the first year of birth. Another behavior that I believe should be converted into a habit is paying close attention to the ingredients in foods that a child consumes. I found via conversations with other parents that when selecting a food for your child that the less ingredients the better, organic is best and quality over quantity matters.
I LOVED the sound of these parameters when selecting the first solid foods for my daughter. My delight came from knowing that these are the same parameters I follow when selecting foods for myself. I shop the outside of the grocery store first, so that I can fill my cart with fresh produce and meats. I look for minimal ingredients in packaged products, like protein bars. However, what I found disheartening when these conversations were taking place is that often times parents only follow these parameters for their child.
Adults could benefit both mentally and physically, if they would implement the same precautionary behavior when selecting foods for themselves. The consciences that I gathered when speaking to other parents as to why they do not follow the same guidelines for their own diet is that it is too difficult. To this I respond with the best piece of advice that helped me create healthy habits and that is: start small. Small can still be impactful. Small change is still change. Start by implementing one new rule at a time for 30-45 days. Let this new behavior become a habit. Simple rules that could be followed to create a healthy habit could include: not purchasing products that contain added sugars or only purchasing products with less than 5 ingredients. Rules like this will reduce the amount of unhealthy product purchases. In turn steering the adult in a path towards a healthier lifestyle.
Body Benefiting 