My two year old will be going to preschool soon. Although I am looking forward to having just a little bit of alone time with my baby girl, I am already dreading snack time. The thing is, not everyone is on the same page about healthy eating. Not everyone knows how awful processed food is for our bodies. Two days a week my 2 year old will come in contact with food that I may not approve of. It might sound silly to some, they will tell me I will not always be able to control everything that goes in my child’s body. This is true and I hope to teach him to make good choices. However, he’s still too young to say, “no thank you” to food that other people offer him. What’s the big deal, you ask? The big deal is that I work really hard researching how my children can get the most nourishing food in their bodies. The big deal is that I know food does affect how we concentrate, our moods, how we feel in general. It affects how we live. I suppose two days a week I can let go a little, but the truth is, I don’t want to. I don’t think I should have to. I am afraid that if I do start making a big deal about what goes in MY child’s body, the teachers and other parents will automatically target my child as high maintenance. I do know of schools where it’s mandatory for the parents to bring an organic healthy snack to school. I’m so jealous!! At our school last year they were giving out Lucky Charms. This is just ridiculous. I do believe the healthy eating movement has begun. It just needs a little more momentum to move through the schools a little faster!
I want other parents to care about their children’s health as much as I do. I want them to do the research, to see that giving them cookies and junky crackers is not nourishing their child’s body. How does one make other people care without offending them? Once I tell them their food is not good enough for my child, they will immediately think I am a snob. The truth is, I just care about what goes into my child’s body. I care about what is fueling him to be the best that he can be. I will probably run into a few who have the same beliefs about nourishing food. I hope that I can convince more to really look at food from a whole new angle. I hope all will be well in our preschool world.
