Healthy Kid Story - A New Generationby Cynthia Voth
This article is provided courtesy of
Vegetarian Baby & Child Magazine.
When I was pregnant with my son six years ago, my husband and I discovered the importance of eating healthfully. We had just transitioned to a vegetarian diet about a year before my pregnancy, and as I carried our son we spent a lot of time learning more about nutrition and foods. It was not surprising to find out how many additives, preservatives, and pesticides are bad for our bodies, let alone the body and brain of a developing child. As a result of what we were learned, we transitioned our kitchen into one that is almost completely organic, with few processed foods to be found.
Six years, and two healthy children later, we have never looked back at our decision. Both vegetarian (and organic) pregnancies were without complications and the babies were born healthy and vibrant. Our son Griffin is now five and a half and our daughter Vivian is three and a half. They are active, healthy, and intelligent people who understand the difference between food that is good for their bodies and food that is bad for their bodies. They know the difference, because there have been occasions when the food they ate was not good for them (any food that is bright blue, for example). When traveling to their grandparent's house to visit, they are given a range of over-processed, sugared foods, and the kids feel awful after eating there. Invariably, they will catch a cold a couple of days after visiting.
Interestingly, while we have had our fair share of colds (especially now that Griffin is in kindergarten), we have never had to deal with any complications. In fact, Griffin did not get his first ear infection until he was four and a half-just three months after he finished breastfeeding. Vivian has never had an ear infection. Yet, most of the kids we know who do not eat healthfully are riddled with ear infections, and several have had ear tubes put in. I attribute our good health to our diet. It certainly is not genetic, as both my husband and I had childhoods riddled with ear infections and antibiotic prescriptions.
Family members have told me that my kids are deprived because they are not eating foods that are fun, like certain cartoon character "fruit" snacks that come in an assortment of neon colors and are dipped in white sugar. To these family members I point out how healthy my kids are, and I assure them that in no way are they deprived of eating foods that are fun and tasty. In the early spring, for example, we spend weeks picking fresh peas from the vines in our garden, popping open the shells, and enjoying the sweet taste. To my kids, this is more satisfying and fun than candy. Vivian will spend an hour picking and eating fresh peas, but she will not eat the lollipops that the bank lady offers her. She will take the lollipop, because she is drawn to the bright, colorful wrapping, but she will not eat it because it tastes bad to her.
Both my husband and I grew up eating a diet of snack foods, soda pop, and TV dinners. In the years that we have spent together eating healthfully and being vegetarian, we feel the difference and we know that we are giving our children a gift that we never received. They know what it is to be healthy, to eat healthy, and to feel healthy. They also understand a lot more about food than most adults whom I know.
Author Bio:
Cynthia Voth lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband Drew and their two children. She is a stay-at-home/work-from-home mom, who does freelance writing, editing, and layouts in the wee hours when her children are sleeping.
