Imma have a diet

The way we speak about food, dieting, and how our bodies look in front of our kids matter.

Their little minds begin to make things up and/or apply what they overheard in adult conversations. They carry that with them into adulthood. Especially if they never have the opportunity to learn what these terms actually mean outside of what they overhear as a child, it can really cause harm.

I am being generous here, saying that kids are overhearing adult conversations. I KNOW that many times kids are spoken to directly about themselves regarding these topics. But we will talk about that another day.

Let me tell you a story that illustrates how what we say in front of kids matters…

Recently my kids’ Friend came over to hang out. I decided to take them to a local bakery for treats. There were four of us, and we got four pastries that were rather large, to share with each other. Friend was so excited and blown away by all the treats.

I cut all of them into pieces and we had a feast. When we were just about done, Friend said, “Imma have to have a diet after this”, as he patted his satisfied belly. I looked over but didn't think anything of it and kept it moving.

Hours later, after running a few errands, we were back at home and I knew they must be hungry. I asked if they wanted pizza and Friend said, “YES” with excitement. When the pizza was ready, I called them over to eat, and Friend said, “I’m not hungry”. I said, really? Cause when I asked if you wanted pizza you said, yes. He then told me, “I said imma have a diet, remember?”. I asked, “what do you think a diet means?”. My son who is 9, immediately jumped in and said, “a diet is eating healthy food”. I then told Friend, “if you are hungry, you should eat. It is not ok to starve yourself.” Friend then got up, and enjoyed some pizza.

This really tugged at my heart.

You see how we can create disordered eating, and body image issues in CHILDREN when we don't educate ourselves about food, and don't speak kindly about ourselves?

How in the world are we going to create a positive relationship around food and body image for our kids, if we don’t have one with ourselves?

You can tell kids anything you want. But the truth is that they observe! They listen and pay attention to what YOU and adults around them are doing and saying. They internalize those messages and apply them to themselves.

Kids have difficult time distinguishing between what is a joke and sarcasm. You might be joking about something that is normalized, but kids take it as fact. As something they need to act upon.

In a culture and society that prays on our insecurities, I believe it is our responsibility to protect and guide our little ones when it comes to their wellness. I think it’s the part of life that is most overlooked. We worry about their education, finances, social circles, but rarely about their long term wellbeing around food, exercise, and how they see themselves.

We are the ones responsible for feeding them. We buy and prepare food for our kids. As they become more independent, they are responsible for doing that for themselves.

Can you guess what choices they will make?

Can you predict how those choices will affect them in the long run? I’ll give you a clue, take a look at your family medical history.

It starts with us!

One of the most magical things that happens when I am working with my clients, is that the whole family comes along for the journey. Their kids, nieces, nephews, organically participate. They learn how to read food labels, eat more fruits and veggies, learn food groups, are able to make amazing choices for themselves, and the MOST AMAZING one – they start holding the adults in their life accountable!!!!

I hope the brief interaction with my son and I shifted something in Friend. I hope he is able to enjoy treats without guilt and won't starve himself because of it. I hope this story shifted something in you too. I hope you see the importance of how you treat yourself and the decisions you make, especially around children.

As I said, the family involvement my clients experience while we are coaching together is one of the most rewarding parts for them, and for me. If you are ready to transform how you see yourself and your wellness, I do have health coaching spots available - email me at hola@naihomyjerez.com and we can chat.

Xo,

Naihomy