Young
people have so much peer pressure to deal with that I hate to make
my children feel like they're different or weird. How can I stop
their playmates from teasing them because they eat strange foods?
No one wants their
children to be the object of nasty teasing, however parents often
react more strongly to the threat of teasing than young people
do. It's your attitude about diet that will affect your children
the most. If you make them proud of the way they eat and what
the food does for their bodies, they will have the strength to
overcome any peer pressure. In fact, my daughter has the opposite
problem. She's liable to feel sorry for people who eat meat, dairy
and sugar products!
My wife and I consciously
set about to make our daughter feel that she is special because
of the way she knows how to choose her foods. We used role models.
Since we live in Los Angeles, she knows some very famous people
who happen to be vegetarians. There are many movie stars, rock
musicians, and sports figures who eat a meat-free diet. If your
child is too young to relate to these real role models, you can
use Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny as examples of exciting vegetarians.
Bert on Sesame Street is a vegetarian too! (We're not so sure
about Ernie, though!)
With very young
children, you are in charge of what they eat and they don't need
a great deal of encouragement. By the time they're four or five,
you'll be able to do some explaining. I tell my young patients
that building their bodies is like building a house they are going
to live in their entire life. You don't want to build it out of
junky materials that are going to fall apart. Instead, you should
choose strong bricks and mortar. Slightly older children, those
who are involved in sports, need to be told that they can run
faster, play longer, and grow stronger muscles when they follow
this food plan. They won't have any problem "building themselves"
up when they eat the best food available.
One word of caution.
I don't make the rules so hard and fast that a child can't have
an occasional piece of birthday cake or Halloween candy. If the
rules are too strict and unrealistic, you're inviting rebellion.
Special occasions call for special rules. I've found that very
often when children know they have permission to do something
"forbidden," they have less interest in doing it. If
your child knows he can have ice cream at the party without having
you throw a fit, he may very well turn down the treat because
there's no secondary "payoff" in eating it.
There are some
foods that we feel so strongly about that we do say: "We
never eat this!" Hot dogs fall into this category. I feel
there's nothing wrong with telling a child that hot dogs are filled
with pig lips and cow ears. Your child won't have any trouble
refusing to eat them and will be very vocal in telling his friends
about how disgusting they are.
If you have a daughter,
by the time she is in her preteens, the advantages of a low-fat,
vegetarian diet will be very easy to explain. She will likely
be the one in her class who doesn't have to worry about being
overweight or fighting blotchy skin and greasy hair. She will
look vibrant and healthy when many of her classmates are going
through the terrors of being a teenager.
Overall, I urge
you to practice moderation. Go with the flow. Let your children
experiment a little at special occasions. One scoop of greasy
dip on a carrot or a single piece of fudge isn't going to ruin
them for life. In fact, allowing them to taste the forbidden foods
will often work in your favor. To the palate that's unaccustomed
to fat, these foods don't taste all that wonderful. Most children
will be more than happy to go back to fruit, vegetables, and grains.
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