As a divorced mother, it is a bit challenging to convince my children that certain foods they eat are not ideal for their health because their father is not as passionate about the subject as I am. A person has to want to take the extra steps and time to learn about food and it's purpose in our lives, and to continually seek information about what has happened to our food supply and suppliers in recent years. WE have to get proactive and perhaps it is a long and difficult road to make major and necessary changes, but we can start by enlightening our children about the choices they have, and encouraging them to make the wiser choice for their own good.
A few days ago, the children were with their father and he decided to take them to Popeye's, a fast food joint, for lunch as they happened to pass one on the way back from the movies. As a parent, it's important to realize that even when you plan out a day of activities, you should also plan out the meals for your children so that you are not subjected to last minute, unhealthy choices. If you practice certain habits/routines, your children won't demand or expect you to "end up" at those types of eateries, at least, not on a regular basis.
They took a few minutes to review the menu while standing on line, and while trying to solidify their selections, they heard a patron ahead of them request a bottle of water with their order only to hear a response from the restaurant clerk, "we do not have any water." My children told me that they quickly became surprised and whispered to their father, "how can they not have water? What are we going to drink?" I love these children of mine. They don't drink soda, and they also know that two wrongs don't make a right, meaning that, it's bad enough they have to eat fried food but they don't want to chase it with a sugary, chemically ladened beverage! Balance...if you can!
My son said he begged his father to leave at that instance but he was not able to get his wish granted. Popeye the Sailor, come rescue my children! Later that day, they returned home to me in time for a very healthy home cooked dinner, and as they entered the front door they could not wait to tell me of this "lack of water situation" that happened earlier in their day.
I truly appreciated how they viewed the situation as abominable and how they were ready to leave. This is the problem that people seem to face daily, they just "put up" with whatever is there. Don't make any waves. Just settle. It's not such a big deal? My son also told me that the clerk did not seem to care that they had no water and did not offer any apologies for the situation. Let me just state, water is on their menu and they claimed they ran out. My mind got the best of me and I quickly became Sherlock Holmes as I tend to do when I try to size up a situation. I thought to myself, "perhaps they don't normally sell a lot of water and so they don't normally keep a large enough supply of water, but this one particular day/weekend, more water was purchased than normal and they DID run out!"
Well, if that's the case, hopefully it will be a brand new day at that establishment. Hopefully whoever is in charge of inventory will now make certain to stock the back room with EXTRA water for their patrons.
As for me and my lovely babies, I am so thankful that I have bothered to enlighten them about food, and particularly the foods that are being served/sold to them outside of my house, making them aware that "it's truly all a mystery" and they have to be very careful and selective about the choices that they make. This type of lesson teaches them how to respect themselves, their bodies, and empowers their minds about the fact that it is their personal right!
Eat your organic spinach! Be strong and make healthy choices!
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