Being a parent is not easy, and most people are comfortable acknowledging it. Caring for young children may require you to change your schedule, your social life, and even occasionally your career or where you live.
These are all big changes that people often talk about without hesitation.
But few people want to talk about the hardest part of being a parent: being a role model. Perhaps not everyone realizes that parenthood means you’re on-call to be an example for your child whenever they’re around… or maybe it’s just so ingrained in parenthood that people think it goes without saying.
Either way, it’s an intense part of parenthood that you should be able to discuss more openly. And this is truer with your food and beverage choices than it is with almost everything else.
You know that what, how, and when you eat affects much more than just your waistline. It can also affect your physical health, your social life, and even your mental health.
As a parent, it is your job to set your children up for success as best you can. And when your food choices have that much of an impact, setting a good example is key.
But just like with the burden of leading by example, few people want to talk about what exactly you should be modeling. Thankfully, there are two very specific things you can do to make the whole job just a little bit easier.
1) Focus on Portions
As an adult, you usually get to decide what you eat. Budget, diet, or food allergies might keep you from eating rich foods every single meal.
But if you want, say, pizza for dinner, you can make it happen. And if you want to overindulge in a favorite dish, who is going to stop you?
But when children are watching, that’s a pretty unstable example to set. Overindulging in food leads to all sorts of problems, the least of which is weight gain.
And when kids see their parents overindulge on a regular basis
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