Moms, What Are You Feeding Your Children?

This is a hard article to write.  First, I don’t have children, but I was a child at one time, and I know what my mom fed me – it wasn’t good.  And things have only gotten far worse since I was a child.  What do I mean by this?

I was a child of the 60’s & 70’s. Fast food, and packaged & processed foods were really just starting to explode in regards to availability. McDonald’s and other fast food chains were a treat, and a novelty. Today? It’s the norm. My mom, along with a lot of other kid’s moms were stay at home moms. Preparing meals with real food, from scratch was just what they knew and did. Today? Mom’s as well as their children’s scheduled are so jam packed with work and extra-curricular activities that whatever is quick and easy, without consideration to the lack of nutritional value is what is routinely served up. Can you say “burning the candle at both ends?”

Those of us who are 50 years old or older, unless we have made conscious changes from the lifestyle of our upbringing, are the product of “we are what we ate” in terms of the chronic degenerative diseases we are now plagued with. And we are now paying the price – literally, and physically.

But if we are the living (or dying) example of what a diet consisted of in the 60’s and 70’s, and things have only accelerated since then in regards to an unhealthy diet, what can we expect to see happen to the children of today? We are already seeing it, and have been for 20 years or more: type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, auto-immune conditions galore, anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD and so much more – in our children. Let that sink in for a minute – in children! It is heart-breaking. And there is an absolute direct correlation between the so-called foods that are consumed on a daily basis and their lack of health. And it’s on a trajectory of getting worse if we continue on the path we have been. “If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” The definition of insanity!

According to the CDC (https://tinyurl.com/3kc4ujnb) “3 in 4 infants are not exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months of their lives.”  Mother’s milk offers tremendous, vital immune support for the baby in its first months of life.  But an alternative to mother’s milk are baby formula’s like Similac.  The first ingredient is nonfat milk from cows.  Unless it comes from organically raised cows (and it doesn’t) the infant is starting off day one of life being fed artificial growth-hormones, anti-biotics and genetically modified grains via the cow.  The second ingredient is lactose – which is a sugar.  Interestingly, if you were to look at the nutritional label for Similac, it doesn’t list the amount of sugar.  Instead, it is labeled (under the nutrients) as “energy!”  Really?  I never knew “energy” was a nutrient!  And it only gets worse from there.  Nothing in that infant formula is real food, unlike mother’s milk.  And that’s just the first days, weeks and months of a child’s life.

Before I continue, moms, please hear me, this is by no means meant to condemn, point fingers, criticize or berate you.  My only hope and objective is to help bring awareness to the truth of what the majority of our young population is being subjected to these days, in the hopes of helping change the course of their lives for the better.  They are already being exposed to so much stress in their young lives that most of us didn’t have to deal with growing up in the 60’s & 70’s and even 80’s.  Why not support them and even strengthen them – emotionally and physically in the areas that are more in your control as parents?

So, what can you, as the parent do to put your children’s feet on a path of true health?  Keeping in mind it is never too late to make change, no matter how old they are – it’s just easier the younger you start with them.

1. Be the parent, the adult – you tell them what they are, or are not going to eat, not the other way around.
2. Make it a priority to set aside time to prepare real meals, made with real food – ideally, organic if possible.
3. Provide only healthy snacks in between meals – fruits, veggies, homemade dressings & dips. NOTE: fruit roll ups are not real food.
4. Make sodas and every other sugary drink off limits – always. (see my blog on “Anatomy of a Soda” – https://jackiemckool.com/anatomy-of-a-soda/)
5. Eliminate all cow’s milk from their diet – cow’s milk is the #1 hidden food-sensitivity – it’s very mucous forming, and very inflammatory.
6. Eliminate the sugars, breads and dairy from their breakfast – yes, this means no bowl of sugary cereal doused in cow’s milk and sugar – no wonder they are bouncing off the walls and then falling asleep before 2nd period!
7. No cell phone, computer or T.V. use a ½ hour before sleep time.
8. Be sure they get a minimum of 9 hours of sleep a night – more is better for children and teens. And be sure they are asleep no later than 10:00 p.m.
9. Be the leader and advocate for healthier foods in our schools – after all, it’s your child’s LIFE that is at risk.
10. YOU be the example and follow these principles as well.
11. Read my book “Are You Being Deceived About True Wellness?” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8RFBX87/ for greater detail as to the “why” for each of these vital recommendations.

If you start with just one of these recommendations and build from there, I promise you, you will start to see tremendous improvement in not only your child’s physical health but their mental/emotional behavior as well.