FamilyAffair

As a parent of two energetic youngsters and co-owner of a home business, I’m daily called on to create meals in-between other scheduled tasks. It’s like having a third job—running our own family restaurant from the kitchen.

I’m always looking for fresh ways to keep my family healthy by serving local organic foods at every meal. To work, the menu must be kid friendly. Thankfully, I have discovered that if you feed your kids healthy foods from the get go, they acquire a taste for real nutrition even before they start eating solids.

Now, our kids, ages 2 and 4 (with another on the way), relish many simple gourmet foods that most of their peers have never tried, let alone like. Of course, they have their persnickety moments. But they know that when they eat what’s set on their plate, something yummy might appear afterwards. So, they have learned to eat up.

We all love our bit of sweet stuff. The problem is, these days, sugar hides in almost every processed foodstuff; it can really deplete us. Not to mention how it ages parents before our time.

I’ve found that even natural sugars tend to throw our kids off kilter if we aren’t careful to moderate it. We have all agreed to designate a ‘special treat’ night once a week, usually on the weekend. Yes, sometimes it’s organic ice cream. But boy, does my 4-year-old get moody the next day. Sugar hangovers are no fun for anyone. I can’t imagine what other households are going through stoked up on all the hard core junk food available.

When summer arrived, I managed to wean the 4-year-old from his morning PBS show to engage in more outdoor play. It’s easy to let robust active play slip in winter months, but what a difference physical creative time in nature makes.

I notice, for instance, the effects screen time has when our son begs to have a DVD movie night. When we say yes, he has trouble focusing his energy afterwards. My daily observations of how these children adjust and cope with today’s technology-driven lifestyle has me concerned. I continually ask myself, how can I protect, nurture and guide them as a parent without over-sheltering them? I expect that giving them a sound foundation, broad education and good example goes a long way.

As you peruse this month’s Children’s Health issue, you’ll find some useful perspective as well as practical tips for helping you and your kid’s transition back to school. Meanwhile, we hope you make the most of quality time together out in this glorious green summer, doing what you all love to do.

We’re still in thrall with our family camping trip to the ROTHBURY music festival over Independence Day weekend. It was the kid’s first camping experience, and they had a blast. The music and dancing were great; who got sleep? For details on the festival’s green initiatives and more, visit NaturalWestMichigan.com.

Happy summer,

Sara Peterson