Me vs. Rap in the battle against unhealthy food choices

One of the problems I have had in raising my son is his fussiness over certain types of food. As you may have read in my previous posts, my boy has a long list of food that he will neither smell nor taste. He keeps his choices limited and he’s afraid to try out new meals. He's not much into vegetables and fruits and he wouldn't dare to eat tomato-based dishes. He can also choose to starve himself instead of him eating food he doesn't like.

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Living near a fastfood restaurant definitely doesn't help me win this battle.
He's not like this when he was still a toddler. In fact, when he was still a year old, he would eat raw tomato just like it was an apple. And people would commend us for teaching our child to eat healthy food at an early age. Those were the days. As Rap turned four years old and started going to school, he underwent a diet shift and started to choose unhealthy food over the nutritious stuff I serve on the dinner table.

The only time that you can get him to eat fruits is when it's served  with crepe or pancakes.

I admit I'm partly to blame in all of these because I easily gave in to what my boy wanted to eat. He didn't like sandwiches so his baon would often be sweet cookies and fruit juices in Tetra Pak because I wanted him to eat while he's in school. I didn't want him to go hungry because I know that he'll be missing out on the nutrients that he's supposed to get from food. If he doesn't like our ulam, I would fry chicken nuggets for him. Para wala nang away. I didn't want to force feed my child. What I didn't know back then was that I didn't really help him get the nutrients he needed. Akala ko noon, basta busog ok na.

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Not much of a sweet tooth but he goes gaga over donuts.
My child's diet shift phase was a really challenging time for me. First, my boy's unhealthy food choices took a toll on our food budget. I needed to allot money for the food that he liked which was usually more expensive than fish, fruits, and vegetables. Second, I take the blame whenever he would get sick. My mom would scold me because Rap was thin and was not eating healthy food. That stage was also the same time when he was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease. Older relatives even told me that it's because of all the tocino and instant pancit canton that I let my child eat. Imagine how depressing that time was for a young mom like me!

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Limiting his soda and chips intake is still a work in progress. 
I'm happy that Rap has started to widen his food choices and now eats green, leafy veggies and fish.. Now that he's 12, he has become conscious of what he eats and how it affects his health. The only challenge I have right now with regard to his food choices is his snacking on soda and chips. It's still a work in progress and I thank his school for not allowing unhealthy snacks in the campus.

Is your child an unhealthy eater? Did you also experience the same diet shift phase? Hope you can share your experiences in feeding your child during this phase by leaving a comment to this post.


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13 comments :

  1. i think it is very common nowadays. i had the same problem when my kids were younger. so, i had to be very very patient with them..

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  2. You have be tougher to your son. Sometimes giving in to kids hurt them more.

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  3. I think this is becoming a big problem to mom's right now on how to make their kids really eat healthy foods.

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  4. My son is a picky eater too but  I make him eat veggies and fruits.  I am the boss when it comes to  food lol.  

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  5. you're not alone. when my 10 year old son was little, he used to eat even pakbet, paksiw and such, coz I f ed him whatever I ate. Now he would smell and stare at the food first before he taste it. He is living in chicken patties, spaghetti, corn dog, ham sandwich and sometimes pork adobo. Kids don't like veggies :)

    Liza Barnett

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  6. ohh,, i can relate, I sometimes find it hard to feed healthy foods to the little one 

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  7. Oh, I can feel you. I also have problem with my kids, they're picky eaters too. 

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  8. Same problem with my 10-year old son. He doesn't eat vegetable that much. Good thing I am able to force him to eat even just a little everytime I cook veggies. Yes, partly we parents are to blame as we have a huge part in carving their diet. Right now, I am trying my best to have at least 1 vegetable meal in a day.

    LadySoda

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  9. I am experiencing that diet shift with Ykaie and it's really hard to steer children away from fastfood, sweets and instant food!

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  10. Yaye! I finally got to comment. Amazing. Anyway, I am so sorry about the poor choices he has been making mommy. I do agree, we as mommies are to blame as well for this and we can do something about it. My little man once loved to eat veggies and fruits. When he gotten a bit older (he is turning 5) all of a sudden there is a short list of food that he eats now. He does eat rice with fish, chicken, noodles, some soup, homemade bread, and homemade cookies, pasta. Because of that, I have to be creative in the kitchen and when I am making bread, cookies, cake, and pasta I have to mix in some milled flax seeds, and pureed veggies for more nutrition. In pasta sauce I would pureed sweet potatoes or kamote and carrots. We don't eat a lot of junk food, but we do eat in moderation. We eat veggies a lot and we do really well with our food, but my man is just not into the veggies especially as of this time. I am hoping it will change when he gets older. I didn't use to like veggies as a kid, but I have grown to love it. He does like soup though so I make sure to make a lot of veggie soup and I would pour the broth in along with his rice. My little girl is not a problem when it comes to eating. She loves pretty much everything. She would munch on carrots, celery, lettuce and almost everything. :)

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  11. yes my son only eats chicken, and meat like adobo, menudo but can't eat veggie alone

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  12. that's why we have to train our children to eat more nutritious foods.

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  13. Bebengisms | Denise RayalaMarch 16, 2013 at 10:04 PM

    Oh noes, I think it's it's time to cut on our tocino intake. I love tocino pa naman. My 4-year-old daughter loves broccoli, squash, sayote and potatoes. She loves banana and mangoes. But we both love munching on chips and drinking soda. :/

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