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Thanksgiving is in two days and by now, I'm sure you've been inundated with advice on how to make the holiday healthy. Do what you want but don't try to make your kids eat differently than they desire.
Yes, I'm arguing for a crappy eating day. A crappy eating day can actually be healthy if you follow a couple of guidelines. I'll get back to this in a minute. First I want to make a much more important point.
When parents struggle with their children over food, it can ruin the holiday for everyone. If your kids naturally gravitate towards the healthier foods or if they want to at a giant green salad before they even get to Grandma's house, then go for it. But forcing the issue? Sometimes healthy is the enemy of happy.
Let's remember that holidays are supposed to be happy. And while you may be worrying about getting along with Uncle Ed because he voted the "wrong" way, or anticipate Aunt Molly getting a little too jolly, if you know what I mean, your kids aren't worried about any of that. The only thing your kids are worried about, if they're worried about anything, is how much you'll fight with them over food. Don't.
You’re making memories for your children. If you’re fighting with them, then they’re fighting with you. And the fight will be (at least part of) the memory. And if grandparents secretly stuff your kids with sweets? That’ll be part of their memory too—the happy part.
America is a funny place. We glorify gluttony, then we demonize the deed. I've made this argument many times over the years, but I'm usually talking about Halloween. The same thing happens at Thanksgiving. We get excited by how much yummy food there will be. We talk about the pies. Then, we berate ourselves for indulging.
Here's an idea to consider: The more we talk up the importance of eating healthy food, the more attractive we make junk. This happens in a couple of ways. Vegetables get discussed in terms of health; brownies in terms of ooey-gooey goodness. We make vegetables the "gateway" to dessert. We fight with children on Thanksgiving about what they eat and the order in which they eat it.
And we drive unhealthy eating underground. Why do you think grandparents secretly pass the sweets to their grandchildren? Would you approve if you knew?
When it comes to holiday eating you should teach your kids 3 rules because, together, they produce healthy eating habits.
- Eat the food you love, not the food that's in front of you.
- Don't throw up. Pay attention to your tummy.
- It's better to cut back on sweets and treats before and after Thanksgiving than to carry on as normal during these "bookend" days and eat "healthified" foods on the holiday. Because, let's be honest, those "healthified" foods aren't that healthy.
I recently created a Happy Thanksgiving-ometer for my blog, It's Not About Nutrition. It's not meant to capture every category. It's an idea to drive home a point. Take a look and tell me what you think. And remember, it's not just your kids' happiness that concerns me. It's yours too. Happy Thanksgiving.
~Changing the conversation from nutrition to habits.~
A version of this post appeared previously on my blog, It's Not About Nutrition.
