Geerthana Uthayakumar Growing up, I always disliked sports and gym class. Anyone that grew up with me knows that. It wasn’t because I was lazy or that I didn’t know the importance of exercising regularly, I just preferred to draw or read. My parents always exercised and ate healthy and tried their best to teach us to do the same but when you’re a kid things don’t always click in right away. As a late teen I decided to join the gym and I loved it. I worked out nearly every day, not really to lose weight but to tone my body and gain strength, and I can honestly say that I was in the best shape of my life. A few years down the road, I became pregnant with my daughter and continued to eat healthy and exercise. It was when I became pregnant with my son and complications arose, that I gave up going to the gym. I literally had no time. I was studying full-time, tutoring, and I was a wife as well as a mother to an 8 month old baby. My son is almost three years old now and I haven’t seen the inside of a gym in four years.
The following is a list of the top ten excuses I have made over the years:
Although I haven’t been making the best lifestyle choices for myself, I make sure that my children eat healthy and that they get enough exercise. I prepare fresh, healthy meals daily, I make sure my kids eat three well-balanced meals per day and I make sure all their snacks are healthy. I often come up with healthy muffin recipes and home-made granola recipes for my kids to snack on. I introduce a variety of healthy foods into the diet. I feed them an all organic diet most of the time, except for treats and when we go out. I limit their sugar intake and only give them treats occasionally. I limit their time in front of the television and take them to the park, on walks, and bike-riding instead. My daughter goes to ballet classes and I will be signing my son up for soccer lessons as soon as he turns three. My hope is that if I influence my children positively as they grow, they will continue to make healthy choices on their own.
Even though I do all this, I know I am missing a big part of the equation. At the moment I certainly am not a good role model when it comes to eating or exercising. My kids are growing up and soon they will notice that I don’t practice what I preach when it comes to healthy lifestyle choices. Recently my daughter asked me why I don’t eat breakfast and I lied to her. I told her that I eat before she wakes up. Then I quickly realized I was not only not eating breakfast but I was lying as well. I realized that I needed to make changes. It’s not going to be easy, but I am going to take it one step at a time. Knowing that my children will benefit as a result, is all the motivation that I need.
Hi ModernDayBrownMom
I agree with the importance of raising healthy, active kids along with being an exemplary role model. I am a mom of two kids (ages 5 and 3) with another on the way and there is definitely not enough hours in the day! My kids are enrolled in many extra-curricular activities and sports and I try to hit the gym with them (most gyms have mini-gyms/child care) in hopes that they will continue to be active as they grow up.
I am still learning how to prepare healthy meals that will appeal to their taste buds at the same time. Do you have any go-to meal recipes that are a hit at home? Keeping active is easy for us but healthy eating is still difficult for my kids. We try to prepare meals using organic food and limit their treats but any kid friendly healthy recipes that you use at home would help steer me into the right direction. Thanks!
Hi Arichana,
You are an amazing role model to your children! I am amazed that you can juggle all those extra-curricular activities and sports lessons, while being pregnant. Congratulations on your third child!
You are right, preparing healthy meals is easy but getting kids to eat is definitely a difficult task. My children are very picky eaters, especially my daughter. When I introduce something new I have a rule that they must try it, even if it is just one bite. Then I prepare the same meal the following week and the week after that week, and eventually they get used to it and learn to enjoy eating it. If your children don’t like seeing vegetables in their food, you can try to disguise them. Right now my daughter hates seeing anything green on her plate, particularly broccoli, so I steam broccoli, puree it, and then mix it into pasta sauce. I also add carrot and cauliflower puree to mashed potatoes. I am currently working on my recipe part of the blog. I don’t have recipes written down, so I am trying to write them down as I prepare them now. I hope this helps for now.