Tips For Raising Healthy & Happy Kids

Rujuta Diwekar's Notes to Healthy Eating Kids, in a nutshell

Healthy eating! As essential as it sounds, it is so hard to achieve the true meaning of these two words for kids today. So what do we do to ease your pain mama? We went down the book aisle and picked the book that most parents have been raving about! Celebrity nutritionist and author Rujuta Diwekar knows lifestyle and food the best, so in Rujuta we trust! This blogpost is an attempt to explain the wisdom of Notes to Healthy Eating Kids, in a nutshell! Let’s get learning!

In this book, Rujuta in her trademark style describes the various factors that are impacting the health of today's children. Parent’s shouldn’t be too hard on themselves and take on the blame entirely, It is a systemic failure due to poor regulations, biased policies and lack of efforts from the Government.

Equal importance must be given to the 4 most crucial factors that contribute to the good health of any child : nutrition, exercise, physical activity and sleep. Apart from addressing parents on the importance of each of these aspects, there are also chapters that elderly kids and teens can read and relate to. Rujuta has also shared some interesting anecdotes from her interactions with her clients. The one on oats noodles with veggies cracked us up. The most eye opening bit is when she calls out the amounts of sugar and other artificial ingredients in packaged "health drinks" like Horlicks, Bournvita etc. Something that most Indian mothers and grandmothers believe to be quintessential in a child's diet. Towards the end of the book, Rujuta has listed down all packaged foods and she advises not to exceed 1-2 times a month. This includes packaged cheese cubes, yes, the ones which go into the snack box every single day. Time to break free from these bad boys.

Today the definition of healthy food has changed from our grandma. As the author quotes, “Parenting means teaching our children to eat in a way in which food doesn’t consume them.”

Food lessons we love :

• Eat local, seasonal and traditional fruits and vegetables.
• Involve the child (better, entire family) in food making, creating a culture of value for food.
• Don’t coerce them into eating more or increasing their appetite. Children will never appreciate what’s on their plate if they are completely disconnected from it, so start involving them in the kitchen.
• 3 S’s (sit, switch odd, senses) of eating. Sit relaxed, in sukhasana. Switch off all gadgets. Aware of Senses. I can put it as a way of mindful eating.
• Finish eating dinner before 8 pm
• 90 minutes of free play every single day. If you live in smaller confined houses like those in Bombay, figure out something to encourage your child to step outdoors and play often.
• Involving kids with chores and tasks at home is extremely important to enable them to become more self-reliant and independent. 

Milk, lentils, and veggies are not compulsory! WHAT ?

• Most parents fear about the inadequacy of food consumed by a child. A fear that food industry feeds on. 
• Other sources of calcium that we often forget are are ragi, moringa, til chiki, besan ladoo, a handful of nuts, sundals, etc.
• The key to calcium absorption and assimilation is activity and exercise. 
• Kids disliking dal, can go for chana, rajma, sundal and usal.
• Cooking veggies the traditional ways can’t be stressed on enough.
• Add traditional halwa, barfis, and ladoos for vitamins and minerals.

Food mantras for healthy kids

• Nothing out of package for meal.
• No plastic tiffin boxes or bottles. (This was highlighted even during the 12-week fitness program. A big no to Veggies wrapped in plastic.)
• Mindful eating.
• No chocolates/ice creams post dinner.

Parent’s take notes

• Exercise. A minimum of 150 minutes a week.
• Walk to school. 
• Encourage participation in sports.
• Take holidays.
• Play during all types of weathers.

Parents have to be that perfect example for the kids to be able emulate. It is way more impactful to the kids when parents lead by example, rather than by mere preaching. Instead of constantly aping the West and introducing exotic ingredients into your pantry, look to grandma's wisdom. The healthiest food options for our Indian lifestyle lie in Indian food. And an important lesson for all parents who want their children to grow up making healthy food choices, it’s done best when you start educating them and involving those very foods in both your and their daily diet from the earliest possible stage of their lives.