Today there are so many food choices it is sometimes difficult to navigate a trip to the grocery store, not to mention trying to find healthy food choices,especially if we have kids in tow.   We hope to help you navigate through your local grocery store and give you some basic advice about shopping for healthier food options and which products our families love.

If you have not ever watched the show that was on TLC last year called, Honey, We're Killing the Kids you should look it up on www.tlc.com. The show brought a nutritionist and family counselor into the homes of many different families and showed each family what the effect of poor eating, the lack of exercise and the family's current lifestyle would do to the family's kids in 10, 20, 30, 40 years and the results were terrifying. As the kids were shown at different ages using a computer program and gathered data, the kids looked heavy and older than their ages (in many cases the kids are already having health issues at the age of 6,10,14. The Show helped the families learn to eat healthier, get rid of the junk food and unhealthy foods, get exercise and limit screen time for tv and video games.

The show is a perfect example of what is happening to most of America - we are depriving our kids of the healthy foods they need to grow and giving them foods that hurt their bodies (unhealthy foods, sugary drinks, and fast food ... most of these food have little or no health benefits and tons of adverse effects.) Often parents do not seem to realize the harm they are causing to their children now and in the future just by making poor or no food choices for their kids.

I want to provide you with some basic ideas to go from what you may currently be giving your family to eat and how you can start giving them healthier options.

Parents often say, “I hope when my child goes off to college or moves out they make the right decisions.” Or “I hope they can take care of themselves.” 

What I would say to those parents is- it is the early lessons they learn from us that allow them to succeed in life.

This is not an article coming from an academic but rather a parent that wants the best for her own children and who was a child and has grown into an adult and observed hundreds of others move through these stages with varying degrees of success.

First of all, the truth is that the earlier we start teaching our children important lessons and give them responsibility, the easier it will be to continue those lessons as our children reache their teenage years and approach their twenties.

If we want to raise a child that will be a responsible, productive adult, who can take care of themself, we need to start paying attention to the messages we are giving our children even when they are very young. 

Of course, we should put having fun and allowing kids to explore their worlds first, but we should be slowly introducing money management, teamwork, household responsibility, ownership and social cooperation to our children.

Start Teaching Lessons Early
 By the time your child is 3 you can already have them help you with easy tasks around the house.  When you are doing laundry, allow your child to help you.  Let them help carry the clothes or put them in the dryer or help you pour the detergent in the washer.  It is fun to help mom at that age and without even saying anything you are starting to lay the foundation for teamwork, cooperation and household responsibility.