by Tawyna Wagner

Created on: June 23, 2009   Last Updated: June 24, 2009

Children, and just as importantly their parents, should be working towards a more "natural" diet. Sadly, there are plenty of children, and adults alike, who aren't consuming nearly as many healthy foods as they should. Too many pantrys are stuffed full of processed, boxed cereals, snack foods and many other packaged products that offer very little nutrition and are loaded with nothing but additives, artificial colorings, flavors, and sugars (not the "natural" kind either). In our society today, people are too busy to take the time to prepare meals from scratch, like our grandparents used to do.

I've recently been reading back over my grandmother's journals, and all of them are loaded with entries about the garden. I remember spending many beautiful summer days helping to pick beans, husk corn and watching my grandmother can tomatoes and make pickles. My grandparents had a root cellar and I always begged to go down and gather potatoes from the bin. Those times not only kept us fed, but kept us close as a family as most of the work was done together. Today, we might have together time at the grocery store, but most of the items are bought from the middle aisles, where everything comes in a box or a plastic bag, and then we head home and pass right by the farmers market on the side of the road. And by doing so, we are removing ourselves from the process of food, how it grows and where it comes from. Many of us have little insight as to the origin of many of our meals.

Of course, the most important reason for children to eat natural foods is for to their nutritional value. However, there are other valuable reasons to introduce your little ones to natural foods right from the start.

First of all, it's easier for their little bodies to process foods without additives and preservatives that aren't natural for anyone's body. It also helps them to develop a taste for those foods. Starting your child off with natural fruits and vegetables and offering them on a regular basis will help to mold their eating habits. It is especially important when their taste buds mature and they look for different textures and want to try new things. If you give your 3 year old a bowl of artificially flavored cereals full of refined sugars, you'll be introducing a whole world of unnatural sweetness that can contribute to their getting bored with the wholesome natural cereals that lack those added sugars.

Also, by allowing your children to be involved in the process of preparing a meal you will be teaching them to appreciate it more. The texture and color of each vegetable, the smell of each freshly sliced piece of fruit will be much more appealing when they had a hand in bringing it to the table. A child that helps to cut up a pepper will be more likely to want to eat it. By having meals that consist of natural foods you will be teaching your child what eating is really about; feeding your body to keep it healthy.

Children are like sponges and it's our job as a parent to teach them healthy habits. By making smart choices ourselves and including them in those choices, we have a better chance of raising them to be more conscious of what they put into their bodies.

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