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Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Two

Children ’s Health The Big, Fat Truth How we’re killing our kids with kindness With the rate of childhood obesity in Australia increasing at an alarming rate, it is now estimated that a quarter of Aussie kids aged between five and eleven are overweight or obese. Changes in lifestyle have made us busier, yet more sedentary. I think we can all admit that we ‘treat’ our kids with cake, ice cream and other such foods a little more than we should, in an attempt to make up for the lack of quality time we are able to give them. We are eating out more often and cooking less, and we’re consuming more packaged foods and not enough real, whole foods. Ironically, it seems ‘fast’ foods are actually slowing our kids down. So how can we change that? Well first, we must look at ourselves as parents and ask if we are doing all we can to equip our children with the right skills to make healthy, informed choices for their wellbeing? 50 years ago, it was commonplace for children to be involved in the daily preparation of meals. These kitchen skills were passed down from generation to generation and most children knew how to cook wholesome meals before they reached their teens. Sadly, it seems this practice is slowly dying, with few kids these days actively involved in household food preparation. Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day has recognised this declining trend and launched a worldwide initiative to encourage kids to take an interest in growing, preparing and enjoying home cooked meals in order to develop a positive attitude to health and food. The third annual Food Revolution Day was recently held on May 16, with more than 9,000 events hosted by ambassadors to the cause in over 120 countries across the globe. “Everyone knows that over the last few years I’ve been passionate about getting kids and young people to be taught to cook, whether in schools or at home,” says Jamie Oliver. “I believe that we all now have a duty to teach children to understand what food does to their bodies if we’re going to make any progress in tackling obesity and diet-related disease, that means governments, businesses, everyone. Now is the time to focus the energies of everyone involved in Food Revolution Day on teaching kids and keeping cooking skills alive at a time when we need them more than ever.” So how can you help your kids develop their own cooking skills? Well it can be as simple as just giving your toddler an empty bowl and wooden spoon to play with while you prepare dinner in the kitchen. As they get older, you can allow them to help out a little more with things like mixing, and eventually chopping (as soon as they’re capable of using a knife), before progressing to cooking a simple meal such as scrambled eggs. pm Kids in the Kitchen Get your kids involved in the cooking process and help them develop an understanding of where their food comes from. Here are some great, easy recipes that you can cook with the kids and refrigerate to pop into lunchboxes during those busy weeks! Pindara Magazine 58 Autumn - Winter | 2014


Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Two
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