In This Issue

About Birth
     Cesarean Rate Hits a New High
The Secret Power
     Part Six, by Todd Schuchmann
Question of the Month
     Strength for Childbearing
Charis Cuisine
     Marinara Sea Spaghetti
Kids Korner
     Do you know what 'lucky' means?
Letters To The Editor
     Comments From Our Readers
Our Charis Family
     Passionaries
Tidbits from Ebony
    Elizabeth Returns to Ebony
Adventures in Madagascar
     Missions Trip Reminder

Newsletter Archives ~
Aug.  2006 Sept.  2006 Oct.  2006 Nov.  2006 Dec. 2006 Jan. 2007
Feb. 2007 Mar. 2007 Apr. 2007 May 2007 Jun. 2007 July 2007
Aug. 2007 Sept. 2007 Oct. 2007 Nov. 2007 Dec. 2007

Updates

Job Opportunity

Charis Childbirth Services is currently seeking an individual with experience in fundraising and/or grant-writing to serve as part-time fundraising coordinator. The job can be done from anywhere in the US; relocating is not necessary. If you are interested in interviewing for this position,            please         send         your         resume         to
administration@charischildbirth.org or 149 Business Park Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23462, attn: Charis Administration.

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Our Director's Heart


Rose and her Mommy, Kristin Schuchmann
 

Picky Eaters

If there was something you, as a parent, could do to decrease the chances of your children becoming picky eaters, would you do it? A resounding “YES” comes from those of us who have already had to fight the food battle with a picky eater, because we know the heartache involved! But then a sigh of disbelief follows because it seems as if that would be an impossibility. Aren’t some people just born picky?

A topic that comes up often in conversations among parents, and even in the birth classes I teach, is how to get children to like healthy foods. Since so many of you are interested, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a little of what I’ve learned over the years. I hope it will be as big a blessing to you as it has been to me!

First, yes, some people are just born picky. There are some people who are, by nature, more particular. You will recognize them as the toddler who can’t walk if her sock’s toe-seam isn’t in just the right place, or the one whose gag reflex is set off every time he eats something with the consistency of oatmeal. As a parent, you can’t change how your child is wired, but you can influence and shape his character AND his food preferences. Don’t believe me about the food preferences? Read on… (Your child’s character is another topic for another time-- today we will look at how to help your child “pick” healthy foods.)

Now, there are no guarantees that all your children will love a wide variety of healthy foods if you follow some system. What I am about to share with you are truths that will simply “stack the cards in your favor” of having children who are not picky eaters.

I am a picky eater. At this point in my life I just “pick” the right foods. But when I was a child, it was a different story. My parents never won a food battle with me that I’m aware of. In fact, Mom told me when I got older that their pediatrician told them not to even enter into the battle because it was hopeless. I remember only liking a few vegetables growing up: potatoes, corn on the cob (it had to be ON the cob), and the little beans inside the green beans. No kidding, I would open up the green beans and eat only the little beans inside, leaving the outside of the beans sitting on my plate. (I know my parents are chuckling right now as they read this, but it wasn’t funny at the time.) The only time I ate any other vegetable was when I was sick and I would ask my mom to cook some frozen spinach for me. I hated vegetables! But who could blame me? Back then, the way they were prepared was yucky! Overcooked, mushy, bland, no variety. One day when I was a teenager, however, I went out to a nice Chinese restaurant with my aunt where vegetables were prepared differently than I had ever before experienced. I ordered a dish that had broccoli in it that was slightly steamed, still a bit crunchy, and bright green. The flavor was great! I ate every last bite of my broccoli, I loved it, and I looked forward to eating at that restaurant again.

If you don’t want a kid like me (OK, that’s everyone!), then your job starts before you ever conceive your baby. It starts with your own food choices. If you want your children to love vegetables, for instance, then you need to love vegetables. If you don’t want your children to crave sugar, then you need to curb your own appetite for sweets. And the list could go on and on. You will be setting a good example for your children. (Let us know if you would like to start on ongoing discussion about healthier eating.)

The next step toward having a healthy eater is to eat well during your pregnancy. Not only will you be building a healthier baby, but you will be teaching your baby healthy food choices. You see, your amniotic fluid is flavored by what you eat, and your baby tastes it and drinks it. Your baby is learning to love the flavors of the foods you are eating, good or bad, while he is still in your womb! Isn’t that amazing? Even a “more particular” child could learn to prefer a variety of healthy flavors before she is born.

Your child can continue to learn to love a variety of foods even after he is born if you breastfeed! Think about it, formula has the same flavor every single time, but breastmilk is flavored by the food the mother eats and tastes different at each feeding. So if you eat lots vegetables, your milk will taste like those veggies and your baby will learn to like them… or if you eat lots of sweets and fast food, your baby will learn to be a junk food junkie. You see, you have more control than you thought!

Another way to encourage children to love healthy foods while they are infants is to avoid commercial baby foods and wait until they are old enough to chew and digest food to introduce solids. Now, before you start getting upset with me for going against what our culture in the USA tells us about how we should introduce foods, you should know that what I am about to share with you is backed by sound science, while many current popular practices are not. Do the research and find out for yourself. You’ll be fascinated! Your baby’s digestive system does not have all the necessary enzymes to adequately digest food until he is nearly a year old. By God’s perfect design, breastmilk comes packed with its own enzymes and contains all the nutrients and calories your baby needs. Introducing anything else just reduces the nutrients your baby receives because it replaces essential breastmilk with less-than-optimal food. Not only is it not the healthiest choice, commercial baby food teaches your child to prefer bland, pureed food, which is counterproductive to our goal of “stacking the cards in our favor” of avoiding having a picky eater. (If you would like to know how we recommend introducing solids in a healthy way, let us know and we’ll put it in a future newsletter.)

In the small laboratory of my home, we, as parents who wish to avoid having a picky eater, have found the recommendations for parents to eat healthy before, during, and after pregnancy; to breastfeed; and to avoid commercial baby food to work beautifully! My oldest, born when I was very young and still very much a picky eater picking the wrong foods, is the only one who has unhealthy eating habits. During my first pregnancy, I ate what most teens eat and I fed him formula and baby food. For the next three, however, I was much more informed and chose to be proactive in helping them to become good eaters. I followed the advice I have shared with you and am thrilled to testify that they are fantastic eaters, even the “more particular” ones. With very few exceptions, my clients over the years have reported great success as well.

How wonderful it is not to have to fight food battles with our children! And even better than that is the peace of mind that comes from knowing that our children, from a very young age, are making healthy food choices that will have a huge positive impact on their quality of life while on earth! It is great to know that they are GROWING UP STRONG, HEALTHY SERVANTS OF THE LORD!

Blessings to you in this worthwhile adventure!

~Kristin

 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and is not intended to take the place of medical care and advice from your health care provider.