Fish has been known as brain food for decades, if not longer. Now we have the science to prove it. The WHO and FAO jointly recommend that pregnant and nursing mothers eat seafood twice a week to optimise brain and nerve development in the growing fetus and infant.

For toddlers and older kids it’s all about creating healthy habits. Whatever food kids learn to enjoy will be the food they most likely choose once they leave home. Teach your kids to love seafood. Don’t give up at the first screwed up nose. Set an example. Make it a habit. How about making Friday ‘Fish Day’?

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. This was the saying I pondered as I watched six nerf gun battle-weary, soccer saturated boys devour lollies and lemonade at my son’s tenth birthday party. The low fat, high fibre, extremely economical, home-popped popcorn sat like a big white elephant on the picnic rug. The fresh strawberries and peeled mandarins fared slightly better but only after the lollies had almost gone. Despite being the middle of winter it was a glorious sunny day at the park right on Sydney Harbour. The boys were hot and thirsty but none wanted the water I’d brought. After a glass of half juice, half lemonade most of them wanted straight lemonade – unadulterated by anything remotely healthy.

What’s a health conscious mum to do?

Childhood Obesity Awareness Month Blog Carnival

This article was written for inclusion in the blog carnival hosted by http://www.littlestomaks.com to promote awareness of childhood obesity as part of the National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. Please read to the end of this article to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

Last week my cousin and his 10 year-old son popped over to say hi. It’s been eight months since I last saw them. My cousin looked pretty much the same but I hardly recognised his son.

“Have you lost weight?” I asked him in the understatement of the year. He grinned and said proudly, “I’ve lost 11 kilograms since Christmas!” Eleven kilos is a lot for anyone to lose but for a ten-year-old kid it’s like almost a quarter of his body weight!

The change was incredible – not just in his external appearance but within himself. He was more relaxed and confident. His dad confirmed it. “Recently we went rock-climbing and he raced to the top faster than anyone else. In the past he has always struggled. Each time he finds he can do something really well that in the past he struggled with, it boosts his confidence even more.”

I don’t buy crisps and hardly ever feel like eating them but put me in front a bowl of them and I can’t help myself! It’s even worse with a glass of wine and a few friends around. The ambiance, the conversation… before I know it I’ve mindlessly gobbled up hundreds of kilojoules and a few good spoonfuls of fat. It’s all to do with proximity.

So if it works with crisps, why not vegetables? This is the question that researchers at Cornell University recently answered with a resounding YES. Move the salad bar so it’s more ‘in your face’ and the kids eat more salad. Such a simple move, and not a mention of 5-a-day, antioxidants or any other cleverly crafted health coercement (not sure if that is a word but it sounds good!)

But hold on, don’t us mums already do that at home? We innately understand proximity. We chop an extra carrot, a few extra vegetables and pop them in front of the kids to allay the pre-dinner whining. We chop up fruit and put it on the table – and it gets eaten. If we told our kids to go eat an apple or a carrot, they would hardly jump at the idea. But when it’s placed in front of them most kids gladly eat it – especially if there’s nothing else on offer. I’ve found it works with husbands too.

So before the researchers and big business spend any more millions on working out how to get kids to eat their food, perhaps they could leave work early and see how it’s done in their own home!