We're locking the pantry

While kids are growing they go through these uncontrollable hunger/growth spurts, where they are eating all the time. The problem is they seem to only crave crap food. Crisps, biscuits, fizzy drinks or... In one word: snacks. Charlotte tells me she needs that because it makes her feel better when she's feeling rubbish. At what cost does comfort food come on? If we let this continue, not only is it already affecting her routine and moods but I fear Cedric might follow her.

What a human being does: once they learn how to benefit from something, that will become the go-to excuse for everything they feel like. So, after a year of this, we decided to put a lock on the pantry. You may find I’m being too harsh, even cruel. But I could be preventing the start of their overweight journey. I can't tell them yet. Charlotte would immediately say: "You and your negativity!"

Very much in line with my previous post on educated eating, we are guiding growing little creatures into healthy eating habits. Leaving them to fend for themselves is not an acceptable option, because we know that unguided they will make the wrong choices. Unfortunately for us parents, just talking them through what we know are healthy eating options is not enough. They hear, and they nod. But between their usual "eye-rolling know" and their actions there is a free will gap that will draw them into wrong choices.

I didn’t want to lock it but they gave me no choice. The alternative would be to stop buying treats because the kids have no control over themselves. I like my treats every so often too, and I always finish my meals (promise, Mum!).

One week into the pantry lock and our youngest already found something else to unlock the door with. Good thing he told us. At this point, I could not but feel double-proud: proud of his resourcefulness and for his honesty. This is the daily dilemma for all parents, trying to bring them up to decode the right choices without our help.) But diverging here…

Up until they were about 12 years old, talking was mostly effective. They follow our advice almost blindly. It's from this age that they meet other people and start to think they know everything and question everything we say as if it was our mission (or joy) to keep them away from all the good things in life. They struggle to understand that we are making good choices for them, not just picking on them all the time. And this is only because there is a misbelief that all that nothing healthy is tasty. But taste buds change and over time and they will eventually come to terms with that and relatively quickly feel the benefits of their healthy choices.