Most parents I know want their kids to live long, healthy lives. OK…correction. ALL parents I know want their kids to live long, healthy lives. I’m sure there are parents who don’t, but I don’t know any, and if I did, I would un-know them very quickly.
I grew up eating Lucky Charms, Coco Puffs, Bagel Bites, Blue Bell ice cream by the half-gallon, and soda. Looking back to that epoch of my life based on what I know now, it’s hard for me to swallow the fact (pun intended) that I ate all those horrific foods ALL THE TIME.
But do I feel angry or resentful toward my parents?
Absolutely not. They were doing what they were told was healthy — lots of healthy whole grains, no fat, “moderate” amounts of soda and ice cream. They didn’t know any different, and I believe with all my heart that if they DID know different, my brothers and I would have been raised on healthier foods.
So those weren’t exactly great foods to grow up on. But am I alive and healthy today? Yes. Am I OK? Yes. Was I able to somehow graduate from college and convince a female to procreate with me? Barely, but that had more to do with my poor hygiene and personality than my overall health.
The point I want to make is that it’s really easy for the “healthy lifestyle blogger and aficionado” to point fingers and make statements and condemn foods and lifestyles that don’t produce healthy little humans.
It’s also easy for the parents who either haven’t yet had kids or are trying to have kids to get clued in to healthier ways of doing things and make changes BEFORE they bring little trolls into the world. Wonderful, cute, beautiful little trolls…but trolls nonetheless.
What’s not so easy is the mom or dad who has had a child for many years and has been feeding that child lots of “non-human” food from the beginning. For parents who want the best for their kids, that realization can lead to a lot of guilt. Sarah just posted some great thoughts on guilt here. Check it.
But here’s the thing. Don’t let that guilt put you on the defensive or make you conclude that “it’s too late” to make changes anyway.
Parents: has your kid ever skinned his or her knee or elbow — raise your hand. I should see EVERY hand in the air.
Right. So what happens a few days after the scrape and blood and nine adhesive strips and overly dramatic crying happens? Yeah. It heals. It goes away. All is well.
You know why?
Because the large majority of our bodies come factory stocked with incredibly intricate and amazing systems that drive our bodies to heal themselves.
You’ve probably heard the term homeostasis which is the state that your body is constantly striving to get back to. Blood pH, core temperature, blood sugar levels, and a billion other things are under a steady state of some type of action that is either going up to or down to that homeostatic state.
So you’re a parent that has recently found this website or The Simply Human Lifestyle website or one of a 1,000 sites out there that is preaching to you about eating real, human food, and you have had kids for a few years. You’re like, “what have I done!? I am not giving my kids everything they need! They’re going to die later this afternoon because of it!!!”
No. Don’t fret. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t feel guilty.
Today is a new day.
Your child is amazing. They have a little body that can heal itself and become strong and fight off sickness and play for days.
Start now. Make the change now. Don’t let anything other than the health of yourself and your children get in the way (like wondering what the neighbors or other family members might think).
You’re not a bad parent. You didn’t fail and are not failing at parenting. If you didn’t realize it, reading this post means that you are interested in making a change which means you are on the right track.
Your kids are going to be ok. You didn’t ruin them and anyone out to tell you that you have should be forced to try out for the Olympic ski jumping squad.
Make changes through nutrition, movement, sleep and playing that will ensure that your child or children have the best chance at living the longest, happiest life possible. I guarantee you they will thank you later.
To check out more of Mark’s work, be sure to go to his website Simply Human, follow him on Facebook, and listen to his Podcast.
You’re Not a Bad Parent — It’s Never Too Late is a post from Everyday Paleo – licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
SOURCE: Everyday Paleo – Read entire story here.
