It was just a bit past 8 a.m. when my 9-year-old son, Charlie, decided three leftover slices of pizza were the perfect breakfast. Still clad in his favorite superhero pajamas, his little belly peeked out as he reached for the microwave.
“Whoa there, champ! Pizza isn’t breakfast,” I said, raising my hands in protest.
He started frantically pushing buttons, likely hoping that if he could just get that microwave going, I’d give in. But I wasn’t having any of it. I practically had to wrestle the pizza back from him. If I’m honest, a month ago, I might have let him enjoy his cheesy breakfast while discussing why it wasn’t the best choice. My partner, Lisa, and I had recently decided to tackle our kids’ eating habits because, let’s face it, they mirrored our own poor choices.
For transparency’s sake, I have a soda problem, and Lisa has a serious sweet tooth. Breakfast for me often means cereal—definitely not the whole grain kind, more like the marshmallow-filled varieties. I’ll give Lisa some credit; she does manage to incorporate fruits and veggies into her daily meals. As for me? I tend to avoid them unless they happen to be lurking around when the kids are watching.
Growing up, I was a notoriously picky eater, and that trait has stuck with me into my 30s. I’ve expanded my palate a bit since childhood, but I still prefer bland, unexciting food. For a long time, I accepted my picky eating as my own problem. But now, as I watch my child pick up my bad habits, I’m starting to realize it’s time to change.
As I put the pizza back in the fridge, Charlie shot me a look that screamed “hypocrite.” He’s almost 10, which means he’s entering that preteen phase where he’s questioning everything. I found myself holding an energy drink in one hand, which, sure, was marketed as a breakfast option and had a whopping 5% juice, but he wasn’t buying it. “Can I have soda for breakfast then?” he shot back, and I let out an exasperated sigh.
There was a time when he wouldn’t have connected the dots like that; he would have simply accepted my authority. But here we are, with him recognizing the double standards. “No, you can’t,” I replied, but his eyes lit up with mischief. “Why do you get one?” he countered, and I suddenly felt the weight of my own hypocrisy.
I thought back on all the times I’d snuck snacks after the kids had gone to bed. How many times had I indulged in ice cream while pretending to be the model parent? It was a wake-up call. If I wanted my kids to embrace healthier eating habits, I needed to step up my game.
With a reluctant sigh, I compromised. “Fine! I’ll save it for later,” I said, half-hoping he’d accept that. But then he hit me with, “Do I get one later?” He was onto me; he knew the rules. He was allowed one soda a week while I was consuming way more than that daily. So, with a heavy heart, I poured my energy drink down the drain.
To my surprise, Charlie didn’t look at me with respect or admiration. He looked at me with a hint of fear, realizing I was serious about this. Together, we opted for a bowl of cereal—not the sugary stuff, but the whole grain variety. As we sat there munching, neither of us was thrilled about our healthier choice, but we both understood it was the right thing to do.
That’s the ultimate challenge of parenting. If you want your child to grow up better than you, you have to be better yourself. Sometimes, making those changes is tough, but it’s necessary.
In conclusion, instilling good habits in our children often means we need to reflect on our own behaviors and make some adjustments, even if it’s not what we want.
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