Fuel those kids up!

It’s been 10 years today. 10 years since my son Jaia was born, and changed my life. Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing if he hadn’t come into my life. I probably wouldn’t be the FROG lady, and perhaps I wouldn’t be so convinced about eating organic. But kids change you. For the better.

Being responsible for another Be-ing really makes you consider your next move doesn’t it. A teacher from the kids school asked me what we did at home to have two such good kids- now don’t get me wrong- I nearly fell over when she asked! Obviously she hasn’t hung out at our place to see what goes on behind closed doors- for anyone that has collected from the Pialba pick up point (my house) around witching hour on a Thursday where there is a mix of tired parents and hungry kids, would surely know that our house sounds as crazy, chaotic and dysfunctional as the next house with kids… but she did get me thinking… the only answer I could come up with, after a long pause was “I guess we’re actively trying not to screw them up”. I figured that summed it all up. We’re not perfect, we don’t expect our kids to be perfect, but we are trying.

One of those ways would be with food. We actively do our very best to feed the kids the best food we can. We’ve done that since the day Jaia went onto solids, and soon after his sister Anais- hence how FROG came into our lives. It hasn’t always been easy, especially living in a world that promotes fast, convenient, chemical laden packaged foods as the norm, but I don’t have a problem with saying ‘No’, and it seems I’ve always chosen to go the other way from the pack.

With Jaia it started with choosing a Waterbirth at home (you can read my Birth Story here) and it proceeded from there. The Baby Care Nurse at the community centre labeled me Earth Mother, probably because with every suggestion she gave me, I would seek an alternative, more natural approach. If my kids wanted to be ‘normal’ they were doomed from the start. These days, my answer to the kids when they complain about their place in this world is “You chose me to be your mum”. That seems to put an end to the conversation quite quickly.

But seriously, if we don’t feed and nourish our kids, how can we complain when they have behavioral issues or learning difficulties. We need to make sure that their growing bodies (and most importantly their guts!) are given the right fuel, and as parents that is our duty. Getting there will always be a journey, but we need to start somewhere and carry on trying. I sometimes cringe when I look back on my own health journey. It’s hard to believe there was a time when I worshipped the, now very questionable, ‘healthy’ food pyramid and low fat (aka sugar laden) foods. Since then my beliefs have evolved and changed dramatically and our house is now very much more on the low carb, low sugar, high fat, butter on everything side of life, and man it tastes sooo good!

Some people will disagree with the food choices we make in our house, and I’m not trying to convince anyone that my way is better, but it feels right to us and that’s the main thing. Our kids are growing up into healthy, clever little human beings and I know that whatever their journey in life will be, they will do it with good foundations. Yes I know there will come a time in the not too distant future that they’ll be joining the rest of them in line at the tuck shop- filling themselves full of crap (Yes mum, I admit that I spent many dollars on sugar-laden Chelsea buns and Giant Jaffas when I was in my teens), but being given the knowledge of what it feels like to be healthy from the outset, I know that they will be connected enough to their bodies needs to make the correct choices- even if it does take a bit of experimenting. Just don’t tell me when they do it!