Me vs. Rap in the battle against unhealthy food choices

One of the problems I have had in raising my son is his fussiness over certain types of food. As you may have read in my previous posts, my boy has a long list of food that he will neither smell nor taste. He keeps his choices limited and he’s afraid to try out new meals. He's not much into vegetables and fruits and he wouldn't dare to eat tomato-based dishes. He can also choose to starve himself instead of him eating food he doesn't like.

Living near a fastfood restaurant definitely doesn't help me win this battle.

He's not like this when he was still a toddler. In fact, when he was still a year old, he would eat raw tomato just like it was an apple. And people would commend us for teaching our child to eat healthy food at an early age. Those were the days. As Rap turned four years old and started going to school, he underwent a diet shift and started to choose unhealthy food over the nutritious stuff I serve on the dinner table.

The only time that you can get him to eat fruits is when it's served  with crepe or pancakes.

I admit I'm partly to blame in all of these because I easily gave in to what my boy wanted to eat. He didn't like sandwiches so his baon would often be sweet cookies and fruit juices in Tetra Pak because I wanted him to eat while he's in school. I didn't want him to go hungry because I know that he'll be missing out on the nutrients that he's supposed to get from food. If he doesn't like our ulam, I would fry chicken nuggets for him. Para wala nang away. I didn't want to force feed my child. What I didn't know back then was that I didn't really help him get the nutrients he needed. Akala ko noon, basta busog ok na.

Not much of a sweet tooth but he goes gaga over donuts.

My child's diet shift phase was a really challenging time for me. First, my boy's unhealthy food choices took a toll on our food budget. I needed to allot money for the food that he liked which was usually more expensive than fish, fruits, and vegetables. Second, I take the blame whenever he would get sick. My mom would scold me because Rap was thin and was not eating healthy food. That stage was also the same time when he was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease. Older relatives even told me that it's because of all the tocino and instant pancit canton that I let my child eat. Imagine how depressing that time was for a young mom like me!

Limiting his soda and chips intake is still a work in progress. 

I'm happy that Rap has started to widen his food choices and now eats green, leafy veggies and fish.. Now that he's 12, he has become conscious of what he eats and how it affects his health. The only challenge I have right now with regard to his food choices is his snacking on soda and chips. It's still a work in progress and I thank his school for not allowing unhealthy snacks in the campus.

Is your child an unhealthy eater? Did you also experience the same diet shift phase? Hope you can share your experiences in feeding your child during this phase by leaving a comment to this post.


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