Last weekend we had our Gym friends – Mayur and his wife Snehal visit us for dinner. Mayur is a fitness freak, whereas Snehal is a foodie! Needless to say, both inspire each other to exercise regularly and also try variety of foods! They are one amazing and lively couple! They have a 5-year-old super-energetic son named – Yashvardhan!

The chit-chats swung around many topics! We went from discussing about our school, the schooling in current times; the nature of our respective spouses; good food joints; their village home; habits and routines of our parents; career switching; geo-politics; and so on! Since both enjoy their fitness, that discussion wasn’t neglected at all. We spoke extensively about Food, Diet and importance of routine!

Snehal mentioned one very interesting thing that Mayur does with Yashvardhan! She said, “Yash many times craves for junk food. Ofcourse we tell him that it is harmful. Though he is too little to give up completely on junk food and chocolates.” She continued, “So Mayur does something interesting. He tells Yashvardhan to have proper meal first and then feast on whatever junk he craves for.”

Mayur added, “So if he wants to eat Cake, I tell him to first eat what is cooked at home and then I will order for him or take him out to eat. This way he doesn’t kill his hunger through junk food, but with healthier options.”

My instant thought was – It’s a wonderful thing to do! It is impossible to keep kids away from tongue-tasty food, how much ever unhealthy it is. But we need to set boundaries for them. When they are small it is hard to explain. This mantra can work wonders with kids – they can have some part of meal as healthy and rest can be junk. That junk is to satiate their tongue and not their stomach.

As a part of parenting, I think it is extremely crucial to give them good habits. Food is a very essential part of their growth. If they eat healthy, their body becomes stronger from within and has multiple advantages. But this ofcourse needs time, patience and effort from the parents. The habits need to be honed.

Unfortunately, parents today don’t have time. They are occupied in their own world. Many think that parenting is to be done in the free time they have, and in other times the school, or maids are the ones who will teach them everything. My dear reader, this is the biggest myth we have. Our children will get right habits and attitudes only when we as parents shape them and not others!

Food is an extremely important part of parenting! Like Mayur and Snehal we need to be creative and ensure our children eat more healthy than junk!