Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:02 Hello, and welcome to the wonder Baba podcast. My name is Sheena Mitchell. I'm a pharmacist in mom of three. I'm here to chat all about child and family health. In this episode, I speak to Kathy Monahan from weaning.ie, about the importance of nurturing a positive relationship with food in your child. We started off speaking just about school packed lunches, but Kathy spent time explaining the children's food and snack market to me, which helped me so much to understand that fussy eating can be potentiated for financial gain by clever food marketing teams. We look at ways to limit the impact of this on your child's diet and chat about how lunch boxes and positive experiences with food in general can boost their health and confidence throughout their entire life. You will also be relieved to hear an uneaten lunch box is not the end of the world and the benefit of keeping your child's overall relationship with food. A positive one far outweighs the frustrations. I hope you enjoy this episode. If you enjoy listening to a wonder rapid podcast, I'd be really grateful if you could follow or subscribe and leave a review, it really helps to support the show. Thank you
Speaker 0 00:01:20 Today.
Speaker 1 00:01:21 I'm joined by Kathy Manhan from weening dot I E. Cathy is a mom of three and a senior pediatric dietician with over 15 years experience in C I temple street. Cathy's goals are to empower parents to encourage a lifelong positive relationship with food by removing the battles of guilt and concern of parents. Cathy provides weaning and toddler master classes and webinars, as well as one-to-one consultations. All of Kathy's information is based on scientific evidence. So you can trust the information that you get from Kathy. So Kathy, thanks so much for joining the, the podcast today. Can I just start off by asking you why you do what you do and why is supporting parents so important to you?
Speaker 2 00:02:04 Thanks very much for having me on first of all, great to be here. I always was interested in food and I suppose, nutrition, my mom was a home EC teacher. So I think it was always something that was just part of growing up at home. And it's not just, you know, nutrition, healthy, eating, whatever. It's the role of food in life in family life, in society, in mental health and not just mental health from nutrition, but mental health socially, uh, sitting around the table involvement, how important food is for socialization communication and things like that. So I think, I suppose the more I see food being kind of hijacked to perfection and, you know, and the more I see brands and marketing and everything coming in, you know, that motivates me to try and pull things back to family, life, being realistic, you know, say the baby food and beverage market, baby kids, snacks, whatever the, you know, it's one of the fastest food and beverage markets in the world.
Speaker 2 00:03:06 And, you know, the companies are getting away, you know, with making claims, uh, very expensive products for what you're getting, you know, so much research goes into packaging for, you know, to get into a bunch of boxes or get into your shopping troll. And it's costing parents fortune, you know, it's very much biased, you know, the marketing and the no guilt, no nasties, a hundred percent home cooked, blah blah. You know, they get, they're getting away with an awful lot. So the I'd say the, the food and beverage market for kids and babies is regulated in such a way. It won't give your child food poisoning, but it's not regulated in such a way that it's the best nutrition or the best socially or going to promote chewing. And, you know, there's, I suppose there's 24 steps to eating and it's to take a bigger picture, listen to ads, read labels and tags on things with are eyes wide open. And then I see different bloggers and things, you know, being paid by certain brands and supermarkets to do supermarket sweep. And you just see, you know, what, they're thrown into the trolley because they're getting paid to promote certain foods. You know, they're not doing what's best for children. It's obviously a QuickBook. And
Speaker 1 00:04:16 Do you think with the marketing of it all, I think maybe companies are taking advantage of the fact that modern families are extremely busy and stressed out because unlike previous generations, most families will have two working parents and be very time poor. So the time that may used to be spent in the kitchen, you know, and even just shopping and preparing regular simple food, we don't actually have time to do that as much anymore. So I
Speaker 2 00:04:49 Think because the marketing is coming in so young when our babies are so young and like, say we weaning, I do my weaning masterclass, but you know, so many parents are buying the recipe book for weening. You think you have, you know, when you're on maternity leave, you don't feel like you have any time, which probably have more time than when you go back to work and have more kids and whatever. And parents are starting with, with raising the bar too high. So, you know, it's like they're babies are being weaned in the, she burn with the menu of options <laugh> and whereas realistically, we need to lower the bar from the very beginning and relay in the foundations of food so that, you know, you're going into it with, okay. Uh, I have time now. I will not have time next year or the year after, or when they're in sport and after school and impression, whatever, what is the basic minimum that I need to achieve here?
Speaker 2 00:05:37 What nutrients do I do they need to get, uh, what is the, what are the quickest simplest foods dinners that I can make that meet their, be eats nutritionally rather than a Jean with whatever that you never eat yourself. You know? So if you're starting your child on a diet, you know, on food that you don't eat yourself, it's like teaching them Spanish when you speak English or, you know, so from the very beginning, I'm trying to promote that you, uh, eat the same foods that you eat together. That yes, we're all time poor. 100% we're. So time poor, we have to eat the same food. You know, it's sustainability say sweep it out. Doesn't grow in Ireland, but it's probably more popular among kids than ordinary potato. So, you know, our kids are being, say weaned on sweet potatoes and a few sweet potatoes grow in Ireland, but not enough to, to, so every single sweet potato that comes in is I imported our kids are being weaned on to avocado, but avocado doesn't grow in Ireland. So, you know, we really need to get back to basics and be in realistic. And, uh, I suppose when it comes to school lunches and things like that, start by look thinking about what did you have in your school, lunch growing up,
Speaker 1 00:06:45 Easy single sandwiches. That was it. <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:06:48 And did it scare you for life or has it impacted your
Speaker 1 00:06:51 Still up for debate? Kathy
Speaker 2 00:06:53 Has impacted
Speaker 1 00:06:56 Well, yeah, cause that's exactly actually why I wanted to talk to you because obviously anytime the kids are going back to school, it feels like a big reshuffle in life. And you know, you have to kind of gear up between organizing the uniforms and the books and everything, and then you're into lunches. And you know, a lot of children at home might have been picking different things over the summer. And you really are down to the fact that you need to get a basic, good lunch into them. Just like you said, there, stripping it back to simplicity is probably absolutely the best thing to do. But it's hard at the moment with, I suppose, social media have such a big role in our lives because we see all these amazingly curated lunch boxes filled with like, I dunno, Kuku one day hummus, the next mine. Like, all I can get my head around is yeah. Sandwiches. But I often look, even as I suppose, a mom who focuses a lot on healthcare and everything, I still get the guilt when I see these amazing culinary delights that the kids are bringing in and out to school.
Speaker 2 00:08:07 And at the same time, the person with the culinary delights that is their job to, you know, their page is about culinary delights and that is them creating content. So you know that that's not real life either. That's their job, you know? So if perhaps they're great at lunch boxes, but if they're, if their content was about a clean house, they'd have different pictures, you know? So
Speaker 1 00:08:28 Yeah, absolutely makes sense. Yeah. And so actually I didn't think about it like that and I work online. You'd think I'd see through it a bit more, you kind of just think, oh, look at that. Everyone's doing amazing things. Apart from me, back in the day, I was lucky to get an easy single sandwich and a bit of fruit. Yeah. And I think the school gave us a car and a milk for some reason. I think there might've been a Capri sun in there somewhere, but later, I don't even remember there ever being a choice about food or a
Speaker 2 00:08:56 Battle or any chat about it. No, it wasn't chat about it. Like, so it's,
Speaker 1 00:09:00 I don't, I don't remember ever having a problem with what I was given. I was always just that's lunch and that was happy.
Speaker 2 00:09:05 So it's always, this time of year, this food lunch chat comes up and you know, it is really look at your feed, how many supermarkets or brands have little snacky things that are trying to get into your shop and try to get into your lunchbox. So, you know, that is fueling it all as well. So whatever you put in the lunchbox, try and take it out of the rappers, if you are putting in, you know, so say, am I putting in a flapjack or, you know, sometimes I'll have ones that I've made myself, but you know, sometimes they'll be bought ones, but I never put it in, in the wrapper, always take the wrapper out because kids are brand loyal. So, uh, try and remove the packaging. So kids who get fussy will generally, and fussiness is nearly part of development. It's part of I covering the toddler master class.
Speaker 2 00:09:47 It's part of we get, uh, I suppose more aware of the world. And as we get more aware of the world, we get fearful to change. And, you know, kids only like things or like things to be familiar and like less surprising. So the beige foods always look the same. So say crackers always look the same. Always are the same shape, always same color, whatever pancakes, same color, same shape, reliable, no surprises, any of the bars out of packets, you know, the expensive kitty bars look the same, same package, same colors, no surprises. So, but then when you put in a strawberry, it could be a big strawberry, a little strawberry, it could be a mushy banana, a hard banana green banana. The sandwich could be brown bread, white bread, a roll, a bagel, you know, it changes wheres. The packet stuff always stays the same. So natural for our kids to prefer the packet stuff because it doesn't change. So one way of, uh, removing the brand loyalty is, you know, taking things outta packets, especially for the more extreme fussy eaters, you know, at least by taking things, outta packets, your kid, isn't walking through the supermarket and demanding that goes into the trolley. And
Speaker 1 00:10:52 That's very interesting,
Speaker 2 00:10:53 Kind of.
Speaker 1 00:10:53 Yeah, because I know myself with my own kids, there's certain things that they just run for because I know I've fallen down the trap before of the heavily marketed snack, I suppose, empire that sits on our supermarket shelves. I feel like some of those things are almost addictive. Like, I don't know if it's maybe the sugar content from being processed or whatever. I think there's an element of the flavor is so strong maybe compared to regular natural food. And,
Speaker 2 00:11:24 And it looks more fun as well because it has a Teddy bear on it and it has nice colorful things and it, you know, it has, it has a marketing team behind it. Whereas an apple doesn't have a marketing team behind it. Yeah. So automatically
Speaker 1 00:11:38 It's, it's more appealing. Yeah. And do you think, I suppose the difference between the children of today and the children of say the seventies and eighties, what's changed that their diet is so different or that they're like, maybe they're not fussier. Maybe it's just that they have more choices. And as you said, it's an interesting point that, you know, toddlers and young kids like control and maybe it's just, yeah, I dunno. It's it's well,
Speaker 2 00:12:09 Like when we were growing up, food was far more basic and similar, so it was probably meat and two veg meat, potato two veg in most households. So it didn't change a whole lot. And you know, there was no ads on the tele for food in between things. There was no ads popping up on their tab, on our tablets telling us what to eat. There was no sports day sponsored by different brands or, you know, so it's the outside influences like part of my weaning class is to, before you start your child on solid, have a think about what you're actually trying to achieve. Is it a child that likes the same food that you like is your aim that it looks good or that they have a happy relationship with food. And they're happy to sit at the table with you and share foods with you and things like that. So you kind of decide, okay, I'm in the driving seat here, or I'm going to take in every message that's said to me, and that's gonna stress me the hell out.
Speaker 1 00:13:00 I think that's huge. And it really is cuz setting your standards too high in Italy because obvi obviously every mom wants the best for their child. And I know when I had my first daughter, I killed myself, making her beautiful <laugh> GOME, fresh cooked food that, you know, wasn't sustainable.
Speaker 2 00:13:22 Oh, you probably didn't eat yourself.
Speaker 1 00:13:24 No, I did not. <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:13:25 Yeah. Remember one, one mum telling me that you, you know, a very popular baby recipe book, like did fussy, you know, fuss eating to the level it is today. Did it exist before weening and baby recipe books came, came out because our kids are being started on food that we don't eat ourselves. You know, we're setting ourselves up to make different dinners. We're setting ourselves up to have no time to cook two different meals. We're setting ourselves up to go, oh my God, we won't do that. And we'll have to use a frozen beta. You know? So from the very beginning, laying the foundations, deciding how things are going to be, and it's kind of short term pain, long term gain. Yeah. Industry wants your child to be fussy so that you'll keep buying their stuff.
Speaker 1 00:14:07 Yeah. It's dark really. When you think about it, well,
Speaker 2 00:14:10 It's true. Like if, if your, if your child eats what you eat, that's no used to. Yeah. Uh, baby snack food companies or baby.
Speaker 1 00:14:17 Yeah. If you have gotten to the point, so, you know, you've maybe raised your child on amazing culinary delights. And then as they've progressed through toddlerhood and are starting school, they've become a lot more fussy. And you're now at the point where you're struggling to, I suppose, provide them with a lunch. That's going to give them the health benefits to improve their concentration and focus at school.
Speaker 2 00:14:46 But lunch is only one meal in the day. So like lunch does not a balanced diet make, you know, know. Yeah. If you're focusing on each meal, you know, you're trying to micromanage what your child is eating. So you can't judge your child's diet by one meal or one day, or, you know, it's, it's like what happens over the month? What happens over the week? What happens over the year? Sometimes they'll eat outta house and home. Sometimes they won't, but it's not your job to micromanage. What goes into their belly. You know, your job is to provide the food and then they decide whether to eat it. And realistically in school and childcare, you know, they have about 30 minutes lunch, about five minutes of that is eating time and they have to get outside. And I think since COVID, maybe it has changed now in schools, but for a while there, anyway, it was, you know, the yard time had to be segregated.
Speaker 2 00:15:33 So it was on a clock and okay, you have 10 minutes outside and then you're back in. And you know, so eating, I suppose, is supposed to be a relaxed, enjoyable time to chill out, but schools don't have that option. So if your child's lunchbox comes home on eating, it mightn't be through any, you know, it's just circumstances sometimes that they're so busy talking, they haven't got time to come down to relax and eat their lunch. That it's just the classroom. So busy and teachers their under pressure to get them in, get them out, get them. And so don't judge everything based on one meal.
Speaker 1 00:16:06 So if they come home, their lunch is untouched. Is it a case that you can then offer them time and space, you know, to eat that when they come home or even, I dunno, bowl of soup or something like, is it the end of the world if they just really are only picking at their lunch during the day? No,
Speaker 2 00:16:23 That isn't at all.
Speaker 1 00:16:24 See, that's important, simple as that. So like,
Speaker 2 00:16:26 It just doesn't matter. Realistically, kids might only eat two decent meals of the day. So if your child has had a decent breakfast, then realistically, you know, they're fine till two or three o'clock with the littleBits or if they don't eat a decent breakfast, then you'd probably expect them to eat a little bit more in the lunch some days, or else they'll be starving when they come in the door. So use the hunger phase to your advantage. So, you know, forget about what isn't eating. What's say, okay, they're starving now. How can I use this to my advantage? So you give them a familiar food and then you give them say a new food on the side that you're trying to get them familiar with. So you, we know they're going to like the foods that always look the same that come out of the packet and things like that.
Speaker 2 00:17:06 So they like familiar foods, but they only get familiar with foods. If we keep offering foods and say for building a lunchbox, you know, I think car, I think protein, I think something fresh. So, but I know for my own kids that like often it comes home eaten. So I've stopped putting in like things like bananas I've stopped putting in things like pears because you never get two days outta a pair or banana. So if the Mandarin comes home UN eaten, I can just put it in again tomorrow because it's still perfect. You know? So that cuts back on, on food waste. Things that are always eaten, I find are tray bakes. Uh, so I, you know, each, I suppose everyone's in different position with time, but you know, next week I'm gonna stock up the freezer with different tray, bakes and trade bakes, I suppose are cakes, but you can put in nuts and seeds and well different nuts. You can't really bring to schools, but say like puppy seed, tray bakes or different things like that, but they will always be eating and I keep them frozen in the freezer and just take it out in the morning and pop one in. So that could be my carb bit of fruit, uh, you know, maybe cheese and things as well.
Speaker 1 00:18:08 But I think what you said there about, you know, we can provide the food, but it's not our job to force them to eat it. No, like children are smart enough to understand their own appetite. And if they are really hungry, they will nibble at little bits. You know, they're not actually gonna themselves realistically. Yeah. Yeah. So removing that stress, you know, from yourself, like all you can do is provide it and just leave the choice then to them.
Speaker 2 00:18:38 And like, if you had the choice, would you rather, your kid was having the crack in the classroom, having the chats with their friends and coming home, like having had a great day or that they sat an at their lunch perfectly. Yeah. You know, which is, which is more important. Yeah. While they're in school, like
Speaker 1 00:18:53 Depends how hungry they get
Speaker 2 00:18:55 And enjoying themselves. And they can eat when they come home. If yeah. They need
Speaker 1 00:18:59 To have something ready to stay off that. And
Speaker 2 00:19:02 If they haven't eat their lunch, they'll say sometimes we go for a walk after school and I'll say, well, sure, what's in your lunchbox. So let's finish that first.
Speaker 1 00:19:08 Exactly. Yeah. So really it doesn't matter. It's one wheel a day, ultimately it's about not making it a battle and keeping it really positive,
Speaker 2 00:19:18 Making your life as easy as possible as well. So like we're all working. We all, you know, don't have money to be wasting, to throw on food and bin every day. So keep it simple, keep it sustainable, keep it reusable. As in, you know, if the Mandarin isn't eaten today, it might be tomorrow or the next day. So we can just keep
Speaker 1 00:19:36 Moving it
Speaker 2 00:19:37 On. Yeah. Why not? Yeah. Uh, whereas I dried fruits, things like that. And I suppose the shopping wise, you know, I've probably learned more from the days where I was scraping the barrel, the more pathetic lunch that I've sent my kids to school with when you haven't done the shopping. And you're really like, oh my God, I've nothing, you know, they come home and go, what did you put in my lunch today? And you know, then they start going, I'm making it tomorrow. Like I'm not going to school with that because, uh, like they're so disgusting. You just grace me. Yeah, exactly. What can you do? You know, we all have days like that. So, um, Asher
Speaker 1 00:20:09 Luck.
Speaker 2 00:20:10 And then that gets them interested in, I say, okay, well let's, let's make it together tomorrow. Then what would you like in it? And you know, then a bit of barter kind of, well, if you bring that, then what about this? And then, you know, uh, keep a bit of color. They don't have to eat everything, but it's a way of making your kids familiar with the food. So, you know, if they get used to seeing the same food in their lunch box, they're going to get more familiar with it. You're taking the fear out of it. And most schools have healthy eating policies anyway. So, you know, it's not like, can
Speaker 1 00:20:40 I ask you about one thing, yogurts kids bringing yogurts to school? Is that a no-no or how
Speaker 2 00:20:48 Well mine don't I don't because of the mess. And, uh, haven't, uh, it's just an extra layer of having to wash the lunchbox that I don't particularly like. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:20:56 But I'd be afraid of them being outta the fridge. This is why I've always said, no, you can't. They need to be in the fridge. And they're I rolling at me here in my house. Count God's sake.
Speaker 2 00:21:07 <laugh> um, yeah, but they're unlikely to go off that quickly. Like technically they need to be, uh, kept chilled. But if, you know, if they're only in the lunchbox for two hours on a cold winter day, they're unlikely to go off that quickly. Sometimes I, you know, the Goyo yogurts or the, the yogurts in the tube. Yes. Yeah. I'd freeze them and put them into the lunchbox frozen. So then they're defrosted by the time they eat them.
Speaker 1 00:21:29 That's a very good idea. I'm gonna do that. So
Speaker 2 00:21:31 That's an easy way. Fruits, uh, fruits, sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Those kind of things, you know, they're defrosted by the time they get them. And then
Speaker 1 00:21:39 So then they won't be able to open them realistically judging by my kids. Well, this
Speaker 2 00:21:42 Is it as well. And if the teacher has 30 kids in classrooms, you can't be expecting them. Yeah. You know, it just takes away from school time. So it's the same thing. If they just had a yogurt with a breakfast or, or when they come in from school, they don't have to have the yogurt in the lunch box. So exactly. Okay. Probably 12 hours of eaten time in the day, realistically.
Speaker 1 00:22:00 Yeah. In terms of, I suppose, foods to put in a lunch box and foods to avoid, really you're saying it just needs to be a mix of kind of a car based thing, some form of protein and some fresh produce, whether that be kind of peppers, cucumbers, or blueberries or grapes or whatever your child likes.
Speaker 2 00:22:20 Um, and even, even the ones that they don't like. So you're putting in a bit of color for them to get familiar with the food and that's your job done. And then it's up to them whether they eat it or not, but it's kind of like tick I've provided it's up to them. Where did they eat it? Yeah. So stop trying to micromanage. And even when you're emptying out the lunch box, sometimes you don't need to comment on it. You don't need to draw attention to what they haven't eaten. You could draw attention to how much fun did you have in school today? Who each chapter, what were you chatting to about over lunch? Did you enjoy yourself? You know, what was the best thing that happened in school today rather than you didn't teach your sandwich today?
Speaker 1 00:22:55 You know? Yes. Yeah. Because no one likes to have those conversations cuz realistically you're jumping straight into negativity.
Speaker 2 00:23:02 And if we compare our food parenting style to say schooling and teaching, you know, we are focusing always on the negative. So if your child was in school and the teacher was only telling them what they're bad at and what they didn't do, right. We'd be straight into the principal's office, given vice teacher. So we need to acknowledge the positive, ignore the negative. You know, we're drawing far too much attention to the negative
Speaker 1 00:23:23 And putting way too much pressure on ourselves as a result. And I know, cause you can go down a very slippery slope of making, you know, different shaped sandwiches, wraps, rolls this, that and the other. And no one has time for that. And no one has energy for that. They're
Speaker 2 00:23:39 If you're shaping them, it means you're throwing half of it, the bin anyway.
Speaker 1 00:23:42 Yeah. Or eating it yourself, which look doesn't help anyone. I'm just yeah. Keeping the joy in food. Really. And as you said, they're focusing much more on the fun times your child is having and giving them a good old feed when they get in, if they haven't eaten the lunch box. Yeah. And not to be yeah. Focusing on the negatives or having any sort of negative reaction to an uneaten lunch box, just keep offering it,
Speaker 2 00:24:10 End every meal, end every interaction with food on a positive, great at opening your lunchbox. And you're, you're great at with your beaker or you're great with your ERY or whatever, keep it positive.
Speaker 1 00:24:21 And a good thing about school is the diversity in every family's diet means that every child is bringing in a completely different lunchbox. And so the kids are seeing suddenly you might have one child sitting next to you who likes eat fresh peppers. And you're seeing them if their fresh peppers every day and suddenly, cause I know that happened to it. One of mine suddenly one of my kids who was very adamant, they hate fresh peppers came. I said, I'd like some fresh peppers. I like it now. You're like, okay, I'm not gonna question it. Just go with it. So I think kids are like sheep in a way, um, in a positive way, if, if they see another child having a positive experience, they're gonna want in on that. And it's, it can be a very good influence. I suppose food should be a social thing. And it's something that obviously in ideal circumstances can be slow and enjoyed. But I know, you know, as you said, the classroom environment, isn't that. So when,
Speaker 2 00:25:20 And to, you know, think about it also that our relationship with food as parents possibly isn't the best, you know, we have grown up with maybe parents in weight Watchers or sliming world. Maybe we're talking about sins, maybe we're talking about points. Maybe we're not trying not to eat bread. We're trying to lose weight. We're trying, you know, criticizing our bodies in front of our kids. So sometimes we are the problem and not the child. So it's having a step taking a step back and thinking about your own relationship with food, you know? So if you see a toddler or a young child, they look in the mirror, they smile at themselves. They, they don't see the fault. They don't, they only learn to criticize the shape of their body by what they're exposed to. And that's a, that can be us. That can be whatever social media that can be, you know what they're hearing.
Speaker 2 00:26:09 So we're not necessarily right. Yeah. When it comes to all of this, you know, if children often, so, you know, we can, we do one-to-ones and everything where we can look at this with parents, but children are often, you know, they are born intuitive of eaters. And sometimes it's the complications that we bring in that actually limits them if yeah. And an intuitive eat, you know, might have a great breakfast, might be having so much fun in school that they don't have time to eat, but they're eat when they come home. But that doesn't mean that they've all of a suddenly become deficient in iron or, you know, maybe, maybe they didn't concentrate on the mats, but their social skills came on at lunchtime cuz they're having so much fun. Uh, you know, so it's, we're micromanaging and we're analyzing a lot where maybe we don't need to.
Speaker 1 00:26:56 Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:26:56 That
Speaker 1 00:26:57 Makes sense. It does. Yeah. What you say is so important, especially, you know, these children in 10 years time or less, or even five years time for lots of people and even somewhere already teenagers. And these are people who are gonna have a lot of difficulty being exposed to kind of a lot of unhealthy content relating to food and body image. And I think, and
Speaker 2 00:27:24 Unhealthy doesn't mean food unhealthy can be mentally. Yeah. Unhealthy. Like, you know, the incidents of eating disorders has risen in the pandemic and you know, that's unhealthy, but yeah. So unhealthy just doesn't mean what you put into your body unhealthy can be your relationship with food.
Speaker 1 00:27:40 Yeah. That's what I mean. So even talking about, I know with my own kids, instead of talking about, say the appearance of my body, I'll try and talk about, oh, I'm getting strong at this or my body's great, cuz it'll do that. Do you know, try and talk about the youth and gift that you're health and strength is. I know I'm training for the Dublin marathon at the moment. And well now it's, it's ropy and I, you know, I haven't been running during the pandemic at all and I'm struggling so much and the kids are seeing me hobbling around the place and asking me, do we need a wheelchair? And food has become a lot more fun actually during this period because I'm eating so much to keep up with the demands on my body. And you know, weight has finally been put aside cuz I've a goal, completely independent to it, which requires food and strength and energy.
Speaker 1 00:28:35 And they're seeing that. And I suppose they're seeing me say, no, I actually I've come in from run now and I'm not going to do anything with you until I cook my eggs and eat my banana. And they just, you know, they're laughing and they're trying because they see me then feeding myself, say, I'm, I'm trying to eat eggs because actually I love them. And they actually fill me up, but trying Parmesan and spring onions and everything. And they've started picking at these things and I never asked them to, because I never would imagine they'd like spring onions. And, but like you said, there're absolute sponges and they see you doing something and they, they want to copy that and it can just
Speaker 2 00:29:12 Demonstrate the behavior that you want to see.
Speaker 1 00:29:14 Yeah. And I don't, I certainly don't do it consistently. So this, this little buzz for the last that's
Speaker 2 00:29:20 Real life.
Speaker 1 00:29:20 Yeah. And I think there's times, but I think, yeah, you're right. We need to be the role models. And hopefully we can build up their security and sense of understanding of food and its relationship. It's positive relationship with your body. So that then when they're exposed to all, you know, I suppose negative connotations with food and weight in the future, in the back of their mind, they will be, well actually my body needs food to be strong. It's not something, you know, obviously look, eating disorders are much more complex and form for a whole variety of different reasons. But by instilling just some bit of positive relationship with food, for children, without any kind of psychiatric disorder, it, it can really, I suppose, make them less vulnerable to social pressures as they grow up.
Speaker 2 00:30:10 And like our kids learn all about, you know, racism and not being racist and you know, inclusivity and all that. But same applies with, you know, judging people by body shape and things like that. So all bodies are worthy, you know, when somebody is labeled fat or something, it's like, well, what's wrong with me in fat. This is another body shape. Not judging books by covers on, you know, everybody's the same, it's just social interaction, inclusivity, everything.
Speaker 1 00:30:36 Yeah. Well, just as we'd say, a person is not defined by the color of their skin or their religion, it's also a person isn't defined by their weight on a scale or their shape. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:30:49 Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 00:30:50 Oh, these poor kids, they have a lot to contend with <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:30:52 Well, yeah, but, but it's, it's us having our eyes wide open. They're fine. It's it? It's what we pass on and what we decide not to pass
Speaker 1 00:31:00 On and keeping it simple seems to be the easiest way
Speaker 2 00:31:03 We need to take a breather and say, okay, you know, is my child growing? Is my child, are they tired? Have the energy, are they able to take part in sport? Things like that rather than the micromanaging. So when we were growing up, a lunchbox was a lunchbox, whereas now lunch boxes have sometimes have five or six containers and, and compartments and things like that. So the more compartments your lunchbox has, the more pressure you're putting on yourself as a parent to fill each compartment. So, you know, try and limit what you buy to a lunchbox,
Speaker 1 00:31:33 The lunch box that I bought and found fantastic previously I had to change it because my child was diagnosed celiac. So we had to swap everything out. So I had gotten replacements last year of a different brand and they fell apart. They just weren't very robust. So this year I, I don't like using wrapping in pieces and that, so I, I actually find something with simple compartments, very, very easy because food is kept fresh and there's no need for tin foil or clingfilm or anything. Yeah. Yeah. So I got into stock online, yum boxes. And I dunno if you've seen them and I completely agree that too many compartments are boggling. So I only stock one type which basically has room for a sandwich and then something, you know, a fruit and Ave in our house. But it totally depends on, on what your kids eat. But yeah, it, I like it because say you can put in, if you know, your child's going to eat, cut up plums or something. Yeah. It'll keep it fresh in there. Um, and it, it, it just, or
Speaker 2 00:32:37 Three
Speaker 1 00:32:37 Compartments, three compartments. Yeah. Yeah. Because some, now they do ones and I have been always completely intimidated by them where they have about eight different sections and sure. And then
Speaker 2 00:32:48 You're just putting stuff in for the sake of
Speaker 1 00:32:49 It. I try to end up putting Cheerios in cuz I'm like, yes,
Speaker 2 00:32:52 Because split, you know, you don't want them opening a, an empty
Speaker 1 00:32:55 Look if it doesn't fit a sandwich, a wrap or a roll or something, it has no room in my house because sometimes we might shake it up with pasta from the night before. And we'll put a bit of mozzarella in one of the sections and throw a fork in and you're doing, that's their favorite lunch. It's so funny. Like the simple things. Yeah. I think you're right. And
Speaker 2 00:33:18 Then they don't want things that smell because someone's going to say, it's like, yeah, the hummus and all that are great in for lunch. But realistically, you know, my kids love hummus, but they won't bring it to school because, so, and so said there's lunch stinks. Um, so factor two. So
Speaker 1 00:33:34 You wouldn't want to be the kid bringing in egg sandwiches now really
Speaker 2 00:33:37 They're tuna. I used to go to school with Juna summers <laugh> so, uh, yeah, but I survived. You
Speaker 1 00:33:43 Did look, if I survived off easy singles, you could survive off tuna. Yeah. Yeah. Oh no. I think as you say, keeping it simple and yeah. Given your kids was an element of choice, but yeah. Not letting, not letting everything become a complete debate. The food is there. If they're hungry, they'll eat it and save.
Speaker 2 00:34:04 That's not a reflection of your parenting. You know, what is in their lunchbox? Uh, some days you'll have good days. Some days my disaster stays, my kids got more involved in their lunchboxes and you know, they worked to my advantage. So go easy on yourself
Speaker 1 00:34:19 And recruit the kids to make their own. Anyway, I've started trying to do that. Absolutely very mixed results. But, um, look, I don't have to eat it, so it's fine.
Speaker 2 00:34:27 <laugh> yeah. So then they'll when they, when they, when you do provide the lunch, they'll be like, oh, thank God. I didn't have to make the lunch. I'll eat it now. So should make me again tomorrow. <laugh>
Speaker 1 00:34:35 Exactly. Top tip top tip. You heard it here first. <laugh> Kathy, just before we go, can you tell me a little bit about your Mr. Class?
Speaker 2 00:34:44 Yeah, so I have the weaning and toddler master class. So the weaning, I suppose, from when you're starting solids, uh, so it's, you know, before you jump on the commercial train that you can take a little breather and have a look at things. Uh, so I look at, you know, what are your aims, uh, what are you actually trying to achieve planning ahead? And then we look at the nutritional needs of your baby under one different approaches to weaning. So it's not just about getting your child to eat. It's the bigger picture. And then the toddler master class is fussy. Eating does generally kick in around a year and a half, regardless of the child, regardless of the parent, you know, it's like a developmental stage. So it's how we actually deal with that, how we approach it, you know, there's different parenting styles, food parenting styles. We often take the like dictator food parenting style, and that is the one that's, uh, least effective. So, you know, I talk about that and the Robert deem from health insurance, because I'm registered with Koru and then myself and five dietician from temp street. We do one-to-one consultations.
Speaker 1 00:35:43 Thank you so much for joining me today, Kathy. It's been great pleasure, Tina.
