‘We do OK most days but at times loosen the rules’
e, h ot , ou the best thing you can do as a parent is model good eating habits. Let them see you snacking on vegetables and eating a variety of them at every meal.
Sydney mother of three Amy Morrison says some of the six health behaviours are easier to get right than others. Her children — Poppy, 10 months, Sunny, 5, and Tilly, 7 — are active and enjoy sports and playing outdoors so they always meet the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day. However, when it comes to their vegetable intake, her efforts are hit and miss.
“My five-year-old, Sunny, could eat fruit and vegetables all day long with no problem, but I have to get a little bit creative with vegetables when it comes to Tilly,” the Chifley mum says.
“I tend to hide vegies in the meals a lot to make sure she gets them into her, otherwise it would be next to impossible. But we have the physical activity, screen time, sleep and teeth brushing guidelines prettyy well covered.
“Especially with physical activity, my older two are very active and do lots of sport, we only have one afternoon a week off from after school sports. I also think k kids learn a lot by watchingng their parents model goodd behaviour and my husband,nd, Peter, and I enjoy keeping g active.” Picture: Justin Lloyd BEATA Kolasinski-Mauer says any parent who claims to be on top of every health recommendation every day is lying. The Manly mother to Sophia, 8, says she tries to make sure her daughter has a healthy lifestyle, but admits to a loosening of the rules every now and then. “It’s tough as a parent to make sure they get their five serves of veges and two of fruit every single day,” Kolasinski-Mauer, a dental receptionist, says. “We do OK on most days, but who doesn’t want to have a night off every now and then and order a pizza or fish and chips for dinner? “I’m lucky that Sophia (pictured below with Beata) is not really fussy when it comes to eating healthy and I don’t have to hide vegetables in her dinner like I know other parents have to. I think moderation is important, to be healthy most of the time and allow for little treats every now and then.” One thing Kolasinski-Mauer says she doesn’t need to worry about is the recommendation to ensure a child gets 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Sophia does Little Athletics, dancing, Nippers, swimming, tennis and sprint training each week. And she’s happy to help walk the family dog. “The only day she has off is Thursday and she’s happy with that,” Kolasinski-Mauer says. Our weekends are also very active. So if we come home from a long day out and she wants to slump in fro front of the TV for a few hours, I don’t have a problem with that. “Yes, she li likes to watch TV and will sometime sometimes play on her iPad, but it’s not a pr problem because it’s really well b balanced with physical activ activity. And to be honest, I lov love watching TV, so I can ha hardly tell her not to.” One area KolasinskiMauer says she has struggled with lately is sleeping as Sophia is hesitant to sleep alone in th their new home. Despite a lit little coaxing at bedtime, Ko Kolasinski-Mauer says Soph Sophia still gets roughly 10 hours of sleep a night.
