Before my Husband and I had children we probably should have taken our genetics into consideration. His family has a long history of heart/stroke issues, mine does not. But what we have on my side of the family is high cholesterol which is genetic. Add those two together and our kids are a ticking time bomb. (On several levels đ.)
And then there is diabetes. . .
This week my daughter and I had a little talk. She inherited my love of sweets, which is bad enough. But when two of your Grandparents had diabetes. . . Hiding sugar and sweets in your room is not a good way to start out in life.
I’m not concerned about her weight. She is strong and healthy. I just want her to stay healthy. I want her to practice good habits now, so she doesn’t have to kick them later in life when it’s SO much harder to break them.
When my Father in Law died, I was upset. Our daughter hadn’t been born yet and our son was just a month old. I wanted my kids to know their Grandpa! He could have lived longer if he would have done what the doctors said, lose weight, exercise, and eat right. But he didn’t.
A couple of years later my doctor took me off sugar for a month. I wanted to strangle people. I needed/wanted that sugar so badly. It suddenly occurred to me how hard it must have been for my Father In Law. Understanding dawned.
Changing your habits isn’t easy. Especially when you are being rewarded in a way that your body responds to as much as it does to things like sugar. I didn’t want to scare her, but I felt that it was important that she understood the risks that she was facing and what the reality of living with diabetes can be like.
I have no intention of taking all the sugary foods and candy away. But moderation is a good thing to learn at the age of 11. Rather than at 40 or 60.
Being healthy or not starts now when she is young and forming habits that she will continue for the rest of her life. I don’t want her dying from diabetes or one of the many complications that come with it.
It is so important to prepare our children for their future health for their own benefit but also that of the NHS. Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging
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I think it’s great to educate kids the realistic side effects of eating too much sugar. I have a massive sweet tooth but as a child I was lactose intolerant so wasn’t allowed to eat dairy. As a rebellious teen I snuck so much chocolate into my diet when away from home to make up for what I wasn’t allowed at home and now I can easily scoff a whole bag of chocolate without wincing… not good!
Thank you for sharing this with us at #TriumphantTales. I hope to see you back next week.
Itâs interesting how forbidden foods work on our psyche. Iâm that way with sugary cereals. They werenât allowed in my home growing up. Yet beer, wine and coffee werenât allowed either and I have no desire for any of them.
It’s a great conversation to have sooner rather than later so she can continue on with healthy habits and have a good relationship with food. You are so right – habits are harder to break the older we get. Great job about being proactive and teaching her whens she’s young. Blessings
Its always a good thing to make children aware of their family health history. my mum was diabetic. (shes now passed away) i make my own children aware of family health history so we can prevent anything happening to us, even with genetics being a factor
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It’s a good idea to teach moderation. You are being a good mom. I would get a little stabby if I couldn’t have sweets too! đ
My dentist is trying to take away sweets now and Iâve reduced them but I havenât gotten rid of them. Itâs just a little more than I could take right now.
You’re so wise to help her form good habits now.
Thank you.