Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Getting your child to practise healthy eating is as simple and straight forward as correcting bad behaviour or pulling up your children when they do not do well in academics. So why does the issue of health or diet take a backseat in most households?” asks nutritionist Alia Almoayed.
Acknowledging that the task is not an easy and one that cannot be achieved overnight, she encouragingly added: “Take small steps at a time. Begin with the shopping list and don’t give up if everything is not going to plan.
“The good news is that all unhealthy foods have an equally tasty alternative. You just need to change the ingredients or the way it’s prepared.”
In her experience a lot of parents give in too easily to children especially those used to eating easily available processed foods. “Persistence will bring about the difference,” she explained. “As long as your children are eating the right things, 75 per cent of the time, you can be assured that you are on the right path.
“Food,” she emphasised, “has to be a family affair. Children should be involved when selecting the vegetables and deciding on the menu.”
“They need to be part of the family’s dining table, sharing food and conversation.”
Full of suggestions and solutions, she said: “You can always photocopy and paste menus on the fridge. Remember, just because you don’t like a certain food does not mean that your children don’t like it.
“Don’t make a face or give an opinion at the dining table. Eating should be fun with lots of positive associations. Occasional snacks in the playground will help kids get familiar with the different tastes.”
Various factors contribute to a healthy, intelligent, well-behaved child and diet is an important one. It can affect a lot of aspects in your body – vision, concentration levels, IQ, hyperactivity and behaviour. And the secret to a healthy lifestyle, she said, is to “feed your brain, not just your body and make a positive change in your life.
“We also have to remember that we are ultimately responsible for our children’s health and development.”
Alia, found her calling after completing a course for people who wanted to understand nutrition for themselves. Despite having completed a Masters in marketing and communications from the University of Westminster, UK, she decided to change direction and worked for four-and-a-half years to get a diploma in nutrition to become a practising nutritionist.
Alia is now also a member of the highly-respected ‘British Association for Nutritional Therapy’.
It was during her studies that she had her two children Selma, five, and Laith, four, and it proved one of the most challenging time of her life. “I almost gave up. It’s not easy to sit exams and study when you are a new mother,” she said. However, support from her friends and family, helped her achieve her goals.
She added: “Being a mother was an advantage and a dilemma. Everyone has an opinion about what you and what your baby have to eat.
“Thankfully I could apply my learning in my kitchen.”
Alia, who lives in Hamala with her husband Suhail Al Gosaibi, 34, and her children, practices what she preaches. She said: “Today we are a ‘frying free’ household. My children eat oats for breakfast. They have freshly-made ‘French fries’ baked with a coating of olive oil and we do have the occasional chocolate cake without its cream.
“People believe my children are perfect. It’s not true. I do face the usual tantrums and when we go to parties they have what everyone-else has. But I always apply the 75 per cent rule.”
Writing her debut book I Want Healthy Kids took over 10 months. And the next 14 months went in the photography, layout, editing and publishing,” she said.
The book, published by Mediagenic Custom Publishing, Bahrain, is priced at BD13.5 and will be launched at the Al Bareh Art Gallery on October 27. For more on the book visit the site: www.iwanthealthykids.com
