My name is Emma, 28, and im a British Food and Parent blogger. My main area of interest is childrens diet and areas of parenting with toddlers. As a mum of three with another due in october, I feel almost qualified (that coupled with a food and nutrition degree) to comment on how to feed your child and to recommend help, support and advice for the family. I love cooking and creating healthy alternatives that arnt going to break the bank or involve strange foods which you would need to go to specialist shops for!
"As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it."
During my time at university, I worked with children in a kids cookery club over the summer period. This was such an experience for me as a young lass and at that time without children, I really grasped and understood that with proper nurture and encouragement children will try, like and even delight in eating an array of nutritious foods. The children found the experience of cooking themselves a meal a throughly rewarding experience and they couldnt wait to tuck in!! In my opinion, cooking workshops for children should be more available as it is not only educational, but its also fun!!
"They are what you eat" nearly Gillian McKeith!
At the risk of sounding dictorial or repetitive of previous studies undertaken in food and childrens diet, I would like to add from my own opinion that I am a firm believer in allowing our children the right to eat nutritious foods and on the flip side, in moderation, some treats too. If we as parents start from the beginning of life to introduce good nutrition and stable eating patterns and to reduce or use healthy alternatives 'junk' foods, we could help to reduce later life bad food choices which could be detremental to our childs life such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. As a baby, toddler and even in the later years it is us as mummies and daddies that our children will look up to for guidance and support in all areas of life and we cannot expect them to know good nutrition from bad without our help, time and effort! If they can see us eating the same healthy food then they will be much more likely to try it also.
"Eat your brussels, get big muscles" my son, Tommy Newstead
So with all this heavy stuff in mind, on a lighter note, our children can be hard work when it comes to eating, meal times can be a struggle and rules broken in a desperate bid to get our child to eat something!! Dont give up hope, your hard work will pay off and one day they will devour everything in your cupboards and fridge and you will not know what has hit you!!
"our children, our future"
I am also dedicated to sniffing out foodie events and also fund raisers for schools and nurseries and am currently looking into setting up my own family cook room which will enable me to demonstrate cooking for children, while your child gets involved too!
"Like a caterpillar, let them find their wings"
I hope you find my blogs interesting and helpful and definately try the recipes, all the family will love them!! Please feel free to contact me with any questions and I will happily try and find you some solutions!
Happy reading
Emma x
Oh and lastly one cracking quote I heard for the adults:
"If only it was as easy to banish hunger by rubbing the belly as it is to masturbate." ~Diogenes the Cynic
