Remember when you were pregnant or when you were waiting to adopt your baby? If someone asked you if you were hoping for a boy or a girl, even if you had a preference, you probably said, like most moms-to-be, “I just want a healthy baby.” And really, that is all you wanted. When your child was an infant, keeping your baby safe and healthy was probably on your mind most of the time. Fast forward a few years or more, and you have a child who is much more independent. The two of you have developed ways of being together ~ habits and routines.

Some of those habits are ones that are promoting health and happiness in her life: always wearing a seat belt, getting to bed at a decent time each night, reading books together, brushing her teeth a few times each day, along with many other positive habits.

Unfortunately, there is something many of us are doing each day that is actually taking away from our children’s health, and even promoting habits that will support the opposite of great health. That something is feeding our children highly-processed foods for meals and snacks. These are the prepackaged meals and snack foods that are low in the essential nutrients a child needs as her body is growing and developing.

Scientists are now attributing at least 80% of diseases we normally associate with aging to diet, lack of exercise and other lifestyle factors. Many of these previously adult-onset diseases are now affecting our children: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, depression, obesity and cancer. It’s easy to look at your own child and feel grateful that he is not suffering with any of these diseases; but the fact is that there are things going on in his body that we cannot see. Without the proper nutrients from Real food, his cells are unable to be as healthy as the could be; and over time, this can lead to those very diseases mentioned above.

Our children are developing habits and ways of living that will either support health and happiness or illness and all that comes with it. Even though our children are not those tiny babies that we protected so diligently, we still, above all else, want our children to be healthy and happy now and for a lifetime. Raising our children is the most challenging work we can do, and feeding them for health and promoting those habits, can seem extremely overwhelming in this age of convenience and billion-dollar food marketing campaigns. But, it is one of the most important gifts we can give our children, and as parents, it has to be at the top of our priority list, even as our children grow-up.

What better time than now to reassess what you're feeding your family and consider where you can make improvements that will support a lifetime of health and happiness for your family.

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Angelle Batten, MEd. is a Holistic Health & Parenting Coach and co-founder of nourishMD. She teaches parents how to feed their children REAL food and parent in a more connected way every day - so despite a crazy busy life they can raise healthier, happier children who make the world a better place.