Raising children is a lot like playing the game follow the leader. Whether you, as the parent, realize it or not,
your child mimics your actions. So, if you use good manners, your child will learn to do the same. Likewise, if you read (both for your own pleasure and to your child), your child will develop an appreciation for books and reading.
Recently, a study was completed to determine whether children follow in their parents’ footsteps when making food choices. As reported in the November 2008, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, children aged two to six chose healthier foods more frequently, if their parents made those same choices at home.
So, while parents might like to encourage healthy food choices for their children but not themselves, it seems this strategy doesn’t work. To use an often quote phrase, children learn what they live. If you want your child to learn to be a healthy eater, you need to be the example from which he learns.
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