I’d like you to meet Linda C., an Executive Assistant at Care.com.  I have to tell you, her blog made me laugh out loud. We all know how hard packing school lunches can be, especially when juggling a job, cooking dinner, managing homework and picking up the house. And Linda has a great story – and an interesting debate for you to chime in on.


A couple of months ago (before the collapse of Hostess) I sent my 8-year-old son to school with a Twinkie is his snack bag.  I really didn’t think much of it.  I hadn’t gone food shopping in a while (that’s a whole ‘nother blog) so I didn’t have many choices in my cabinets and refrigerator.  I gave him a piece of fruit, a granola bar and THE Twinkie.

That night, when I picked him up from after school care, he said to me "Thanks a lot Mom, I lost my recess time today because you packed me a Twinkie for snack."   My world suddenly went red. In the first minute my mind jumped around between defending my right, as his mother, to send my child to school with ANY snack I choose and "Oh my goodness, the teacher thinks I’m a horrible mother clogging the arteries of my 8-year-old!"

By the time we got home, I was able to collect my thoughts.  I was however, still disturbed at the fact the teacher punished my son for a decision that I made.  I needed to get to the bottom of it so I sent the teacher an email.  I repeated what my son told me and continued to tell him that I couldn’t imagine he would keep my son from enjoying recess (which is how he would have worked off the Twinkie in the first place, right??) because of the Twinkie and that there had to be more to the story, especially since he had two other healthy snacks in the bag. At least I followed the peanut-free rule!?

Okay, so it turns out there was more to the story (the teacher says he told my son not to eat the Twinkie, but my son says he didn’t hear him and he ate it). And I have no idea if my son is telling the truth. But it raises a different question: Should schools govern the snacks we give our kids?

I have two Mac N' Cheese-loving kids.

When they were little and not eating their dinner, we would make mac n' cheese. And hot dogs. And chicken fingers. We accommodated them, and never explained that these were not healthy options.

And I've also been guilty of handing my kids a chocolate donut, thinking "they're kids. They’ll run it off." I've bribed and consoled them with sweets. Homework needs to get done? You can have dessert when you finish. Fell on the soccer field? Let’s go out for ice cream. Oh – and my favorite: Won't stop whining in the grocery store? Have a bag of chips.

But that has all stopped. I won't even buy sweets and snack foods anymore. My family is on a mission to get healthy, to stop the picky (aka "bad") eating habits and to prevent obesity – as well as a number of other illnesses and diseases. And I want to encourage you to join me!

I'm so happy to share that Care.com is a proud supporter of Let's Move! Child Care, a project of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! effort to help promote children's health by encouraging and supporting physical activity and healthier nutrition practices.

We all know that a child's relationship with food starts at home. And we all know how hard it can be to work around a "picky eater." But there are solutions to this. It just takes some work.

As for the "must get more exercise" mantra?  There are fun ways to do this too – and to do it as a family.

What worked for us? Green juice. Honestly!  About 9 months ago, my husband became "juice crazy" (I say that with love, I swear). He started making smoothies out of kale, cucumbers, parsley, carrots, berries, raw honey and a bunch of other healthy extras.  And they weren’t awful. In fact, they were pretty good. We all have one at breakfast along with a lean protein. And it provides all these natural sources of vitamins and calcium – and energy.

We also try to exercise. We ride bikes, go for walks and runs and do yoga. The weeknights are hard to fit this in, but we can usually do something together – or separately – about four times a week.

It was ambitious at first… and sometimes felt like "work." But now I’m hooked. I just feel so much better. But the biggest difference has been in my 11-year old son. He hasn’t had a cold in 9-months. He has more energy for sports and isn’t craving junk. Of course, he'll eat unhealthy things at friend's houses. We can't control that. But he knows the difference between good for his body and not. And he feels the difference too.

So tell me, what’s the hardest food challenge you have? And will you join the Let's Move! Child Care initiative?

Learn more about the Let’s Move! Child Care initiative to fight childhood obesity. Including giveaways (a Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card and a Weelicious cookbook) and tips to nix picky eating, make exercise fun, prevent obesity and cook healthy meals kids will actually eat.

My family is getting healthy. Over the past few months, we’ve been following what we call a "nutritional plan." We all drink a nutrient-packed smoothie in the morning (kale and pumpkin seeds included!), we're exercising and we're just making smarter choices at dinner time. It’s not a diet, but we’re doing our best to get those essential nutrients and vitamins in our bodies, monitoring our unhealthy snacks, and consciously eating leaner foods. And yes, this includes our 12-year old son, Adam.

For me, being healthy means feeling confident about what I'm putting into my body and more important, how it makes me feel. But teaching our kids about nutrition comes at a risk, right? My husband and I talk about what message we're sending our son. We want him to make smart choices and to be conscious of what's healthy and what's not, but we don't want to overwhelm him either. Even more, we don’t want him feeling insecure or any pressure to "diet."

I'm not sure if you've heard about the Vogue Magazine article about a mother who made her 7-year-old daughter lose 16 pounds with a strict diet. It was called Weight Watcher and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Not because this mother wanted her daughter to get healthy, but because of the extreme measures and public action she took in the process. Once, according to the article, she deprived her daughter of dinner after learning that she consumed up to 800 calories while celebrating French Heritage day at school. Another time, she grabbed a hot chocolate out of her daughter’s hand when the coffee shop barista couldn’t tell her exactly how many calories were in it. This ridicule and public embarrassment is extreme and reeks of potentially hazardous side effects. When teaching our children about healthy habits, this cannot be the right message.

In this family’s case, the young girl needed to lose weight for her health, according to the article.  For us? We're just trying to teach our son how to make healthy choices. Instead of the macaroni and cheese, opt for lean protein and greens. If you have to order pizza, take some of the cheese off first. We also got rid of soda. But around his friends, we don't restrict, and we let him choose what he wants, hoping he will someday enjoy the more healthful path.

What did you think of this Weight Watcher Mom? How would you help your child lose weight, if medically necessary? And do you think parents put more pressure on their daughters to be health conscious – than their sons?

Childhood obesity is on everyone’s mind, from Michelle Obama to Michael Pollan’s manifesto “In Defense of Food.” The battle is being played out in corporate boardrooms, grocery stores and kitchens across the nation. The blame for children’s growing waistlines alternates between ubiquitous fast food companies to insidious marketing campaigns for sugary cereals aimed at children. Foods that are seemingly healthy turn out to be well-packaged villains. And caught in the crossfire, parents are faced with a haunting question:

“What should I be feeding my kids?”

At Care.com, we’ve been hearing from many parents who are frequently second guessing themselves at restaurants and at the store. At this point in the great food debate, who hasn’t stood in the grocery aisle, a bag of Goldfish crackers in one hand and Annie’s Organic Bunnies in the other? As you gaze from one animal shaped cracker to the other, you suddenly remember something about kids being conditioned to snack – maybe you shouldn’t buy either?

Food Education for All – Even the Nanny

And when you bring a care provider into the picture, the food debate gains another contender – a surprising heavyweight. If you’ve made the decision not to introduce your kids to fast food, make sure you pass this on to the nanny. I have a good friend who made this decision, only to come home one night to find her daughter with a new My Little Pony Happy Meal toy. The nanny simply thought it would be a special treat.

Ultimately, we are all – care providers and parents alike - just trying to do what’s best for the kids. And in a world where your child's organic probiotic yogurt looks decidedly less appealing in comparison to a classmate’s SpongeBob Go-Gurt, it is no wonder that we are struggling. And no one disputes the value of an organic garden or chefs serving kale in school cafeterias, but how convenient or accessible are those options for moms, particularly working moms? 

We parents are the gatekeepers to our children’s health – and under a lot of pressure. Take a moment, and give yourself a little credit for the battle you fight every time you go to the grocery store, the movies, or drive past a McDonalds.

How do you decide what to feed your family? What are your strategies? Which restaurants make the cut, and what are you putting in your grocery cart?