HYDERABAD: The common challenge faced by parents in the initial days of parenting is feeding their child, especially providing healthy food. Addressing this issue, Lamaakan hosted an event titled “Healthy Eating Choices In Children,” organized by Vision Rainbow with the co-creator Tasneem Ejaz, who has dedicated over 30 years to working with children.
Tasneem Ejaz initiated the session by addressing a common concern, when all parents aspire to feed their children healthily, certain beliefs hinder their efforts. She explained, “With the best intentions, parents believe that children won’t eat, they find it challenging to cultivate healthy habits and assume children easily opt for junk food. Cultivating healthy choices seems difficult, but breaking that perception is crucial. Taking one step at a time without forcing them is possible, by creating a conducive environment, children will naturally embrace it. The approach matters, and your consistency is important.”
She further emphasized the unhealthy practices of parents like running behind children and distractions like TV to feed their children. Tasneem advised, “Parents use all these tactics to make their child sit in one place but that’s not healthy at all. Speak to your child, make them comfortable, and avoid using TV as a substitute. Encourage a positive mindset, so that your child starts eating without trouble. See, when a newborn baby feels hungry, he will cry and seek for milk. So why will your child keep himself hungry? Changing the mindset passed down through generations is challenging, from the start it is seen as a very difficult job but also it’s essential to shift the perspective. When you feel it is so difficult, then you are struggling with yourself, and struggling doesn’t help”.
Responding to a question about the the primary core reason why parents can’t achieve what they wish to do in terms of eating specifically she said, “What’s coming in the way of eating is like the belief behind what they are looking for. They believe that it is very difficult for them to reach the children to feed them and cultivate healthy choices. And with that intention, with that belief, if you have the best of intentions also, you will not achieve it. Because at the back of your mind, it is going on, and then you are pushing yourself towards ‘I will.’ I intend that I want to make a difference, and I want my child to eat healthy. So first, parents need to see how they can change their beliefs. First parents need to work for themselves and see that it is possible. Then go apply for your child.”
Drawing from her personal experience as a parent, Tasneem Ejaz shared, “For the first two children, I struggled, feeling upset when they didn’t eat, constantly preparing the table for them. But slowly, with the arrival of the third and fourth child, I learned to let go of unnecessary worry after completing a 15-day Montessori course. It provided me with a clear understanding of what is truly required for the child and how we can effectively deal with them. The core reason for interacting with children is to understand them, and consider their belief systems. I also conducted extensive research on child development through books and applied the knowledge to ourselves first. By doing so, we can then pass on this understanding to our children.”