Children are so clear...

I was watching Dr. Oz the other day with my youngest, A--she's 5. She wanted to snuggle with me, so she was putting up with watching a grownup show. I do worry about her from time to time. She's really tall for her age, but she's also a little pudgy. I just worry about her because of my husband and my propensity for being overweight. Anyhow, we're watching the show, and there's a very graphic demonstration of what your arteries look like if you're a diabetic. Basically, he used a plastic tube with a sludgy paste (too much sugar) poured through it, loaded up with some chunks of styrofoam (cholesterol), then tried to pour red liquid through it (blood). It looked a mess. Right then, A shouted at me--I never want diabetes!!!!

It really opened up a good dialogue about how eating the right things can help you avoid diabetes, especially if it doesn't already run in your family (luckily it does not for either my husband or I). She told me I'd better be packing more fruits and veggies in her snack. What a great teachable moment. She also told me I was a little fat and I'd better do something about it--I said I knew that I was, and that I'd already lost 15 pounds, and was working to do more. All that made her pretty happy. It's amazing how clear and simple things are for kids...I have to remember this for later when things seem so complicated.