It wasn’t so long ago that the British were pointing their finger and having a bit of a giggle at podgy Americans dining out on fast foods. Well, how quickly the tables can turn, today one third of British children are considered to be obese.

As more of us personally drop our kids off at school, prevent them from playing out on the street and plop them in front of the television whilst we get dinner ready, our children are increasingly leading less healthy lives.

Only in the past few years have we uncovered the truth about what we’ve been feeding our families over the past couple of decades, whether that’s high levels of fat and salt or food injected with hormones and preservatives.

However, even with a new level of public knowledge about healthy eating and living, newspapers still report about parents stuffing bags of McDonalds through school railings and children appear to have no idea about where their food comes from – I remember a city friend of mine asking if potatoes grew on trees.

How can you understand the consequences of your diet if you don’t know where your food comes from?

Diet and healthy living is all about education that needs to start early on in life and be communicated not just at school and via the media, but most importantly via the family. Habits, either good or bad, are easy to instil at a young age and unfortunately all too often children are bribed with ‘treats’, don’t eat in a family unit and eat a different diet to that of their mother/father.

Most importantly, food and meal times need to be a pleasure for all involved, whether that means the kids helping out by peeling the potatoes, simply sitting down together to eat every day, or even growing your own veg and herbs in the back yard.

Children are always fussy eaters and are particularly suspicious of vegetables, but by giving them access to a wide variety of food you can help broaden their horizons ready for when their taste buds develop and they start lauding the virtues of mushrooms and spinach.

Here are some tips on getting you kids involved with a good diet:

Grow some veg in your own back yard – if don’t have a garden try herbs in a window box or get an allotment.

Encourage your children to help prepare dinner.

Never use crisps and sweets as bribes or rewards.

If you want to treat your kids bake some biscuits and cakes with them.

Take a trip to the local farm – there are lots of city venues these days and here you can meet your food face to face.

Don’t give in! Your child’s palate will develop and their preferences will change.

For more information: www.eatwell.gov.uk

Pickles, MyVillage, 09th January