Empowering Your Kids to Make Healthy Choices: Budgeting 101

I was talking with a good friend who is very concerned about her child's weight and does not know what to do. They are fighting a lot over food and she is very upset about how this is affecting their relationship. She has tried all of the typical avenues to get help: physicians (several), dietitian (many), more sports, but nothing is working.

Although she knows my program is successful, like many families, the cost and time commitment are daunting but now she feels desperate. This is a typical pattern for many families that I see. Many other solutions are sought before finally participating in the weight control program where I teach.

But I digress... here is a very valuable tool that will help kids make healthy choices:

BUDGETING 101
In this particular case, the child really wanted a certain special treat and the mom was saying no -  it became a constant battle. I suggested she talk to her daughter about budgeting her treats and let her decide when and what her treat would be. Although very difficult, Mom could not say a word as long it is in her daughter's weekly budget for treats (red light foods).

How to budget:
1) To budget treats most effectively, it helps to have a baseline or an understanding of  how many treats (or red light foods) your child eats in a week. If your child is overweight, they should really try to eat fewer treats (red light foods).

2) After you and your child figure out how many treats they are eating each week, try to set a goal to eat fewer the following week. For example, perhaps your child eats 5 treats a day or 35 a week. Ask them if they can eat 4 a day instead of 5 - then they are at 28 a week.

3) Next, set aside 28 pennies (or beads, erasers etc). There are couple of ways to do this. One is to put 28 pennies in a jar and each time you eat a treat, move it to another jar. Then all week you can see how many are left. BUT, if there is a particular treat you want on Friday night, or you are going to a party on the weekend, you may want to set aside a certain # of pennies AHEAD of time. You are budgeting and planning ahead  for that treat.

In this case, my friend's child wanted a special treat that is the equivalent of at least 3 red lights. I told her that if her child budgets for it, eats fewer treat the other days, and plans for this one treat, the child can have it, AND mom can't say a word...

Do you know what the child did? She decided to split the red light treat with her mom instead of eating the entire thing herself:)

Trick #1: To track the treats (Red Light Foods):  Buy a 7 day pill box

Kids like to put the # of treats (pennies or beads) they plan to have in each day - if they have a special event, they can move them around and add extra to Saturday if there is a big party planned.

This tool is very empowering for the child and it is very liberating for the parent!

Good Luck. Let me know how it goes!