Thursday 3 February 2011

Maybe They Can Hire Granny Too, To Teach Us How To Suck Eggs?

Having a toddler means meal times can be a battle – as one mum knows all too well.

Heidi Beesley used to struggle to get any goodness on to her son Harrison’s plate. The three-year-old simply refused to eat vegetables.
A problem that no doubt every mother has faced at times.
Heidi, 27, said: “I used to work really hard making good, healthy meals but Harrison wouldn’t go near vegetables.

“He was a fussy eater and wanted junk food like chicken nuggets. It was really demoralising and very stressful.”
And so Heidi did what all mothers do – turn to friends or family for advice.
In despair, stressed-out Heidi turned to her sister Lisa Cawson, who told her about a healthy lifestyle course aimed at young families.

Now, after the ten-week course the family is enjoying peaceful dinners and Harrison is gobbling up his vegetables.
Well, that’s nice, isn’t it? I hope it didn’t cost Heidi too much and…

Oh:
She signed up to the free Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do It! programme, known as Mend, for two to 13-year-olds, which is funded by NHS South East Essex.
Yeah, I figured as much….
Heidi said: “It was brilliant and really works. It taught me to be consistent with Harrison and he’s now 100 per cent better.”
Oh, jolly good for you! How nice to know that the warm, comforting blanket of the state is there to provide you with ‘free’ advice on how to feed your child…
“I used to have to puree vegetables, but now he loves them. He’ll even try cucumber, so we’re heading in the right direction.

“Fruit is a work in progress. Sometimes he’ll lick a grape, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
*grinds teeth*
It was so successful her little boy is now a fan of broccoli and carrots and, with her husband Lloyd, 31, the family now sit down together for meals. Heidi has since been invited back to help deliver the courses to other mums.

Heidi, who lives off New Road, Great Wakering, said: “It was great to be asked. Now I’ve got a part-time job – though it’s not really work and I can take Harrison with me.”
And the public sector snares another worker...
Lee Watson, obesity health improvement specialist for NHS South East Essex, said: “We are offering these fantastic courses to give families with children the tools to improve their lifestyles and all aspects of their health.

“We hope families will take up this chance to help their children begin healthy habits that could last a lifetime.”
You know what's also going to last a lifetime?

The hand of the welfare state dipping into all our wallets...
at

9 comments:

  1. Captain Haddock3 February 2011 at 10:18

    "Oh, jolly good for you! How nice to know that the warm, comforting blanket of the state is there to provide you with ‘free’ advice on how to feed your child" …

    Pity no-one offered her advice on the naming of her child then ..

    "Harrison" ?? .. FFS ...

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  2. SadButMadLad3 February 2011 at 13:19

    Two clues in how she wasn't feeding her child properly. First she learnt about consistency, then she learnt about eating at the table (which also probably means at set times).

    If there is one thing children need as they learn the boundaries of life is that consistency is the one and true thing to always do.

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  3. Mr Grumpy3 February 2011 at 15:20

    Being more of a Big Society type than you, Julia, I'd say that if the classes work they can legitimately be called an investment, bearing in mind the cost to the NHS of obesity-related illness. Now where's that doughnut?

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  4. NickM3 February 2011 at 16:50

    Truly awesomely pathetic. So little Harrison was buying the chicken nuggets himself, right?

    Now he can lick a grape...

    Mr Grumpy,
    Yeah and five minutes with a GP or practise nurse should sort that not a ten week course on eating vegetables.

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  5. Clarissa3 February 2011 at 17:00

    She waited to ask for help until she'd already screwed up? Well I suppose we should be glad she finally saw the light.

    I'm puzzled though - why did her sister recommend this fabulous waste of money instead of pointing out the bleeding obvious? And how about her mother? Although seeing as what a good job she did at destroying any initiative in her daughters then perhaps it was a good call to bypass her.

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  6. Stadtler3 February 2011 at 20:09

    That's small beer !

    Here's the latest gross WoM spreading across the apparently cash strapped NHS :

    http://www.nhs.uk/lambeth/healthtrainers/Pages/Getafreehealthtrainer.aspx

    They don't all have such heartwarming photos though.

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  7. blueknight3 February 2011 at 22:43

    a pair of slippers from Primark only cost £3.99. One for her to whack Harrison with and for someone else to whack her with.

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  8. FrankC3 February 2011 at 22:46

    “I used to have to puree vegetables".
    For a three year old?
    Maybe he just wanted food that went 'crunch' and was fed up with "baby" food.

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  9. JuliaM4 February 2011 at 05:34

    "If there is one thing children need as they learn the boundaries of life is that consistency is the one and true thing to always do."

    It's likely to be something she never learned from her own mother.

    "...I'd say that if the classes work they can legitimately be called an investment..."

    And every 'investment' of this type gets us further along the road to a society that cannot function without the help of the state.

    As NickM points out, an ever-increasing 'team of experts' isn't needed.

    I do like Blueknight's slipper solution though! :)

    "I'm puzzled though - why did her sister recommend this fabulous waste of money instead of pointing out the bleeding obvious?"

    I think you've nailed it there - can it all be traced back to her mother?

    ReplyDelete