Anne-Marie and Byron’s story
Byron (3 years old) is one of the first MEND 2-4 Graduates and his parents are very proud of their progress as a family.
Byron’s mother, Anne-Marie was extremely keen to take part in MEND 2-4 with her three year old son. “I’m overweight myself,” she explains, “and wanted to get my child on the right path to a healthy lifestyle so that he doesn’t have to face the challenges that I’ve had to. I really enjoyed the theory sessions which I found both informative and surprising, in particular portion sizes for children. I hadn’t realised just how small a portion a toddler needs, and I wasn’t the only one in the group for whom the penny dropped that we might be serving them too much at mealtimes.”
Byron really enjoyed MEND 2-4 snack time but was initially quite shy during the activity sessions. But with guidance from the Programme leaders, Byron benefited from the games, which the family still play at home now.
As a result of MEND 2-4, Byron’s family is now more conscious of their lifestyle. They really try to be more active, switch the TV off and make healthier choices at mealtimes. Byron’s parents also involve their son with the shopping, preparation, cooking and serving of meals. TV used to be the way to get Byron to eat his meals but now he switches it off himself! Best of all from his point of view, as Anne-Marie introduced a non-food based reward system, Byron now has a vast collection of Matchbox toy cars.
Anne-Marie is clear about the benefits of the Programme. “I would recommend MEND 2-4 to anyone who has a toddler because not only is it a fun way to meet other parents in your area and share stories, but also it’s a safe learning environment to pick up important nutritional information which just doesn’t seem to be anywhere else.”
Jenny and Louis’ story
Jenny is a mother of three from Catford, London and although her youngest son, Louis, now 3 years old, was not overweight, she was concerned that he wasn’t getting enough exercise.
When Jenny had the chance to attend a MEND 2-4 Programme in September 2007, she was glad that Louis got the chance to get active and play games with children his own age and independently from his older brother. She was also pleased that the MEND 2-4 Programme successfully encouraged Louis to be more adventurous with his food, trying things that he hadn’t before.
“Since going to MEND 2-4, Louis eats red peppers, raw vegetables, all the fruits and sugar snap peas,” says Jenny. “The fun activities encouraged him and the other children to be a bit more adventurous with food. The lady at MEND 2-4 made it look so delicious and inviting.”
As well as helping Louis, Jenny says MEND 2-4 has helped her, as well as other family members. She's learnt more about food labelling and she now knows how to look out for the correct percentages of salt and sugar in foods. “We also had discussions about what to do if family members came over with big bags of sweets - how to say ‘Please don’t give that to my kids’ without upsetting anyone.”
All in all, Louis eats much better now and the MEND 2-4 Programme has also inspired Louis’ older brothers (aged 10 and 6) to help to cook new recipes and taste new things alongside their little brother.
