A few generations ago Popeye was right when he told the kiddies to always eat their spinach. And many children obeyed. They ate their vegetables, along with their meat and potatoes just like mom and dad, and Popeye, told them to do. But that is less common now. At meal time in our culture, most kids are calling the shots. And that means mac-and-cheese, while their parents eat protein and salad.

According to health and child birth educator, Catherine Berglund of West Seattle, parents caved beginning in the '60's and '70's and let the kids "just say no" to nutrition at mealtime in favor of mac-and-cheese and other bland standards.

"We were the first children to pull this, and now every kid in this culture is pulling this," said Berglund, whose son, Aidan, 6, a Lafayette student is on a healthy nutritional track, and happy about it, too.

"Obesity, diabetes," sighed Berglund, "Kids now are the first generation of Americans suspected to have a shorter life span than the generation before. At the current rates of diabetes and obesity today's youth might not live as long as their parents."

She cites studies in psychology suggesting that this is all about children testing their parents.

She explained, "What the kids are saying is really, 'How late can I stay up? Is it really necessary to brush my teeth?' They are testing those boundaries. Our grandparents didn't let our parents get away with that, but our parents let us get away with it. And now we let our children get away with testing the boundaries.

Berglund is offering a class to parents of toddlers, infants, even newborns, so that they are well-prepared, called "Good Eater 4 Life". It will be held Thursday, Feb. 16, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Youngstown Cultural Center. $20 per couple, $15 per individual.

She is also working on a book called "Good Eater 4 Life".

"There is basically about a six month window where you transition from all milk, whether breast milk, formula, or a combination, to no milk. By 'no milk' I just mean it is no longer necessary to buy formula. The way I teach is thinking about the future, creating a good eater from the first mouthfuls of solid food onwards.

"I think my method of 'family-style eating', meaning the whole family sits down and eats the same meal, can work for lots of different kinds of parents and caregivers, including vegetarians, those who eat only organic, or gourmet food, and even new parents who tell me, 'I don't know how to cook a thing. Please teach me to open some cans.'

"I was a fussy eater, and in the trend (within the first generation) that is now the norm of fussy kids eating 'plain this' and 'plain that', white food, basically starch and dairy, and not a whole lot else," she said. "Now it is an exceptional child who eats what everyone else in the family is eating. Parents make one meal for the adults, and another for the kids. It's not just unhealthy. It's also more work."

She pointed out that this behavior is mirrored in most restaurants that offer carb-loaded children's menus that include fried chicken strips with french fries, mac-and-cheese, and little cheese pizzas.

"I have friends who are parents and who became worse eaters with the introduction of children in their lives," she said. "They have toddler snacks around the house, string cheese, Cheerios, little containers of sweet yogurt. And they snack on their child's snacks and are gaining weight like their kids.

Berglund has an undergraduate degree in microbiology. She earned her master degree of public health, maternal and child health, at UW in 2008 while raising Aidan, then a toddler.

"A classmate of mine was a pediatric dentist and he explained to me the importance of not letting your kids walk around all day nibbling out of a bag of raisins and Goldfish crackers," she recalled. "Those things are terrible for the kid's teeth. That's why they get so many cavities. I would recommend snacking during the day on something like sliced apples, not refined white flower like Goldfish (crackers), or sticky sugary things like raisins. The bacteria in your mouth will feast all day long. It's a banquet that never stops."

She said she is making an effort to set a good example, both for Aidan, and her students.

She explained, "I am 20 pounds lighter than I was 10 months ago, and I feel like I have 30 more pounds to go. I think if I am going to make a success of it, it would be helpful if I look more like Martha Stewart and less like Paula Deen."

To contact Catherine Berglund for information on her class, call her at:

(206) 919-2701, or email her at: goodeater4life@gmail.com