Talk to your kids about their tummy troopers

We all lead extremely hectic lives these days.

There is very limited time that parents and kids have together, and a lot of that time goes in getting our kids to do things – finish homework, attend their classes, practice piano etc. This means that often, between asking questions and giving instructions, we forget to really talk to our kids.

Fun bonding time and meaningful conversations often end up taking a backseat to other more immediate priorities such as getting a school project finished in time. However, our kids need both — bonding rituals and meaningful conversations – to develop a strong emotional foundation and positive lifelong habits.

Among the many important conversations that we need to have with our kids, the one about health ranks pretty high up.

Tell your kids about their tummy troopers

Your children’s gut health is absolutely essential to their overall wellbeing. The sooner they learn about the importance of it, the easier it will be for them to develop good eating habits.

However, we all know from experience that talking to our kids about their health and healthy eating options can often be a losing battle. Holding their interest in a serious but seemingly mundane topic can be pretty hard.

So make it interesting for them.

One of the best ways to have the health conversation with your child is by getting them involved in cooking. When they see how health, taste and fun can all exist together – they begin to opt of much healthier choices.

Watch the video below to see how to get your kids started with a simple, fun, and healthy recipe.

To make gut health more relatable to your little ones try telling them a story: Tell them that their tummy can be like a battle field at times and when the enemy soldiers (the bad bacteria) win, they get tummy aches. If they want to defeat these enemy soldiers then they need to deploy their soldiers (the good bacteria), who are called “Tummy Troopers”.

Your kids would love to know that the tummy troopers help produce certain vitamins and stimulate the production of some hormones, protect their gut from disease-causing bacteria (or bad soldiers), strengthen their immune system, and keep their digestive system healthy – which means that they really really need to keep their good soldiers strong.

To do that, they need to make sure that their good soldiers get two kinds of ammunition – probiotics and prebiotics – who will then make sure that your kid has better digestion and a stronger immune system.

One of best sources for this “ammunition” is VITAGEN LESS SUGAR. The reason you need opt for it is because currently it is the only cultured milk in Singapore with both probiotics[1] and prebiotics[2].

VITAGEN LESS SUGAR is made by fermenting skim milk with billions of live probiotic cultures (lactobacillus acidophilus and lactobacillus casei), and contains prebiotic fibre that helps support the growth of good bacteria and maintains a healthy intestinal environment.

It is an extremely convenient way to keep your kid’s digestive system healthy, starting from when he is two years old. Made with real fruit juice, VITAGEN LESS SUGAR also contains less sugar than other regular cultured milk, is fat-free, high in prebiotic fibre, and comes in delicious flavours such as LB Original, apple, grape and peach.

But drinking it, is not the only way to enjoy VITAGEN LESS SUGAR’s taste and benefits. Watch this video to see a really fun way of integrating the less sugar cultured milk into your kid’s diet…and the best part, you can both enjoy preparing this delicious little treat together.

Cooking together fosters stronger bonding

With limited time on our hands and a never-ending to-do list to run through, we parents need to combine as many things as we can to achieve the most efficient results.

We may not realise it, but cooking together with our kids has many benefits.

1. It allows us to spend quality time with them doing something productive and teaching them basic skills – a special bonding time where many memories are created.
2. It let’s us have a conversation about healthy food and diet, and their relationship with over all well being and good health – an opportunity to affect positive behavioral change.
3. As they measure, see the properties of ingredients change when mixed together and exposed to heat/cooling and then finally plate up, cooking enhances their math, science, vocabulary and creative skills – an experience that offers up learning opportunities.

And the end result is just an additional reward.

Watch the video below for another fun, delicious and healthy recipe that you can easily cook up with your kid.

Parents remember, good habits start early – so does good health.

VITAGEN LESS SUGAR is approved for sale in schools and childcare centres, and is available at supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, petrol kiosks, provision stores, minimarts and schools. For more convenience, call VITAGEN at 6282 5949 for these healthy less sugar cultured milk to be delivered straight to your doorstep!

[1] Probiotics from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families are beneficial in boosting good bacteria. These living microorganisms produce substances called bacteriocins that kill foreign bacteria and prevent bad bacteria from attaching to the walls of
your intestines, so as to maintain a healthy intestinal microbial balance.

[2] Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that encourage the growth and activity of probiotics. Specific soluble fibres have a prebiotic effect and are found naturally in many fruits and vegetables, including asparagus, artichokes and bananas.