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ok, well I am 7-10 years older than my little sisters and brother. When I was growing up I was only allowed to watch an hour of tv a week and my parents made me eat a green vegetable with every meal and all that. My parents split up, so now I have little siblings, but they are technically my half siblings. I love them so much, but I feel like my dad and stepmom like, don't care. It's not that they don't love them, i mean they do, a TON. They are great, loving parents. I'm 15/f and whenever I get involved, like commenting on how much tv they watch (they watch a lot) or the fact that the only vegetable they eat is carrots, my step mom gets mad at me. I can't really talk to my dad alone because he gets defensive as well and thinks I'm only saying this because I don't get along with my step mom. I love these kids and I really want them to be healthy, so what should I do? I'm a really anxious, worried person as it is, so it bothers me knowing that they are frying their brains and not getting proper nutrients in their diet. I don't know what to do!
please help
Well, as you've already found out, talking to your parents is probably not going to change things. But there are some things that you can do to help your siblings.
I'm sure they really look up to you and probably idolize everything you do. So you can set a good example for them to follow. When you go out to eat, order some veggies and make a big deal about how good they are. When you're around them, don't watch TV yourself... let them see you being involved in other activities.
You could also offer to plan and prepare some meals for the whole family sometimes, and include some healthy stuff. You could even get your siblings to help with the cooking, and make it like a fun project. (If they've helped prepare the food, they'll probably be more willing to try it). When you see them watching too much TV, offer to take them to the park, play a game with them, or go on a bike ride.
If you can expose them to some healthy foods and some activities besides TV - even if they don't get it on a regular basis - they'll grow up being more open to trying new things. And when they're old enough to choose their meals and activities themselves, hopefully they'll make some better choices.
(Rating: 5) thank you so much!