MomInsights’s Blog from BabyCenter

I met with a research supplier today, and it was one of the best meetings with a research supplier I’ve ever had, by far.  We just CONNECTED.  I can’t explain what happened.  Despite my nay saying, I am starting to believe in the “tribe” concept, that we mothers are destined to become part of the same secret global cult. 

It happens so subtly you don’t even notice.  One day, you are a research analyst who speaks only about numbers, the next big study, what the big Ah-Ha is going to be and how you’ll get there.  The next, you are realizing that holy cow, you could actually be friends with this research vendor you just met with, because you have so much in common. 

In this case, the contact is a mother of two, ages 4 and I think 7 or so.  We started by discussing our backgrounds, how we got started in research, but the conversation gradually shifted and soon we were talking about the birth, who we turned to, what it was like and other deeply personal things.  I’d say we really had way more in common than the average research/supplier relationship. 

It is almost like she knew the secret handshake.  She urged me to go ahead and have baby #2, because after they are about 3 years old your time starts to free up, so the 100% focus commitment isn’t actually that long considering your life span.  I ate it up; I believe everything she said.  Then we talked about research, and I found myself sincerely hoping that we end up working together soon on some study or another, because us moms need to stick together.

I recently polled moms about their overall health goals and how they plan to achieve them.  Turns out that 91% of moms want to improve their overall health by being more fit and active.  In some ways this is not much of a surprise, as I think moms tend to start caring more about their own health because they need to be healthy to keep up with their kids and because they want to live longer lives, to be there for their kids.  And of course, if you’re a pregnant mom, then your health is directly related to your child’s. 

What I found particularly interesting, though, was that 91% of moms who want to improve their overall health, are doing so by trying to be more fit and active.  That is a lot of moms!  It was about double as many moms as would try dieting/weight loss (49%). 

This really resonated with me, given that I’ve recently been spending more and more time with my friend and fellow mom Karin.  Instead of meeting for a playdate or for coffee, we’ve actually be taking to the roads and heading out for bike rides!  Every week we go a little farther.  It’s a lot of fun and an excellent chance to chit chat, compare notes and just enjoy the newly emerged sunshine.  I can’t wait to get a bike trailer to take Chloe with me.  So much for indoor playdates, its time for baby to hit the road!

Over lunch, I was cross tabbing some data (which is one of my fav things to do over lunch).  I saw that 63% of moms can relate to the idea that every meal is a chance to make a change for the better. 

This gives me a lot of hope.  I’m constantly seeing the news reports about obesity in American, and I find particularly disturbing the reports of obesity in children being on the rise.  I think to myself, this is something we parents can control.   We buy their food, by and large, so we can control what they eat.  Even if its through an allowance, we have control because we can take the allowance away if they abuse it.

I have a feeling that many parents might laugh at me for saying this.  Its true, I am a new parent, and yes, I am already caving occaisionally to Chloe’s craving for buttered toast.  I stupidly introduced her to it and now I shall reap my reward…  Still.  Chloe can’t go out and buy toast.  She can’t even open the fridge, much less figure out our luddite-unfriendly toaster/oven/broiler/convection oven.  I can stop her from eating toast, anytime. 

It’s just so interesting to me that we parents start out with the best of intentions and yet still things can go awry.  68% of expectant and new moms say that since becoming a parent, they are now more focused on serving more nutritious meals to their families.  Yet at the same time, HALF of these same moms say they are trying to buy food and cook meals their family will eat.  At the end of the day, I think that’s the problem.  Its hard to get your family to eat nutritious meals. 

My brilliant husband recently bought me a book that might help.  It’s by Jessica Seinfeld and is called “Deceptively Delicious”.  The premise is that if you hide the nutrition inside of what appears to be non-nutritious foods like pizza, then people will eat it.  The book advises that you keep a full store of pureed foods in your freezer, so you can easily add brussel sprouts to mac’n'cheese.   Its a fabulous idea, but I think it just teaches your family that pizza is nutritious because you never know, someone might have cleverly hidden brussel sprouts in there.