The world of Tzu Chi April 2020 (Vol.121)

2020 • 04 58 ellness Starting the Young Ones Right on Sensible Spending I instilled in my daughter the importance of a healthy diet, cautioning her against exhausting her savings on impractical whims that leave her with little to spend on wholesome meals. Translated by Lee Hung Jiew R ecently, a distant relative, alongwith her son, paid my mother a visit after almost a year apart.Mymotherwas shockedby the son’s rotund, protruding belly. During their meal together, my mother observed that the boy, who is currently studying in upper primary, opted exclusively for deep-fried meat dishes and seafood, steering clear of the steamed dishes and vegetables. My mother sighed and murmured in her Hakka dialect, “When you were small, we were poor and lived on simple meals consisting of a plate of stir-fried vegetables and a dish of steamed tofu or eggs. Yet, these humble meals gave you a right start in nutrition. Children nowadays are blessed with food in abundance, but are prone to falling ill from poor dietary choices.” Back then, our breakfast options were decidedly limited; we had a meal of either oatmeal, wholemeal bread or noodles in soup before leaving for school. After school, we went home on an empty stomach that was soon filled with my mother’s home-cooked dishes. Every meal consisted of vegetable dishes, followed by a serving of fruits. Occasionally, my mother laid out some sugar icing biscuits and a chocolate beverage for tea – a heavenly luxury we indulged in. During my primary school years, cakes were a rare treat; I had barely a slice throughout the year. The scarcity of food in my childhood was unimaginable to my daughter Rui Jia. As a student, I saved the remainder of my allowance daily, unlike my schoolmates who spent their pocket money on snacks and soft drinks. After saving enough, I would eagerly rush to the bookstore and trade my savings for a rented book I had been eyeing for some time. One afternoon not long ago, Rui Jia and I met another parent and her child on our day out. The piece of cake in the child’s grasp caught my attention, compelling me to ask, “It’s already 1.30 p.m. Will your child still have an appetite for lunch after finishing that piece of cake?” The parent appeared frustrated and shrugged, “She’s having this for lunch instead of a proper meal.” I fell silent, at a loss for words. The parent then tried to ease the awkward pause between us by explaining, “If she has a proper meal for lunch, she tends to spend hours finishing it. By then, she’ll be too full for dinner. We let her have cake or bread for lunch so that she has the appetite for a proper dinner.” “What does she have for breakfast then? Does she take rice dishes or noodles in soup?” I persisted. “She refuses everything except sweet pastries and cakes,” replied the parent, shaking her head. Our conversation trailed off as we parted ways and headed home to our respective flats. Rui Jia, who had been silent all the way, suddenly wondered aloud, “I always see her buying junk food at the school canteen. Maybe her stunted height is caused by her habit of eating junk food.” I was amused by my daughter’s candid revelation.