Food and Parenting
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I've got a 10 year old who calorie counts. He makes intentional lower-calorie choices through the day so he has room for a Mars bar at night.
The other kid maintains a list of four foods that she will actually eat. Currently those are pepperoni pizza, grilled cheese sandwich, Mr. Noodles "soup", and fried egg sandwich. Anything not on the list will not be eaten, and it is not possible to out-patient this kid.
One kid loves fruit. Other kid hates all fruit. One loves soda, one hates it. They're two years apart, same parents, always lived together, but completely dissimilar.
Nature makes 'em all different...there's not a whole hell of a lot you can do about it...
Very similar to my girls. One loves pretty much all foods. She eats baby spinach by the handful and will choose fruit over chips any day. She loves to try new foods and experiment.
The other likes rice, toast, potatoes and cucumber slices.
I just do the best I can with them, because they are people with their own ideas, tastes and preferences, just like me.0 -
melimomTARDIS wrote: »Laurend224 wrote: »melimomTARDIS wrote: »I saw a documentary on netflix, featuring kids that for one reason or another get taken from their parents homes. One of the first things the cops on the documentary looked for in the kid's home was for food. As in, Is there any/enough?
Honestly, I am providing adequate calories for growth, offering new foods, and trying to stay sane in the process. Isnt that what most of us are doing with our kids? Cant that be enough?
Yes. It is!
Some days I just want a minute alone to pee! I have been a stay at home mom since I was put on bed rest with my 3rd baby, so 3 + years now. And some days I just need a break. Some days I just don't have it in me to soak beans, bake bread, or even heat veggie burgers. That's what Chinese take out is for!
As if food is the ONLY item of parenting I need to worry about! I also am potty training one, helping the other learn to read,washing/folding/putting away basket after basket of laundry, clipping fingernails, walking the dog,wiping up vomit, staying up late and waking up EARLY. I am sorry that in addition to that i didnt bake cookies. LOL.
My youngest will be 3 in February. I haven't even broached potty training yet. He also has a vascular malformation, so we are always at the Dr. My daughter has Girl Scouts and choir, and my 6yr old will be starting baseball in the spring. Fortunately we don't have pets, thanks to my husband's allergy, but my 6 yr old gets migraines, and pukes. Every. Single. Time. And being a boy, he never makes it to the toilet. Some days I think a full time job would be easier (no flame please) but I know that when I do go back to work, (I am an Rn) I will probably go back to nights, and be sleep deprived on top of all that.
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Sometimes kids wont even eat their favorite foods, much less the ones you want them to. Sometimes you have to pick your battles and just let a calorie be a calorie.0
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BrownEyedBetty wrote: »I hear this so much and it really boggles my mind. When I hear a parent who is trying to have a more active and heathy life say well I buy those special treats for my kids. So it's ok for your children to eat that crap that is so called food and not you? Don't you want your children to grow up and have a healthy relationship with real food? Gogurt is not a food, little debbie cakes are not food, sugary fruit snack are not food. I want my future kids to love eating vegetables and fruits and have a diverse food palate.
Any thoughts?
I doubt there are many people who don't want their children to love eating vegetables and fruits. Wanting it doesn't make it so. Limiting your child's diet won't necessarily make it so either. But I do commend you for wanting to give your future children good nutritional basics. It's an important part of child rearing that is too often overlooked these days.
But, once you start dealing with your children, you'll likely see that it doesn't need to be so black and white. It's okay to have processed foods once in a while. Balance and nutrition are the important things. I used to make cookies from scratch regularly for my children, because it was cheaper and I enjoyed it. But it didn't stop them (or me) from also liking Oreos.0 -
Thought I would share:
http://www.kzoodad.com/2014/10/7-things-before-kids/0 -
Laurend224 wrote: »melimomTARDIS wrote: »Laurend224 wrote: »melimomTARDIS wrote: »I saw a documentary on netflix, featuring kids that for one reason or another get taken from their parents homes. One of the first things the cops on the documentary looked for in the kid's home was for food. As in, Is there any/enough?
Honestly, I am providing adequate calories for growth, offering new foods, and trying to stay sane in the process. Isnt that what most of us are doing with our kids? Cant that be enough?
Yes. It is!
Some days I just want a minute alone to pee! I have been a stay at home mom since I was put on bed rest with my 3rd baby, so 3 + years now. And some days I just need a break. Some days I just don't have it in me to soak beans, bake bread, or even heat veggie burgers. That's what Chinese take out is for!
As if food is the ONLY item of parenting I need to worry about! I also am potty training one, helping the other learn to read,washing/folding/putting away basket after basket of laundry, clipping fingernails, walking the dog,wiping up vomit, staying up late and waking up EARLY. I am sorry that in addition to that i didnt bake cookies. LOL.
My youngest will be 3 in February. I haven't even broached potty training yet. He also has a vascular malformation, so we are always at the Dr. My daughter has Girl Scouts and choir, and my 6yr old will be starting baseball in the spring. Fortunately we don't have pets, thanks to my husband's allergy, but my 6 yr old gets migraines, and pukes. Every. Single. Time. And being a boy, he never makes it to the toilet. Some days I think a full time job would be easier (no flame please) but I know that when I do go back to work, (I am an Rn) I will probably go back to nights, and be sleep deprived on top of all that.
I wont flame you!
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The other kid maintains a list of four foods that she will actually eat. Currently those are pepperoni pizza, grilled cheese sandwich, Mr. Noodles "soup", and fried egg sandwich. Anything not on the list will not be eaten, and it is not possible to out-patient this kid.
Are you suggesting that if you didn't provide these 4 foods, this child would not eat anything at home, ever?0 -
I agree to an extent. Sometimes its not avoidable though. I am a mom to a four year old boy and another baby on the way. For the most part, we eat organic and unprocessed but there are always special occasions where other food is unavoidable. Id rather cave and allow my child to eat food thats not real once in awhile, same standards as myself, because i dont wanna restrict anything completely because then he will just want that type of food more.0
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melimomTARDIS wrote: »Laurend224 wrote: »melimomTARDIS wrote: »I saw a documentary on netflix, featuring kids that for one reason or another get taken from their parents homes. One of the first things the cops on the documentary looked for in the kid's home was for food. As in, Is there any/enough?
Honestly, I am providing adequate calories for growth, offering new foods, and trying to stay sane in the process. Isnt that what most of us are doing with our kids? Cant that be enough?
Yes. It is!
Some days I just want a minute alone to pee! I have been a stay at home mom since I was put on bed rest with my 3rd baby, so 3 + years now. And some days I just need a break. Some days I just don't have it in me to soak beans, bake bread, or even heat veggie burgers. That's what Chinese take out is for!
As if food is the ONLY item of parenting I need to worry about! I also am potty training one, helping the other learn to read,washing/folding/putting away basket after basket of laundry, clipping fingernails, walking the dog,wiping up vomit, staying up late and waking up EARLY. I am sorry that in addition to that i didnt bake cookies. LOL.
Added- I have been a stay at home mom for a little less than 3 years now. Before that I worked part-time when I had "only" one child, whenever we needed the money.
I have three and I'm on maternity leave now, until April. I feel like I'm permanently doing laundry and hoovering. My 5 year old is in year 1, so we're reading every night, and as a June baby he's one of the youngest in his year (this is in England) so he's a bit behind with his writing, so we need to practise that too. I'm trying to wean my 8 month old who doesn't seem to have much interest in food. My three year old can be hard work...bossy little madam lol.
When I go back to work I'll have a planning and marking load (I'm a secondary school teacher, part time). My husband works shifts. When I've been at work all day, then had to collect 3 kids from separate places, I sure won't be cooking an elaborate meal from scratch. I doubt I'll have microwave meals either. I go for an in between, probably fish fingers, and veggies cooked in the microwave.
I'd say we are good 95% of the time, but there are times when we get take-away or go for the easy option. It's hard being so full on all the time. Work will be a break in a way, I might actually get to sit down at break and lunch time and drink a cup of coffee without having to get up 20 times to stop a fight/get a cup of water/remove a dangerous toy from my baby/change a nappy etc.0 -
Thought I would share:
http://www.kzoodad.com/2014/10/7-things-before-kids/
Wow, that makes me think I was an excellent parent raising little angels.0 -
come back when you have kids
I don't know why you're hatin on gogurts - the ones in my fridge only have 6 g of sugar and 5 g of protein.......win for a 17 month old that hates meat currently! 0 -
BrownEyedBetty wrote: »I mean to offend no one. I'm just saying I personally would not feed that stuff to my children even with a balanced diet. If they want a
cookie I will make them from stratch instead of buying the ones that come in a box is all I am saying
may you find a husband that will support your full time job of baking and cooking every morsel from scratch........
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BrownEyedBetty wrote: »I hear this so much and it really boggles my mind. When I hear a parent who is trying to have a more active and heathy life say well I buy those special treats for my kids. So it's ok for your children to eat that crap that is so called food and not you? Don't you want your children to grow up and have a healthy relationship with real food? Gogurt is not a food, little debbie cakes are not food, sugary fruit snack are not food. I want my future kids to love eating vegetables and fruits and have a diverse food palate.
Any thoughts?
Yes I have some thoughts.
Claiming that heavily processed foods are "not food" is incorrect and also I think it's offensive to demographics that may not have as much access to whole and minimally refined foods.
I think if your concern is to develop a healthy mindset around food you do that by being inclusive and teaching moderation, not by labeling certain foods as "not food".
You claim to endorse a diverse diet but your comments go against that.
Werd...
Also, Gogurt is just yogurt in a nice portable tube...
Personally, I don't see anything wrong with my kids sitting down to some nice grilled chicken, some brown rice, and peas and having some fruit snacks for desert...I think that's a far healthier mindset than labeling foodz as "not food" and going around demonizing everything...how exactly does that help foster a healthy relationship with food?0 -
TheVirgoddess wrote: »BrownEyedBetty wrote: »I mean to offend no one. I'm just saying I personally would not feed that stuff to my children even with a balanced diet. If they want a
cookie I will make them from stratch instead of buying the ones that come in a box is all I am saying
I love the declarations of non-parents about how they will parent. It's adorable.
I know...I used to totally be one of those people..."oh, I'd never let my kid watch that much t.v"..."oh my gosh, I'd never let my kid have that much time on an ipad playing games...I'd make them get outside and play!"....
yup...parenting is pretty easy when you don't actually have to do it...
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »The other kid maintains a list of four foods that she will actually eat. Currently those are pepperoni pizza, grilled cheese sandwich, Mr. Noodles "soup", and fried egg sandwich. Anything not on the list will not be eaten, and it is not possible to out-patient this kid.
Are you suggesting that if you didn't provide these 4 foods, this child would not eat anything at home, ever?
i know a mum whos teen son is severly autistic. he will only eat chicken dippers and ketchup. nothing else at all anywhere passes his lips. his mum has to provide them to his special school and to his respite centre. Hes seen specialists and theyve tried stratagies but other foods really are a no go, he would rather go hungry. some kids and adults really do have severe issues around food
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amanda091990 wrote: »For the most part, we eat organic and unprocessed but there are always special occasions where other food is unavoidable. Id rather cave and allow my child to eat food thats not real once in awhile, same standards as myself, because i dont wanna restrict anything completely because then he will just want that type of food more.
Wow your kids eat pretent food? How does that work? My kids won't touch their play food.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »The other kid maintains a list of four foods that she will actually eat. Currently those are pepperoni pizza, grilled cheese sandwich, Mr. Noodles "soup", and fried egg sandwich. Anything not on the list will not be eaten, and it is not possible to out-patient this kid.
Are you suggesting that if you didn't provide these 4 foods, this child would not eat anything at home, ever?
"Ever" is a long time. I've pushed it as far as 36 hours, which is like the Siege of Stalingrad in grownup years.
The kids are growing at astounding rates - height is 99th percentile for both - and both were reading before age four, so mental acuity is certainly not being affected.
If nothing else, this is solid evidence that nature knew what she was doing when she evolved us to thrive as multi-fuel omnivores.
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Being a parent is hard. Being a parent with a full time job is hard. Being a parent who works out is hard. Being a parent who maintains a healthy marriage is hard. Being a parent who maintains a lot of close friendships is hard.
The worry is constant. Is my oldest adjusting to kindergarten ok? Is he making friends? Is he being nice? I am dressing him nicely? When did I last make him take a shower? Should I make him do more chores? Am I spending enough quality time with him? Am I too hard on him? Am I too soft? Is my youngest developing ok? Why did he wait so long to start walking? Do I hold him too much? Did I wash his hands before he ate dinner? When is his next Dr. appointment? Am I spoiling him? When should I start potty training?
Oh the worry. The never-ending, constant worry. The thing is... a lot of parents are trying to do their very best. And when someone steps in and says "OMG! Why are you feeding that child a Gogurt!?", it puts us on the defense. My son will eat his gogurt... with a side of raw broccolli. And it is the gogurts that lead to the Stoneyfield squeeze yogurts... and now on to the greek squeeze yogurts. (yay! More protein in greek yogurt!)
And the cookies from scratch... that just makes me giggle.0 -
ruqayyahsmum wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »The other kid maintains a list of four foods that she will actually eat. Currently those are pepperoni pizza, grilled cheese sandwich, Mr. Noodles "soup", and fried egg sandwich. Anything not on the list will not be eaten, and it is not possible to out-patient this kid.
Are you suggesting that if you didn't provide these 4 foods, this child would not eat anything at home, ever?
i know a mum whos teen son is severly autistic. he will only eat chicken dippers and ketchup. nothing else at all anywhere passes his lips. his mum has to provide them to his special school and to his respite centre. Hes seen specialists and theyve tried stratagies but other foods really are a no go, he would rather go hungry. some kids and adults really do have severe issues around food
I know tons of kids on the spectrum - those damn chicken nuggets are as close as you can get (that I've seen, anyway) to a food that they'll all eat. There is a specific texture and flavour to them that, for whatever reason, just feels "right".
Whichever lab coat at McDonalds U invented the things should get a Nobel prize....! Not only are they using the whole chicken, they're obviously tapping into something primordially rooted.0 -
scraver2003 wrote: ». My son will eat his gogurt... with a side of raw broccolli. And it is the gogurts that lead to the Stoneyfield squeeze yogurts... and now on to the greek squeeze yogurts. (yay! More protein in greek yogurt!)
Yeah I tried the Greek yogurt kinds... Nope. Didn't buy any other kind until they were eaten, and I ended up having to throw them away after their expiration date. Even tried making my own smoothies with fruit and Greek yogurt... nope.
I laugh too at the chickpea chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal raisin cookies... My kids wouldn't touch those. The only 'healthier' substitution they have accepted is regular Cheerios instead of the honey nut kind and hey, I'll take it (shockingly they both eat whole wheat pasta with parmesan cheese just fine, while my son won't touch the boxed mac'n cheese stuff).0
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