too young to be healthy???

audram420

I wouldn't buy low-fat or reduced-fat stuff for my kids. Fat is brain food. Low-fat does not mean healthy.

agree with this...as kids are growing, fat helps the brain develop. Of course, I do believe in monitoring HOW MUCH fat is taken in...I work at a children's hospital and see kids that weigh as much a me...6-7 year olds, no joke!

scubacat

When children are very young, pediatricians do recommend "full-fat" products like milk because they need those fats for their growing bodies. However, as they get older, parents are recommended to provide the 2% milk and such. I'm not sure how that rule applies to processed foods like crackers and snacks. I'm wary of most things labeled "low fat" or "fat free" just because I know its usually replaced with something else like extra sodium and sugar. So, on the occasion my girls are given an oreo, its the full fat kind because its something that is an occasional treat. I don't buy the kiddie yogurts, they eat the same Chobani I do with frozen blueberries added.

Thankfully, my children readily eat fruits and vegetables and would still choose grapes or an apple over chips or fries if given the choice. As far as body image goes they have said a few things that I pay attention to because I want to avoid unrealistic expectations. My daughters (5 and 4) will say things like they will grow longer "Rapunzel hair" if they choose healthier options. I want them to understand about nutrition and nourishing their bodies but it is concerning they compare themselves to Disney characters or Barbies at such an early age. I'm always reinforcing that is a toy, never a real body.

godblessourhome

I wouldn't buy low-fat or reduced-fat stuff for my kids. Fat is brain food. Low-fat does not mean healthy.

same here! full fat (in an appropriate portion size) all the way!

Queen_JessieA

I buy the low fat/fat free stuff for my kids (they are 5, 8 and 11). They have always gotten it. Sugar free, yeah, as long as it doesn't have aspartame in it. But, we are weird, we also do fluoride free water and toothpaste.

ajbeans

I buy the low fat/fat free stuff for my kids (they are 5, 8 and 11). They have always gotten it. Sugar free, yeah, as long as it doesn't have aspartame in it. But, we are weird, we also do fluoride free water and toothpaste.

Fluoride isn't good for you when you ingest it, so I'm with you on that front. *high five*

prohpet

I would say, that parent didn't want her child to be worried about her body weight at age 7. That's all, not that she doesn't want her to be healthy.

Poor girl should be able to enjoy being a kid without worrying about being fat..at age 7. Nothing wrong with eating healthy as a child, but I understand why the parent took the action she did. I heard somewhere that a lot of young girls like that are concerned about their body weight. Unnecessary stress on the child IMO.

laurad1406

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of the kid just liked the way certain things tasted and not that she felt like she looked fat, but then again, I can't read minds, so could be she thought she was a whale. It was just not my initial thought...

i get that....i can understand your thinking that way at first....but yea, you never know. I was allowed to drink diet coke as a kid, because I liked the way it tasted (regular has always been too sweet for me!) and parents used to think my mom was making me drink diet! or they would always ask if i was worried about my weight, why am i drinking diet, etc etc. The real question is why was I allowed to drink so much soda PERIOD :ohwell:

jbug100

Not enough info here. This is situation dependent. I personally am not a fan of low fat products although I absolutely control my fat intake. My 11 yo daughter is a waif at 65 lbs. If she started asking for low fat items, it would concern me, although, my response would not be " you are too young". We would be having a long talk about being healthy and eating sensibly.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

To hedge a little . . . I don't necessarily disagree with either your position or hers in full, but we have gluten intolerances in my house so our shopping cart looks a little different than some others when it comes to snacks. I don't buy chips and what not anyway, so that's not really a convo that we're going to be having anytime soon, and crackers must be gluten free so that limits selection. That being said, I don't do sugar free or fat free what nots for my son. he's two and if he's having yogurt or cottage cheese it's plain and full fat (he still needs the fats in dairy products for brain development), we then add fruit (we never buy flavored) and no sugar and that's our healthy version. At the end of the day, I try to buy the stuff that has the least amount of ingredents on the label, not necessarily the lowest sugar, fat, or calorie count. I suppose it's 2 different ways of looking at "eating healthy."

rachelleck

Young, growing children should not be having fat free, low fat, etc. They are growing, active children.
Yes, they should eat fruits and veggies and avoid lots of sugar, candy, and soda. But they should still be drinking 2% milk, not fat free.

There's a difference between too much fat and sugar, and not enough. There's also a difference between an active and a sedentary child.

lclarkjr

Low calorie, low fat, nonfat versions of snacks aren't necessarily healthier. The additives to make them that way are probably less healthy for a kid than the full fat version. Plus fat in foods doesn't mean it's unhealthy. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a matter of being "too young to be healthy" but more being "too young to be concerned about eating low fat over regular food."

KayteeBear

I don't call low fat and sugar free and all that crap healthy anyway. Usually if there's less one of one thing then there's more of another.

Is it too young to be asking for fruits and veggies as snacks? Heck, no. I would give my child that any day but I do kind of agree that at that age a child shouldn't be eating the other stuff. It's full of crap either way. It's not healthy because it says low fat.

hbrekkaas

We do not buy low fat/reduced calorie foods in our house. For the kids or for us. We also don't buy any pre-made/frozen meals, anything with a cartoon character, or things like mac and cheese in a box.

Fats are incredibly important for kids, especially in the first few years. At 7 they do become a bit less important, but teaching them about nutrition and how to be healthy does not mean teaching them about additive filled low fat foods. It means teaching them portion control, whats good for your body and whats not, exercise and moderation when they do have treats.

k8edge

Sounds like the kid may be coping what they see their parents eating???

I think that feeding kids low-fat, sugar free, etc... is not the best. My thought behind this is that we shouldn't be feeding our children hyper processed foods to begin with. Perhaps focusing more on "real" food... Processed foods are a culprit for the childhood obesity epidemic. Furthermore... If a child is active and eating healthy they shouldn't need a 100 calorie pack, low fat, sugar free, etc... They will be healthy naturally though just being a kid, exercise, and eating right.

jessradtke

You know, if she was telling her kid she couldn't have vegetables or fresh fruits I could agree that it was weird, but "fat-free, lowfat, sugar-free" don't qualify as healthy foods at my house. For that matter, the regular versions of most crackers and snacks don't qualify as healthy here either.

bry_all01

You know, if she was telling her kid she couldn't have vegetables or fresh fruits I could agree that it was weird, but "fat-free, lowfat, sugar-free" don't qualify as healthy foods at my house. For that matter, the regular versions of most crackers and snacks don't qualify as healthy here either.

This is true, those are not the idea of "healthy" foods. I don't have them in my house (mine is more veggie chips and stix and fruits and vegetables and on rare occassion Cheetos and popcorn for the kids). I just thought it weird that the child asked for it and her mom said no. I guess the conversation was just strange to me. Actually, the kid even asking for that type of food specifically seems off. But, what do I know?

Mairgheal

My kid would absolutely NOT be getting it at age 7 as I don't think the chemical or sugar substitutes added to low-fat or reduced fat are healthy - particularly not for children. Unless a child has a problem with obesity and is advised to do so by a doctor I would absolutely not purchase such things for my child.

Sugar free, on the other hand, we already aim for.

Exactly. Low fat does not necessarily equal healthier. It'soften stuffed with unpronouncables and sugar. So yes, I understand why that lady in the shop said that.

supertracylynn

Oh geez, Bry, you started it...

Here goes MY 6 cents (since I have 3 small children, 2 cents each for me!)

Weight problems run in my hub's and my families, as well as heart disease and diabetes.
Hub and I have battled for Years getting to/maintaining a healthy weight.
Our older 2 kids go to boxing 3x a week, and want to start running with Hub and/or me.
All 3 of my kids are at healthy weights, the photos of health. So am I.
I do NOT believe in double standards (what I eat, my kids eat).
Our bodies are going to be with us for the rest of our lives, we need to teach our kids good habits when they're young.
We often talk about and discuss healthy options, why we eat what we do, the purpose behind specific foods (tomatoes for muscle soreness, dairy for bones, fish for the brain, carrots for the eyes, papayas to make us stressless and happy, etc), and why we do things like cake in moderation.

*this being said*

We buy nearly everything fat free, low fat, sugar free, low sodium, etc.
My kids tend to "snitch" things from our fridge like strawberries, apples, carrots, quinoa, and yogurt.
The phrases "you need protein to recover from your workout" and "balanced diet" as well as other similar saying often leave my mouth.
We don't purchase "bad" food. However, if someone else offers it to my kids, that's fine.
The ones that can read, I ask them to flip the labels so they know what they're eating.
We live a pretty decent version of a pescatarian lifestyle.

If you want to challenge me on what I choose to feed my family, take it up with my doctor who specializes in sports medicine (therefore actually knows about nutrition and works with professional athletes) because unlike most people, I did ask my doctor about changes our eating habits before throwing myself full-time into these practices and he said this is a great diet plan.

bry_all01

Oh geez, Bry, you started it...

Here goes MY 6 cents (since I have 3 small children, 2 cents each for me!)

Weight problems run in my hub's and my families, as well as heart disease and diabetes.
Hub and I have battled for Years getting to/maintaining a healthy weight.
Our older 2 kids go to boxing 3x a week, and want to start running with Hub and/or me.
All 3 of my kids are at healthy weights, the photos of health. So am I.
I do NOT believe in double standards (what I eat, my kids eat).
Our bodies are going to be with us for the rest of our lives, we need to teach our kids good habits when they're young.
We often talk about and discuss healthy options, why we eat what we do, the purpose behind specific foods (tomatoes for muscle soreness, dairy for bones, fish for the brain, carrots for the eyes, papayas to make us stressless and happy, etc), and why we do things like cake in moderation.

*this being said*

We buy nearly everything fat free, low fat, sugar free, low sodium, etc.
My kids tend to "snitch" things from our fridge like strawberries, apples, carrots, quinoa, and yogurt.
The phrases "you need protein to recover from your workout" and "balanced diet" as well as other similar saying often leave my mouth.
We don't purchase "bad" food. However, if someone else offers it to my kids, that's fine.
The ones that can read, I ask them to flip the labels so they know what they're eating.
We live a pretty decent version of a pescatarian lifestyle.

If you want to challenge me on what I choose to feed my family, take it up with my doctor who specializes in sports medicine (therefore actually knows about nutrition and works with professional athletes) because unlike most people, I did ask my doctor about changes our eating habits before throwing myself full-time into these practices and he said this is a great diet plan.

funny enough, I never said the mom was WRONG for her decision. I said I thought it was STRANGE. Different, but not WRONG. No one seemed to notice that, though.... I wasn't trying to start any battles, just saying what I heard and how it came across as strange to me and wondered how others would have taken it. Some of them act as if I spanked the lady for telling her kid no. lol :laugh:

taurie

Children need fat. I don't believe that non-fat automatically equals healthy either. I read that hte only thing low-fat you should bother with is dairy products anyway or of course things naturally low fat. My kids get whole wheat breast, pasta, veggies, fruit, limited sweets BUT they get full fat cheese!

Despite drinking organic skim milk myself, there is a lot of processing done to make skim milk and semi-skim and they put additives in it make make it thicker (this goes for organic milk too). Because of the processing skim and semi-skim milk and the saturated fats in whole milk I don't really see milk as a health food/drink.

It just comes down to personal choices, IMO. I also have full fat cheese : )