Feed your kids healthily too!!!

Givemewings

This is a moan. I just read a post in which a poster said that they give thee adults chicken breast and salad in a wrap and then give the kids chicken nuggets. Ugh! Why do people do this!! Children will eat what you give them if you are persistent enough , and usually grow to like the healthier foods, and look what a gift you are giving them. I feel really good that since I started eating more healthily, my children have too, and they are fitter than ever and very happy. Sorry for the moan.

mcdonl

Thats a well deserved moan...

creeeep

I absolutely agree! I can't understand how parents can feed their kids with fast food (http://www.pissedconsumer.com/consumer-reviews/snacks-bars-fast-food.html)! That's awful! No wonder in few years children get fat and suffer from obesity. Parents ruin kids' lives with their own hands..

jedi9393

AMEN!!! I try to feed my kid home cooked meals as much as possible. My kid eats what I eat. I dont eat sugar so he doesnt either. I dont understand the need for sweet drinks either. I drink crystal light, no sugar addded apple juce, water, sf kool aid etc. So does my son, He doesnt need overly sweet drinks. He's only 17 months! No chips or cookies either. Fast food is about once or twice a month and only if we are out and not going home anytime soon. The only problem is with daycares. They feed them crap and I dont have any control over that. I tried.

Rutagabalis

Everything is good in moderation. If you deny sweets and fast food to your children now what is going to happen when they start making their own choices?

aaleigha1

I have a friend who lost 5 stone
her husband is so over weight
her two boys see a pdoc regulary who is worried about their percentile as they are both on 99 and her daughter older at 17 but she is nearly as bad as the boys

friend keeps saying they are big boned like their dad - sorry V I have been shopping with you and seen the cr@p you put in the trolley

when we were having coffee the other day she saw a large toddler and said what does the mother think she is doing
I told her I think its child abuse to have a child that is MORE than overweight - some will be overweight before a growth spurt

now I say she is a friend but I havent seen or heard from her in the last week

MrsSWW

Not a moan at all, but a very wise observation. When I was growing up it was all about real meat, potato and a veg. If you didn't want to eat that then a piece of bread and butter. If you didn't want to eat that you stayed hungry. Too much giving in to kids' wants these days....

VeganInTraining

I completely agree and to the woman who said "all things in moderations" yes I agree but that means if I'm eating healthy the kids eat healthy, if I'm having sweets or fast food then they get fast food. My children will not get nuggets when I cooked something else healthy. I saw one guy say "my kids wont eat what i eat" um, you're the dad and until they can cook their own food they should eat what you eat, if they throw a fit send them to their rooms without dinner they wont die

RachelT14

Well said. When my children started eating solid food we made the decision to only take them to eat at places where the "childrens menu" was smaller portions of theadult dishes. They are both healthy and make great food choices, which makes me proud of the decisions we made for them, i have never understood the need for pasta and pizza places for example to offer nuggets on the kids menu, most children i know will happily eat at least one if not both of those!

That said i do not deny them the odd biscuit or packet of crisps from their diet it is about moderation and my 2 prefer fruit at the moment.

RachelT14

Not a moan at all, but a very wise observation. When I was growing up it was all about real meat, potato and a veg. If you didn't want to eat that then a piece of bread and butter. If you didn't want to eat that you stayed hungry. Too much giving in to kids' wants these days....

You got bread and butter! I got sent to the bottom step of the stairs with my plate until it was clean!

amynirvana9

AMEN!!! I try to feed my kid home cooked meals as much as possible. My kid eats what I eat. I dont eat sugar so he doesnt either. I dont understand the need for sweet drinks either. I drink crystal light, no sugar addded apple juce, water, sf kool aid etc. So does my son, He doesnt need overly sweet drinks. He's only 17 months! No chips or cookies either. Fast food is about once or twice a month and only if we are out and not going home anytime soon. The only problem is with daycares. They feed them crap and I dont have any control over that. I tried.

You're feeding your 17 month old son sugar free soft drinks?!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but he'd be better off with the sugary versions (not that there's any need for him to drink any of that junk).

SF Kool Aid has Aspartame, Acesulfame Potassium and some other nasty sounding chemicals. Look up the first two if you don't know why they're so bad.

I can't imagine how much more harm they do to someone so young...

vegangirl88

Fast food is so bad for you on so many levels! Watch this for more info: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-ljW5YEdao&feature=related

Or read this http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2008/09/12-year-old-mcdonalds-hamburger-still-looking-good.html

asyouseefit

I only cook one meal so everyone at home eats the same thing (except the cat ). We mostly eat healthy with the occasional treat or greasy meal. We have take-out once a week (French fries for SO and little one, not for me anymore, the cals are not worth it). Snacks consist of fruit, string cheese, rice cakes... The only drink our son has is water but we has chips (or crisps) every once in a while, in small quantities.

As someone else says, everything in moderation. A childhood without sweets, ice creams and cake would be very sad!

jo_marnes

Did anyone say the chicken nuggets were fast food? I make my kids nuggets with cut up chicken breast, crumbed with homemade bread and stuck on with egg. They are baked without fat. Is that unhealthy? My kids wouldn't eat a chicken salad wrap either..... sure they'd eat the chicken and wrap, but pick the salad out most likely.

techymum

I often hear this point of view, and certainly respect it. However I can honestly say that in my own situation, neither of my kids were fed fast food very often. (I, on the other hand, was the Queen of Fast Food). They are both in their early twenties now, have no weight issues, and do not eat fast food. Same with pop - were never given pop, and the oldest only drinks it occasionally now with a mixed drink.) The youngest never drinks pop.

I am the only one in my home who is overweight, and believe me - I was completely aware that I was also the only one eating fast food.

Everything is good in moderation. If you deny sweets and fast food to your children now what is going to happen when they start making their own choices?

jedi9393

ok I honestly dont see any deprevation of sweets and fast food. In our home sweets and fast food is not the norm. I will have a certain control over what he eats until he is out of the house or has his own job and stuff. The reason why people think sweets and fast food is so great is cause partially they were raised on eating it. I was raised on eating junk. I wont subject my son to it. When he is older he can do whatever he wants, but hopefully he will choose to eat healthy most of the time.

I am trying my hardest to shape his taste buds. I dont do sugar at all. Maybe during the holidays as a treat. Me and my hubby cook. If I do make a dessert it is sugar free/low carb. I wish my mom had the knowledge to feed us right, but she was raised on fried foods and starches. So I dont blame her. Its cultural. There are so many foods out there that here in America we dont get access to or try. There are kids all over the world that have never tasted a big mac or a piece of apple pie.

People get all testy too about what I feed my kid. His grandparents question me about y cant he has this or that? I dont find what is so cute about a toddler stuffing his face with cake on his first birthday. I made a carror cake, low sugar and my son was ok. I hear poor baby all the time. Just cause he cant have chips or ice cream? Its just food. No more or no less. I dont see a limit amount of sugar and junk food as a sad existence! Its just food. The association between food and happiness is why people fall into emotional eating.

I agree totally about giving in to kids. OMG I saw it on TV. A kid refusing to eat anything except oreos or ice cream and the parents are lik, "o.k". really? REALLY? My mom would have said alright and sent me to bed with a spanking. My kid isnt a picky eater. He tried to go that route around 12 months but you have to be persistent. He would eat the sweet potatoes and ignore the other stuff. I kept at it. Now he isnt picky. He will eat hominy and drink V8 for instance. he's a big eater.

Regarding the chicken nuggets, I think she was talking about the ones in the frozen food aisle or at restaurants not homemade. Also when I say sf drinks. No soda. I get plain kool aid and add splenda not the already made stuff and no sugar added Juices not the diet ones. There is a difference. Or fresh squeezed OJ. I dont do sweet and low etc. I like Stevia and splenda. I personally cannot do real sugar. Most of the time its water or milk for the little one.

People marvel at how well behaved my son is. he is calm and we can take him anywhere. Part of it is personality the other part is food. He had a small piece of cake last week and went Ape S! He was totally wired. No more of that.

GorillaNJ

I think it depends on the situation... night in and night out I make one dinner for everyone. My boys actually love quinoa now... an have learned to love chicken thighs....

but if we are having a party and i am going to go all out and make a great dinner for my friends, sometimes it is nice to just give the kids some chicken nuggets and french fries and let them have their fun.

FearAnLoathing

Did anyone say the chicken nuggets were fast food? I make my kids nuggets with cut up chicken breast, crumbed with homemade bread and stuck on with egg. They are baked without fat. Is that unhealthy? My kids wouldn't eat a chicken salad wrap either..... sure they'd eat the chicken and wrap, but pick the salad out most likely.

This right here!!! Did you get all the facts befor you judged? Because I know LOTS of people who make these kinds of nuggets for their kids

jedi9393

once again no one was judging. We are talking about nuggets in the frozen food or at macdonalds for instance or wendy's. Its a given that anything home made is gonna be a lot better most times than eating out. Most people however do NOT make their own chicken nuggets.

rbryntes

And my brother, growing up, flat out refused to eat anything other than french fries and hamburgers. My cousin's son (who is 9 today) will absolutely only eat McDonald's chicken nuggets (and only from McDonald's) and Ore-Ida tater tots, and pizza at school. His grandfather (my uncle) is a pediatrician and said to let them eat what they eat, there is no reason to force children to eat foods they refuse to eat.

vegangirl88

McDonalds Chicken Nuggets... http://www.thehealthyboy.com/2010/06/whats-really-in-mcdonalds-chicken.html

vim_n_vigor

There are many reasons why to feed kids something different than what the adults are having. My brother in law is autistic, and there are very few foods he will eat. He gets those foods. They are generally not the healthiest. My kids usually eat what we have. They have to at least try what we are having. Sometimes they get a corn dog. Sometimes they have a salad. If you don't know the particulars about what is happening, then you really can't say. You can get chicken nuggets that aren't 'bad' too. I have to teach my kids moderation now so they don't end up where I am now. That means that they have to learn to make the choices between healthy food, and sometimes food now. We talk about how healthy all of their choices are and they are learning that if they eat like crap for a snack or a meal then they balance it with a healthier snack or meal. I wish I would have learned that as a kid.

goodasgoldilox165

I agree with this post and most of the answers below!:drinker:
.
Children's eating has become even more important to us over recent years.
We are bringing up our own family but also 'foster' children - some with very distressing backgrounds and all kinds of problems. I have observed that often very 'difficult' children calm down and become much easier to work with after a few weeks on home-cooked food. My instinct is that healthy foods sooth!

As to getting them to eat healthily... Tricky - of course! However, I think most children like the 'bite-size' rather than the taste of chicken nuggets etc. and this is easy to provide in a healthy way at home!

It is true that usually the flavour of real foods can surprise children who are used to a very limited selection of tastes and textures.
Luckily, humans seem to be natural 'pack' creatures and eating with the rest of us (or just sitting with us at meals as we chat /laugh/eat) inspires willingness to enjoy things that seem new.

Here, we usually try to make sure that meals are served when activities have made everyone quite hungry and we work hard to avoid bringing stress at the table. I don't know about you, but often my food 'likes' come from a happy experience associated with eating it; having spent time preparing them I'd prefer my meals to be remembered happily! Being relaxed helps with everyone's appitite and attitude. Quarrels and discipline matters are dealt with elsewhere -well -whenever possible!

We are all (children too) very encouraging about people who bravely try new tastes but food isn't the focus at mealtimes- and noting who eats what isn't done overtly - there is always plenty to talk about.

What is healthy eating for us? Well, I'm with my great-grandmother in thinking that most things are fine if only eaten occasionally. 'Everything in moderation' is dull but good advice! The children who come to us often have a (less healthy) favourite food and we make sure that this is included occasionally as part of their new diet. I've noticed that the favourite foods do change to fresher less processed ones - given enough time.

asyouseefit

And my brother, growing up, flat out refused to eat anything other than french fries and hamburgers. My cousin's son (who is 9 today) will absolutely only eat McDonald's chicken nuggets (and only from McDonald's) and Ore-Ida tater tots, and pizza at school. His grandfather (my uncle) is a pediatrician and said to let them eat what they eat, there is no reason to force children to eat foods they refuse to eat.

Believe me, no kid will starve themselves (unless they have eating disorder issues but let's assume they don't since they eat nuggets). If your cousin's son is not given any Macdonald's nuggets during one week, I'm pretty sure he WILL eat something else!

i'm against forcing kids to eat foods they don't like and I mostly make kids-friendly stuff (although not the breaded/deep-fried kind they offer in restaurants). If my boy doesn't want to finish his plate, I'm okay with it. But he doesn't get something else to eat. I propose a (healthy) dessert like fruit or yogurt and if he's hungry later on he can snack on rice cakes, wholegrain bread or grapes. But going out of my way to buy him that special food he will only eat? No!

VeganInTraining

And my brother, growing up, flat out refused to eat anything other than french fries and hamburgers. My cousin's son (who is 9 today) will absolutely only eat McDonald's chicken nuggets (and only from McDonald's) and Ore-Ida tater tots, and pizza at school. His grandfather (my uncle) is a pediatrician and said to let them eat what they eat, there is no reason to force children to eat foods they refuse to eat.

I would stop taking my kids to that pediatrician and tell my uncle he's not allowed to feed my kids. From time to time if my kids had an affinity for chicken nuggets I would permit them to eat it, but I will not permit my child to live on precessed food! There is a reason that children are obese and girls are developing so much younger and it is all the extra hormones in those type of foods. If I could afford to eat ONLY organic I would instead I eat it when I can and try not to stress if I can't. Like asyouseefit said, a child will not starve themselves. I also like what goodasgold said about food being about the experience.

My sisters daughter has developmental issues and as soon as they cut out all the processed foods from her diet her behavior improved, her speech improved and she started to learn things more quickly. She is still developmentally behind but ther difference is night and day when she eats healthy and when she eats junk! having worked with Special Ed kids I can tell you that even autistic children can learn to eat healthier.

BrewerGeorge

We have four girls.

You folks expecting a kid to eat exactly whatever you tell them to are dreaming. Children are instinctively programmed to be very wary about what they eat. It's a survival mechanism to stop caveman kids from killing themselves eating poisoned berries. Very often what they eat can be more about what they're comfortable with mentally than what it tastes like. (Stories of kids only eating one food or only eating certain colors are this instinct taken to an extreme.) As a parent, you DO of course have some influence over this, but that is introducing them to as many foods as possible as young as possible. if you think you're going to introduce sushi to a 6 yr old for the first time and have them eat it, you're very optimistic. You can't just outstubborn them, IME.

Kids also have tons more active taste buds than adults, so things actually do taste different to them. I made a chicken salad last week that was nothing but chicken, apples, mayo and sweet curry powder in a wrap with lettuce. The 10 yr old wouldn't touch it, even though she likes all the things in it; the curry was too much for her even though it was mild.