Got really mad at the supermarket today

BamaRose0107

I can't believe how many people on here actually have the time to stop, look and analyze what is in someones cart. I see where the original poster is coming from but it is an analysis based on one cart on one certain day.

mdale2

I'm extremely nosy by nature...sooooooooooooooooooo...forensic analysis of supermarket carts is a normal day for me.

tanzmitpalmer

On the one hand, it is terribly irresponsible for a parent to feed their children that kind of crap. Once in a while for a nommy treat, sure... but a can of spaghettio's is not a proper lunch. It takes about the same amount of time to make a fresh turkey sammich for your kid as it does to pop and mirowave a can of pasta. If they can afford to do better, they owe their child better.

Oh the other hand, though, sometimes that's all the choice a parent really has. Despite what some people may think, it is cheaper to eat crap than it is to eat healthy. We're talking that Big Lots can of green beans packed full of preservatives and fake flavourings that only costs fifteen cents, because nobody else wants to buy it. Or the off-brand hot-dogs that are so far off brand that it'd be more appropriate to call them "science projects" than "hot dogs". Having lived this scenario personally as a child, I know better than to judge a person by their grocery cart.

Nikiki

There actually used to be restrictions on the food purchased. No organics or diet foods. I can remember a cashier yelling at me in front of a line of people when my daughter was a newborn. I was buying organic milk and yogurt and cereal with food stamps and WIC. She went off on how if I need government money to feed myself then I don't need to eat good food. I left that store, tore up the food stamps and WIC cupons and got 2 more jobs...The purpose of not allowing those foods was because they cost more. Health was never on the agenda.

Sorry. This is totally off topic.

wow thats just nuts!! glad you stuck to your guns though.

It kills me the diffferences between my nephews (my sister-in-law's kids) and my neices (my sister's kids, they live out of state). My neices "sneak" clementines & yogurts when they want treats, and get to pick a goody out of the treat jar (where all holiday candy goes) if they've been good. They get fairly normal foods for breakfast & lunch, my sister works so they get cereal or instant oatmeal most days, but its whole grain cherrios and plain oatmeal with good stuff added rather than the overly sweetened flavoured kinds. They eat pretty much anything you put in front of them and their favorite restaurant is Red Lobster, not McDonalds.

I have my nephews quite often because my sister in law is a single mom and occasionally works a second job. Plus I like having them around so I'll take them on the weekends sometimes. At my sister in law's house the nephews sit on the couch and watch tv or play video games all day. They dont know how to play sports (they are 8 & 10), we signed them up for kiddie football (sis in law is a signle mom) and they could hardly run a lap around the field. My sister in law has to eave for work at the crack of dawn so the nephews are dropped off with me at 6am and I get them breakfast and get them to school. My sister in law gets wic & food stamps and drops off breakfast for them but for the first month I refused to feed them what she provided: Sunny D, koolaid & poptarts. seriously? this is what you provide to your kids to give them energy for school?? and the best part was when we told her we wouldnt give them that and to get healthier things she said "they wont drink anything but Sunny D" um... they drink 100% orange & apple juice, Apple&Eve fruit & veggie juice, milk & water when they're at my house with the occasional chocolate milk as a treat and I have NEVER had them complain (trust me they wont hesitate to complain when they dont like something, the youngest once sat at the dinner table for 3 hours before finally finishing the steak soup we made because he wasnt "sure" he'd like the green beans in it). They now eat eggs & whole grain toast & 100% fruit jam or oatmeal with raisins mixed in or cherrios with sliced banana when I'm in a time crunch (or in zombie mode from lack of sleep!). They give no complaints, its not costing her any more than what she was paying for the poptarts and sunny D because most of it is available in generic brands and the kids are getting better comments home from the teachers (no more "Danny wouldnt sit still in class and wouldnt focus" or "Steven fell asleep this afternoon"). I can't imagine what they'll be like if/when she quits giving them fast food dinners 5 out of 7 days a week.

fowlmeli1093

I totally agree with this. As a mother of two, I know how easy it is to make those kinds of foods. Lately I have been making it a hobby of mine to make delicious meals, not from a box. My daughter loves ice cream also. I need to start limiting her on that. She looked in the mirror and pouted..."mom, I am fat. Everyone is going to laugh at me." SHE IS FIVE! She doesn't need to think like this yet either.

nolachick

havent read all the posts except for the first few but just wanted to put in my 2 cents...
this christmas break I went home and saw my sister since over a year. She has 2 kids ( 6 and 2 ) and I could not stand how all she bought for them to drink was hawaiian punch, and cheeto's puffs. not to mention that whenever we went out to eat all she cud order for them is fries, fish fingers, chicken fingers, etc fried fried fried.

according to her that's all they will eat so if she doesnt buy that for them they won't eat at all. Hmmm hard to believe since they wud not know what that is hadn't she given it to them in the first place. Oh well I nagged for about a week or 2 til I tgot tired.

Nikiki

havent read all the posts except for the first few but just wanted to put in my 2 cents...
this christmas break I went home and saw my sister since over a year. She has 2 kids ( 6 and 2 ) and I could not stand how all she bought for them to drink was hawaiian punch, and cheeto's puffs. not to mention that whenever we went out to eat all she cud order for them is fries, fish fingers, chicken fingers, etc fried fried fried.

according to her that's all they will eat so if she doesnt buy that for them they won't eat at all. Hmmm hard to believe since they wud not know what that is hadn't she given it to them in the first place. Oh well I nagged for about a week or 2 til I tgot tired.

unfortunately people dont realize that kids eat what they're taught, and just because its on a "kids menu" doesnt make it good for a kid. I am sooooo thankful that my mom was a vegetarian while I was growing up because it taught me to eat all sorts of different foods, if it had been up to my stepmom & dad I would have grown up on the usual kids menu crap. And honestly if your kid wont eat the good food you put in front of them... they must not be hungry enough. I dont believe in trauamatizing kids but if you take away the other options then they'll eat what you give them. It might take awhile, but a kid is not going to starve to death by missing a meal, and my sister in law was shocked when I told her how HER son raided my fruit bowl EVERY SINGLE time he came over my house. He would be in the house for all of 20 minutes before he'd spot something different in there and want to try it, and she was convinced he wouldnt like it. He had NEVER had an orange until he came to my house, the kid didnt even know you were supposed to peel it! I gave it to him thinking he'd peel it himself and he bit right into the skin (which was hilarious but slightly traumatizing for him lol) thats just rediculous.

fowlmeli1093

Or there are options like baby carrots and other veggies that don't even need to be cooked that are a better and faster option. I on the otherhand don't think that this is stemmed from not knowing how to eat healthy. We are all taught in elementary what the food pyramid is, and how many servings we should have of each. I think a lot of this comes from simply not carring (or a medical condition). I know the basics, weight gain is the result of too many calories- hence, if you do not eat too many calories, you will not gain weight. But, Yes there are exceptions. Also, at his defense, I look at other people's carts when I am bored in line too- It is human nature...being a mother of two kids, I hope this mother chooses to introduce healthy foods also. On the otherhand, I don't want to go overboard on implementing "a healthy diet." I let my children have some junkfood. I don't want them to be obsessed about their weights at such a young age, but I do want them to know how to eat right..

MercuryBlue

havent read all the posts except for the first few but just wanted to put in my 2 cents...
this christmas break I went home and saw my sister since over a year. She has 2 kids ( 6 and 2 ) and I could not stand how all she bought for them to drink was hawaiian punch, and cheeto's puffs. not to mention that whenever we went out to eat all she cud order for them is fries, fish fingers, chicken fingers, etc fried fried fried.

according to her that's all they will eat so if she doesnt buy that for them they won't eat at all. Hmmm hard to believe since they wud not know what that is hadn't she given it to them in the first place. Oh well I nagged for about a week or 2 til I tgot tired.

You know what's funny.... growing up, we only drank juice. Never water. Heck, never even really juice- my parents bought Kool-Aid because it's cheap!

So when I had kids, it became second nature to pour them juice when they're thirsty. I've always focused on nutrition but the juice angle really threw me. Because of this thread I became more aware of the juice angle. Started pouring my sons water instead. You know, the youngest didn't seem to notice at all. The oldest commented the first time- but hasn't really complained since. I still catch hubby giving him pop or juice sometimes but I'm ALWAYS giving them water now, to make up for it.

I'm amazed at how literally painless it was to get them both drinking water. So to the people who say "My children WILL NOT eat/drink anything else" I wonder... how hard are you really trying? Sometimes you have to be persistant. When they realize you're not budging and they're not getting what they want, they'll usually wind up doing what they're told.

lisawest

I totally agree with this. As a mother of two, I know how easy it is to make those kinds of foods. Lately I have been making it a hobby of mine to make delicious meals, not from a box. My daughter loves ice cream also. I need to start limiting her on that. She looked in the mirror and pouted..."mom, I am fat. Everyone is going to laugh at me." SHE IS FIVE! She doesn't need to think like this yet either.

My daughter is 5 also. We have discussions about "healthy choices" just about anywhere (store aisles, food places, doesn't matter, it's a teachable moment!) I will admit it. I grew up on junk, and until this school year, I was raising my kids on junk.:blushing: Mostly because it's cheaper, I liked it, and it's what you feed kids, right? When my husband and embarqued on our lifestyle change, we dragged our children (kicking and screaming in some cases:laugh: ) with us. The results of our change were seen NY's morning.

On NYE we had a BIG family get together with lots of food. Since most of our family has embarqued on this change also, a lot of it was healthier than in past years. However, there are traditional foods that we only get once a year (fudge, cherry mash, Tennessee caviar, Christmas cookies, Christmas candies, etc.). Since it was a party atmosphere, we didn't harp about healthy choices. BIG mistake! I got to bed around 2AM that morning. At about 3AM or so, my 5yo comes in and tells me her tummy hurts. AHHHHH!!!! We're upstairs with two baby gates between us and the bathroom!! She makes it. (Thank you God for listening to my fervent prayers as we raced downstairs!) She ended up making one more trip to the bathroom at about 6:30. After resting on the couch until about 8AM, she was right as rain. When I talked to her about it later, her assessment (coming from a 5 year old!!) was that she ate too much junk the night before!:noway: Would she have made this same conclussion 6 months ago? Probably not. We never discussed healthy versus junk until August. Now she knows when Mom and Dad talk about calories that those are the things that give us energy. She also knows that we need to make those calories count, because if we eat unhealthy calories our energy won't last very long. But if we eat healthy calories, we'll have more energy for longer.

I now have no excuse for feeding my kids the stuff found in that woman's cart. With the exception of the pop/soda, that could have been my basket last winter. This winter my basket looks much better. (Although, we still do the mac and cheese, we just make a better choice as to which kind we buy:blushing: ) Do we make the BEST choices? Probably not. Are we making BETTER choices than we did? ABSOLUTELY!!! I hope the mom and daughter find the motivation and education they need to make better choices for themselves also!

Nikiki

Do we make the BEST choices? Probably not. Are we making BETTER choices than we did? ABSOLUTELY!!! I hope the mom and daughter find the motivation and education they need to make better choices for themselves also!

amen!! that is all that matters, I totally understand that convenience & budget play a role in what people feed their kids, but I strive for myself to eat 80% healthy with 20% for not so healthy choices. I would like to get better on that, but its a heck of a lot better than the 50/50 I was at a year ago. My husband is ESPECIALLY one for this. This is the man that made a taco "salad" with a pile of nacho doritos, a huge scoup of taco meat, a handful of cheese, huge gobs of sour cream and a sprinkle of taco sauce... and if I was looking he'd add a few bits of lettuce to the top. Now he starts with lettuce, then salsa then a ground turkey or chunks of chicken with taco seasoning with a sprinkle of cheese... he still eats it with a handful of nacho doritos but compared to the original? 1000% better! With my nephews, my sister in law SWORE that they would only drink sunny d... they drank oj and water every time they were at my house, I never even knew they preferred sunny d, they never mentioned it, never pointed it out at the store, never made a face at the oj we gave them. they drink water with no complaint.

I'm too lazy and too cheap to buy or make special "kids" meals, they eat what I'm eating or they get nothing. aside from the initial complaints with the quantity and variety of veggies, theres been no issues at all!

Azdak

I find that, since I know nothing about the individual next to me--nothing about their lifestyle, health history, the particular circumstances of that purchase, etc., etc, it is really unfair to jump to conclusions just based on physical appearance. I'm sure most of the people in this group who were (or are) struggling with their weight at some time or another really appreciated the looks of scorn and derision they received from the "grocery line police" every time they went to the store.

Me, I prefer to use my time in the grocery line more productively -- looking for hot MILFs buying healthy food, expensive wine and cheeses, and fantasizing that they would invite me home with them.

Momma2four

I find that, since I know nothing about the individual next to me--nothing about their lifestyle, health history, the particular circumstances of that purchase, etc., etc, it is really unfair to jump to conclusions just based on physical appearance. I'm sure most of the people in this group who were (or are) struggling with their weight at some time or another really appreciated the looks of scorn and derision they received from the "grocery line police" every time they went to the store.

Well Said!!!! I loved it.

BamaRose0107

I find that, since I know nothing about the individual next to me--nothing about their lifestyle, health history, the particular circumstances of that purchase, etc., etc, it is really unfair to jump to conclusions just based on physical appearance. I'm sure most of the people in this group who were (or are) struggling with their weight at some time or another really appreciated the looks of scorn and derision they received from the "grocery line police" every time they went to the store.

Me, I prefer to use my time in the grocery line more productively -- looking for hot MILFs buying healthy food, expensive wine and cheeses, and fantasizing that they would invite me home with them.

Well Said!!

arewethereyet

I would like to take a moment to commend all you moms who are making changes for the good in your babies lives!

I wish I had seen the light when my children were young. I wasn't a McD mom, but I did reward with cakes and icecreams.

I promise if you remove the chip bowl and put down fruit......eventually they WILL eat it!

God Bless!

rheign

It's really easy to point out the crap in someone's back yard while overlooking our own. Just food for thought. ;P

foxyforce

It's really easy to point out the crap in someone's back yard while overlooking our own. Just food for thought. ;P

.

Jennplus2

i think you are being really judgemental. that is not a full cart of groceries for family for a day, let along a week. those could possibly be snacks or replenishing the pantry or for special occasions (like, i don't know, NEW YEAR'S EVE). you have no idea what this women has at home in the manner of fresh fruits or veggies, or what her child is eating.
dawn

spaghettiO's and mac and cheese for new years eve? What parties do you go to?

and besides, you can say that all you want, but this woman was obese, AND the child was obese. If it's hormonal or chemical, then that stuff probably shouldn't be anywhere near either of them, and if it's not, then there's just plain no excuse anyway.

and yeah, you're damn right I'm being judgmental, I make no excuse for that. Sorry, but I'm not one to be oblivious to situations. At some point you need to be aware of the environment you are in, or else the problems going on around you are your own fault as much as everyone else.

It sounds to me as if some of you don't have kids. So I would like to add that (I am a bad cook) I don't feed my kids super healthy. I don't feel I am the worst, but I do feel guilty that I don't serve a veggie every single night and I do give them more processed food than I should (frozen chicken nuggets on hard days, ect) and my 4 year old does not have ANY fat on her little body AT ALL. She is tight and trim and looks like a model (no boobs of course, but very fit)
The point I am trying to make is that kids need to do some hard core over eating of junk food, soda, fast food, ect to get to the point of being that over weight. It is not like us where you put a piece of candy in your mouth and your *kitten* grows 3 sizes. Most kids are active by nature, they can run and play for hours at a time take a 30 min power nap and start all over again. I feel that fast food for young kids is the problem. I have a co-worker that feeds her kids fast food at least once a day everyday, sometimes more. It is not like he saw this mom on a bad day. Easy is not best. As a single working mom though, I do have to say it is really hard doing healthy meals everyday, harder still when you don't have the time to cook. Giving the kids a chance to be active and running and playing with them is a must though!

michlingle

Anyone who has ever worked as a teacher in a poor community HAS to see what over processed, hormone pumped food does to a third grader. It may not cause obesity per se, but why do so many poor kids have overdeveloped, on the verge of obese, bodies? It's scary. I'm not insinuating this about any children of posters on this thread, but the above poster made me think. Not only does cheap, fast food have poor nutritional quality, but it is full of dangerous chemicals that wreak havoc on little ones. A 7 yr old should not be menstruating or have DDs. I've seen it working on the west side of Chicago, and it was not uncommon. In all fairness, we are human. We are flawed and certain flaws are more visible than others. We are all judgmental and it is easy to judge the junk food filled shopping cart as opposed to judging a functional, thin addict, for example, who hurts just as much when they are by themselves. I guess what I've learned after reading, and posting, that we are all in different stages of our own journey. Some will accomplish more, some less. It's still a journey.

EdibleEm

hehe here is a little perspective.. I grew up in a super fit family! My parents are runners and they eat very very healthy food all the time. When we were kids treats were quite rare (like when my nana came to visit from England with goodies in her suitcase) and junkfood became an obsession for me. I used to sneak it every chance I got, obsessed about it, gorged on it at friend's houses, bought pop on my way home from school, etc. It is about BALANCE I think, teaching our kids how to eat healthy and how to indulge a little once and a while without guilt. My son knows that during football season he is allowed one night a week of fast food take out.. no football = no fast food. Or he can indulge after he is full of good food, eat an apple and a banana and then you can have 2 cookies instead of 5, etc. I have taught him moderation and the calories in/calories out equation but I certainly don't deny him goodies. I try to teach him the balance I never had. There are many reasons I am overweight but I know that binging on goodies was a 'secret' habit I learned early because we never got any of that stuff.

I also agree with the posters who have mentioned that poverty can contribute to bad eating habits. The dieticians in Canada put out a cost of eating report every year and there is a big difference between what is costs for a family to eat good healthy food and what a lot of low income folks have in their budget to spend!