Food and Parenting

melimomTARDIS wrote: »

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.

Yeah I had thoughts about how I would parent too, that turned out to be totally wrong.

We do eat some packaged foods, and I have a kid with severe dietary limitations, (as a result of a sensory disorder) and he doesn't eat a whole lot of variety as a result.

Lots of smooth peanut butter,store bought bread, fruit leathers and milk for that one. All processed foods.

The only rules we have about food- we eat at the table for meals, your plate must have a plant (fruit, veggie or small glass of juice) a protien, and a "bread".( crackers,dinner roll,cereal,pancake,pasta,rice...)

We don't have sugar soda in the house (I tell my kids it's bad for their teeth). We encourage them to drink water, or some milk as a "protien" with one of their meals or afternoon snack.

I like the plant, protein, bread rule. My kids are pretty good in that they don't drink soda (or even juice really except for special occasions) and they eat a decent variety of things. However, they don't eat much of anything and my oldest is quite small (under 10th percentile) and so if he will eat an entire container of Easy Mac, versus a begrudging bite or two of salmon, quinoa and asparagus, I would rather him have the calories of the processed food AND some of the other stuff on his plate for him to try and decide if he likes it.

Oh and tonight the kids had cheese quesadilla, tortilla chips, apple slices and homemade applesauce for dinner. I had chili, cookies, and wine. I think they ate more "real food" than I did...

Lol, we have one break from "plant, protien,bread" ( if you read my diary, you'll see I play too) and that is for cheese pizza. As a mother I need the occasional "food issues" sanity break.

My son grins from ear to ear when the pizza is served, and says (everytime!) "the crust is the bread, the sauce is the plant, and the cheese is the Protien!"

Close enough son, close enough.

my daughter eats whatever shes given thankfully because ive always given her what i cook (she was 3 before she started to eat)

for snacks she likes cheese, fruit or my homemade baked goods but she also appreciates a nice bit of chocolate or some ice cream and sometimes crisps or prepackaged biscuits

you dont know what child you will get. my daughter was exclusivly tube fed for 3 years and then tube fed over night till she was 7 because i couldnt get enough food into her to meet her calorie needs

i started off feeding her fruit, vegetables and lean meats only with her dietitian and peadiatritian telling me i needed to give some calorie dense foods in there since she burns so much moving and well just breathing (disabled child with mulitple health problems)

when i relaxed and started offering her foods that give more calories per pop we could finally get rid of that tube

she understands that everything in balance is good and that exercise is hugely important. i take her with me if im going for a run or a walk, either in her chair or she will give it a go with her splints. she also attends a dance school who are very understanding of her movement issues but get that its good for her to do something physical and of course the social element

what hacks me off no end is strangers offering me their unsolicited advice both fellow parents and non parents because they havnt the first clue about her life and issues

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?

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.

Mr_Knight wrote: »

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.

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.

Thought I would share:
http://www.kzoodad.com/2014/10/7-things-before-kids/

Mr_Knight 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?

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.

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!

SideSteel wrote: »

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?

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

Mr_Knight 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

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

Mr_Knight 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.

ruqayyahsmum wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

Mr_Knight 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.