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Give them a food complex or teach them a value of a calorie?

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  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    wellnesschaser wrote: »
    It seems ok to me. I understand why you asked the question though. For example being around low-fat-obsessed coaches as a middle schooler gave me that low fat complex at a young age. Calories are great, but kids shouldn't have to worry about them. Are they having fun with it? Do they seem "off" about any part of the process? It could be a fun game they will learn from.

    They seem to like the game of figuring out what they can have and are asking if they can save them for the next day or have only some today and more tomorrow. I like that they're looking at food labels and are understanding nutrition labels... doesn't seem to be negative and I don't restrict their eating or tell them "they have to finish their dinner if they x,y,z" so I think we'll keep 'playing' this game lol

  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
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    It's a little micro-managing...however, I weigh and log most of my food (micro-manage). My kids are 8 & 6, they are allowed 1 treat a day of their choosing. They can usually assess which treat is the better "value" already (without actual calorie counts).

    You can use the 150 calorie limit to teach 2-3 digit addition. That's positive.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
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    I like the idea but perhaps already breaking the foods down into 150 calorie snack packs (ziplock bags) would be easier to manage. Big day of the family working out calorie counts, labelling and bagging everything and then they don't have to weigh, calculate and then reassess every time they want a treat.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,449 Member
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    I think it is very arbitrary and not a realistic demo. Healthy eating is great but this budget for one snack seems very arbitrary. I wouldn't do it. Particular at their ages they need to learn less about calories in junk food and more about things like eating healthy foods and junk only in moderation.
    Teach them to cook
    Teach them to garden
    Go out on a hike or bike or play basketball with them.
    All of these set kids up for healthy lifestyle not lifelong diets.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    amtyrell wrote: »
    I think it is very arbitrary and not a realistic demo. Healthy eating is great but this budget for one snack seems very arbitrary. I wouldn't do it. Particular at their ages they need to learn less about calories in junk food and more about things like eating healthy foods and junk only in moderation.
    Teach them to cook
    Teach them to garden
    Go out on a hike or bike or play basketball with them.
    All of these set kids up for healthy lifestyle not lifelong diets.

    Have you ever been a kid? Teaching healthy eating to kids magically morphs into "here, give me that ice cream and take a celery stick then be happy about it" in their mind, at least in my own mind as a kid it would have. It goes out the other ear. When a concept relates to something they like or something that feels fun and interesting, it's more likely to stick. I don't know any person who hasn't been exposed to "eat more vegetables and less sugary snacks" as a kid through parents, media or school, in many cases all three, yet they grown up they fall for things like ACV and Master Cleanse.

    All the other things you suggested are fine, of course, but understanding calorie budgeting is just as fine.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    I'm on the fence. I wish I had better understanding of diet/calories/macros when I was younger (perhaps high school aged, not younger) as I would have likely made better decisions throughout my teenage years and early 20s.

    Im not sure it's necessary for younger kids though. I think teaching about nutrients is important, and knowing about making good choices but also not demonising treats. I know a couple of kids (7/8 years old) who have obviously grown up around calorie conscious adults, know the calorie content of many foods, and don't have a problem stating that foods have X calories and you shouldn't eat them or you'll get fat, or something has too many carbs, or too much fat etc. I don't think that's healthy at all - It's of course only my experience of a couple of kids, and perhaps not the experience your kids will have.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,365 Member
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    It its all about treats its really not teaching them about nutrition, its seem to be how much more volume can I get for the treat calories.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    My oldest kid wasn't overweight at all until she got to 7th grade and had a school cafeteria that let her buy a burger and a big candy bar for lunch every day. After that one school year she struggled to regain control of her weight until she had enough money to pay for a sleeve. I suppose she's lost the weight now. I don't ask her about it and I haven't seen her since July.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,365 Member
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    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    My oldest kid wasn't overweight at all until she got to 7th grade and had a school cafeteria that let her buy a burger and a big candy bar for lunch every day. After that one school year she struggled to regain control of her weight until she had enough money to pay for a sleeve. I suppose she's lost the weight now. I don't ask her about it and I haven't seen her since July.

    But how and where did she get the money to pay for the burger and candy bar every day?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    amtyrell wrote: »
    Teach them to cook
    Teach them to garden
    Go out on a hike or bike or play basketball with them.
    All of these set kids up for healthy lifestyle not lifelong diets.

    I think these are great ideas and expect that OP is doing stuff like this as part of modeling a healthy lifestyle.

    I think the treat budget idea is a good one too. It teaches how to understand the differences between food in things like calories and volume, how to read labels and understand how many calories are in something, and simply how to budget. The idea that you might reserve 10% of calories (or whatever it is, not saying that needs to be part of it) on a day for a special treat isn't anti healthy eating, and it seems like a way to make the concept fun without overfocusing on calories in general.

    I think you can model sensible lifestyle choices with money too, and also give kids a limited budget for some type of expenditure to teach them those skills, and it seems reasonably similar.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    My oldest kid wasn't overweight at all until she got to 7th grade and had a school cafeteria that let her buy a burger and a big candy bar for lunch every day. After that one school year she struggled to regain control of her weight until she had enough money to pay for a sleeve. I suppose she's lost the weight now. I don't ask her about it and I haven't seen her since July.

    But how and where did she get the money to pay for the burger and candy bar every day?

    The price of the standard school lunch x 180 days was deposited on a meal ticket for her, and the cafeteria gave her the choice of eating the standard meal or the snack bar meal.
  • Niki_Fitz
    Niki_Fitz Posts: 947 Member
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    I love your yard!
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
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    I don't agree with this method. I do my best not to make calories a big deal at home, but rather just live a healthy lifestyle in general.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    My oldest kid wasn't overweight at all until she got to 7th grade and had a school cafeteria that let her buy a burger and a big candy bar for lunch every day. After that one school year she struggled to regain control of her weight until she had enough money to pay for a sleeve. I suppose she's lost the weight now. I don't ask her about it and I haven't seen her since July.

    But how and where did she get the money to pay for the burger and candy bar every day?

    The price of the standard school lunch x 180 days was deposited on a meal ticket for her, and the cafeteria gave her the choice of eating the standard meal or the snack bar meal.

    Then it sounds like it's up to the parent to istruct the child on what to get..
  • tsortsor
    tsortsor Posts: 830 Member
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    Idk kinda seems stupid imo.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    tsortsor wrote: »
    Idk kinda seems stupid imo.

    Why? Isn't learning to budget a good thing?
  • tsortsor
    tsortsor Posts: 830 Member
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    Food is fuel don't play games.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Personally, I think they're just going to end up with food hangups...

    As a family, we eat pretty healthy...we teach our kids the value of good nutrition and the kids are allowed treats at our discretion. We're active as a family and my wife and I set the tone in regards to the importance of fitness to an overall healthy way of living. My kids see regular exercise and just being out and being active as totally normal.

    Really, at my kid's ages (7 & 4), they don't really need to get all worked up and obsess about calories...they're active and as a family we eat well most of the time...they understand the value of that and the value of having treats here and there but that those things shouldn't be their primary source of food.

    IDK..maybe it's because I haven't counted calories in years and one of the reasons I stopped was that I was starting to get consumed and hung up with the numbers...I just don't think it's a very good idea.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Personally, I think they're just going to end up with food hangups...

    As a family, we eat pretty healthy...we teach our kids the value of good nutrition and the kids are allowed treats at our discretion. We're active as a family and my wife and I set the tone in regards to the importance of fitness to an overall healthy way of living. My kids see regular exercise and just being out and being active as totally normal.

    Really, at my kid's ages (7 & 4), they don't really need to get all worked up and obsess about calories...they're active and as a family we eat well most of the time...they understand the value of that and the value of having treats here and there but that those things shouldn't be their primary source of food.

    IDK..maybe it's because I haven't counted calories in years and one of the reasons I stopped was that I was starting to get consumed and hung up with the numbers...I just don't think it's a very good idea.

    I got fat (very fat) eating healthy and being on the volleyball team. My family generally ate healthy because most of our home cooked meals are nutritious and we always cooked. I was about 9 years old when I learned about calories, and it has not created any negative impact for me. Had I been exposed to the practical application of calories at home and not just playing games with it in school, food control may have been higher on my list of priorities, who knows.

    She isn't having them count every single morsel of food or intimidating them into being afraid of high calorie foods, she is simply exposing them to tools that could prove helpful for weight management, and it's only once a week, not a daily obsession. If at some point they need to use this tool they would know that if they are having a slightly heavier dinner but find themselves in the shop wanting a snack, they would just look at the calories on the package to pick something fitting instead of heading directly to a higher calorie snack of nuts just because it's healthy.

    We treat children like little adults with comparable life baggage and hangups, but they're in fact eager to learn and don't usually read too much into things unless there are other factors at play.

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