feeding babies junk food

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  • Painten
    Painten Posts: 499 Member
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    Children don't ever need to be fed "baby food". It's not essential a baby can be fed straight away on the same foods as the adults, not even mashed up. You ever heard of baby led weaning? It's basically the child eating when it wants and usually it starts with swiping something off the parents plate.

    However you are right a baby shouldn't be eating rubbish like that all the time. I think i'd mention a documentary or something about kids and diets and negative effects of some foods. For example on tv last week here in the uk there was a documentary about kids being fed fast food and there was child who actually had anemia due to a diet consisting of pretty much just fast food. It might be taken badly but they might not even realise the possible effects of a bad diet, not just weight issues but other problems.

    I once told my cousin how bad tea is for young children, it's very common here and it wasn't appreciated now she always tells everyone how i "lectured" her about giving her baby tea.
  • msmith5251s
    msmith5251s Posts: 80
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    In my opinion, making your child obese and not coming anywhere NEAR their dietary needs should be considered child abuse.

    This!
  • Heidi_Maggott
    Heidi_Maggott Posts: 18
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    Wow! I cannot believe that ANY parent would feed that to their children!! My daughter will be allowed her first taste of junk at her 1st birthday party. My son is 4 years old and is only allowed junk on the weekend.

    You are in a tough position. In that same position I believe I would bite my tongue. Maybe express surprise the next time they do it in front of you (wow she is already eating such and such!?) but otherwise keep silent. Family politics fcan be a very tricky thing.

    My husband has an aquaintance who allows her 4 year old child to sip from her beer!!!
  • cheri03
    cheri03 Posts: 172 Member
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    None of your business. Wait till you are a mom and someone offers their opinion.
  • akgary
    akgary Posts: 52
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    quite honestly this is insane to me, for the people saying not to say anything at all is just absurd. a baby isnt supposed to have any kind of food until 6 months of age and at that you start with a little rice cereal and purred fruits and vegetables. i would care less if my in-laws thinks its rude of me to say something maybe you could get her a healthy eating book or something maybe just a suggestion maybe she doesn't realize what she is doing is detrimental to her baby, there is no way with junk food like that that the baby is getting her nutritional needs met. Maybe its just me but i find it appalling and these are the type of people that i think shouldn't have children
  • HappyLuna
    HappyLuna Posts: 112
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    None of your business. Wait till you are a mom and someone offers their opinion.

    Totally agree. Its easy when you don't have children to be judgemental. This child is obviously very loved if people are smiling, laughing and spending time with this child. Also its wonderful to hear that this child is eating with their parents. So good for commmunication and socail development.

    You are not with the family 24/7. How do you know they never eat fruit and veg? Bring your children up the way you think it best but never pass judgement or say anything to others (unless you suspect child abuse which is a whole different matter). You always feel guilty as a mother, and you will cause tension in the family by saying something. No good can come from it. Smile and let it go.
  • auntie_missy
    auntie_missy Posts: 113 Member
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    There is no way to have it both ways. You can't say something without offending, and the situation won't change if no one says anything. To you have two choices: keep quiet and accept that it isn't your child so you don't have a say, OR take ownership of your niece and speak up even if it means stepping on toes. Me, I'd pick option number two. Talk to your sister in law privately and tell her you're concerned that the foods you're seeing the baby eat aren't really appropriate for her age. Let her know that you don't want to cause a fight, but you just love the baby so much you can't keep quiet. If it's a money issue, encourage her to see if she qualifies for WIC. If it's an education issue, encourage her to talk to her doctor. A less in-your-face (but sometimes less effective approach) is the "gift" approach. Buy her a Baby Bullet, a baby food cookbook (Amazon has a So Easy kit with two freezer trays, a book and a video for only $19) or other baby feeding things and just say you couldn't help yourself - you know how fun it is to introduce kids to new foods and "a friend" recommended this.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    Saying something won't work. My cousin never put her children in car seats. Ever. Hell yes, I spoke up. She thought I was crazy and ignored me completely. (Thank goodness nothing ever happened to those babies.) The best thing to do is set a good example. And I really like the idea above me of buying her a baby food maker and a cookbook. Maybe if you act very excited about it and offer to make some food with her she will get on board. But you must be prepared for it to possibly go unused.
  • upsydaisy2011
    upsydaisy2011 Posts: 39 Member
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    I did baby led weaning with my youngest, my eldest had the pureed food/baby foods but it was a nightmare so did baby led weaning second time around but I made sure he was having healthy choices, veggies, fruit, meats and fish, in fact, he'sonly eaten a McDonalds once (he's 4 years old now) he does love pizza but I believe all things in moderation so if they have pizza they'll have it with salad. I also believe that if you completely deprive yourself of something you'll crave it even more!! Junk food contains high levels of sodium which are bad for us but really bad for infants. It's tough work being a parent and even tougher when you see something you don't agree with but don't feel it's your place to say anything. I hope for the childs sake they improve the diet
  • anulle2009
    anulle2009 Posts: 580 Member
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    my sister in law feeds her six month old daughter pizza and cake (i wish i was joking) HOW DO I EXPRESS THIS CONCERN WITHOUT OVERSTEPPING MY BOUNDARIES?

    his entire family watches her eat brownies and pizza while smiling and laughing about how cute it is
    meanwhile im just horrified! itd be different if it was just for really special occasions (i suppose) but its very often. i honestly dont think she even buys her baby food because whenever i see them eating a meal, she just eats what the adults eat but mashed up into bits. this includes mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza bites, burritos, pudding packs, all kinds of fast food and just tons of things that even adults should only have in moderation. NEVER veggies or fruits!

    should i just not say anything? i dont want them to dislike me or be rude because they are newly acquired in-laws but it seriously shocks me to see!


    EDIT: ive politely talked to my husband about it before and while he completely agrees that a baby should never be fed food like that, he also is afraid to say anything for fear that he would offend them. so its not me vs him its pretty much us vs his family


    Not much you can do about it. I do give my daughter pizza but rarely ever any sort of sweets but also she loves her fruits and veggies so she gets her fill of those too but also too my daughter didnt have any of these stuff until over a year. we did baby food until she was One.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    She's raising her child, not yours. Yes, you are concerned, but it's not really your business. The way my cousin's feed their kids grosses me out, but I'm only in charge of the one that I gave birth to and I'm raising him by my standards and their raising theirs. My son (now 2) has always eaten whatever is on our plates, I never bought baby food I just made what ever we were having and stuck his in the blender. My son has always eaten healthy because I eat healthy. It appauls me to see the way that some parents feed their kids, and because my hubs got so used to me preparing food for my son and saw how easy it was it offends him even more, but it's no our place to impose our lives on other people unless the appropriate door presents itself.
  • crystalslight
    crystalslight Posts: 322 Member
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    I have a 7 1/2 month old who eats table food. She's had pizza crust. She's had EVERY kind of fruit and vegetable we eat. Maybe you've only seen what the baby eats while out. Not what she eats at home. The baby could be eating a more balanced diet than what you've seen.
    I think baby food is DISGUSTING and if I wouldn't eat it. Then WHY would I make my baby eat it.
    I have a friend who has a 9 month old that chokes on EVERYTHING. I think it's cuz she hasn't been introduced to different textures early enough. They say 6 months is the best time to introduce food. I told my daughters pediatrician that I wasn't going to feed her baby food. And he said that was fine. That their is NO NEED for baby food.
    Before I had kids there was ALOT of things I said I'd never do. That I do. You just never know what kind of parent your gonna be til you are one. So I probably wouldn't say anything.
  • mscoco10
    mscoco10 Posts: 527 Member
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    I think you could say something but you have to do it right. Unless you spend every moment and eat every meal with them you can't say they never feed thier child fruit, veggies, or healthy meals. At 6 months its nothing wrong with a child having table food. I've allowed my 18 month old to try all different kinds of foods. Of course he likes the sweet stuff best but I enforce veggies too. My child actually like veggies more than meat. A lot of people here say you should mind your own business but there are ways to state your feelings without being offensive.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
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    "It's my right to **** up my own child the way I choose."
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
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    I fully agree that there's nothing you can say. When I really feel strongly like someone's messing up big-time, I simply ask questions to a) get where the hell they're coming from, and b) to cause them to pause and think about their actions.

    Things I'd innocently ask: (Remeber to ALWAYS be prepared to answer "Why do you ask?" though.)

    Aren't you worried about the sugar in that?
    Does she like baby food?
    Does she eat vegetables and fruit?
    Do you think that's safe for a baby to eat?

    They're honest questions, and they're not preachy. Bottom line, though, is her baby is her baby. Does it suck that she'll probably be obese or at least nutritionally deficient? Yes. Can you *really* do anything about it? No.
  • ering
    ering Posts: 183 Member
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    I have 5 kids and numerous nieces and nephews. So in my experience it isn't your place to say how other people should parent their children. Yes, it may drive you crazy to see it but you are not the parent. My kids are allowed to have a taste of everything, but we feed them a balanced diet too. I see my SILs give their kids a never ending supply of juice in a sippy cup. I personally only allow my kids one cup of juice now and then and then it's water for the rest of the day. Sometimes at family dinners it gets a little hairy. The thing I've noticed is that when I tell my kids no, you've already had one cup, sometimes my SILs will tell their kids, why don't you have water too. So it does rub off.

    Now, the person that responded about the AMP. Heck yes I would have said something. But, I would have done it nicely like "Wow you let him/her have that! Do you know how dangerous that junk is for kids!" But, I look at amp as dangerous for anyone to drink too.

    Bottom line, nobody likes to have someone else parent their child. I mean this in the best way possible, but you will probably not understand untill you have kids of your own. When you've "been there, done that" then you'll have a little more room to say something. I have had my incredibly well behaved children (strangers routinely comment on how good they are) disciplined by my SIL who at the time didn't have any kids. Trust me, it didn't end well for her. Funniest part, She now has the absolute most crazy children ever!
    The thing you could do is when you see her offfering something bad you could say something like "there's some bananas over here if they'd like it instead?" That way you aren't passing judgement on her choices just politely offering a different thing.
  • sarahp86
    sarahp86 Posts: 692 Member
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    I am not a mother, yet, Hopefully in a few years I will be. I think its unfair if parents won't feed their children healthy food because they are too lazy to cook themselves so children end up eating fast/fatty foods. Its okay as a treat every now and then.

    I am classed as obese at the moment but I'm working on that. No one in my family are overweight. They all eat healthily and exercise regularly. Even as a child we had a healthy diet. We might have burger/pizza and chips (fries) as a treat maybe twice a month. We had sweets once a week on a Sunday after mass. We would have had fruit salads/ frozen yoghurts/ icecream as treats. MacDonald's/ take out was unheard of. Only for birthdays and special occasions.

    I have friends who have young children and most of them provide great nutrition for heir children but one of my friends is abysmal. she has two children, age 10 and 2. the 10 year old gets a packed lunch for school, he can't have sweets because a few schools over here have banned sweets and crisps at lunchtime, however, he has access to swees at home and she feeds him fatty foods. He doesn't exercise and is clearly overweight for his age. Its not my place to say but he's very self conscience about his weight and wont go swimming or play sports with his friends.
    My friend cant see it and says he's big boned and will grow out of it. She says he wont eat vegetables and will only eat what he likes.
    I just dont understand why parents do this. Even if we didn't like dinner as children we had to eat at least one vegetable and we got on with it.
  • SixCatFaerie
    SixCatFaerie Posts: 690 Member
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    Personally, I would say something & I have in the past. Who cares if their feelings are hurt or not, the child's health is more important.

    I use myself as an example. I say to them "Do you want your child to grow up to look like me? If you keep feeding them the way that you are, they will."

    Yes, I have lost a few friends because of it. However, a few have been grateful & changed how they fed their child because not only did they not want their child to grow up to look like me, they also didn't want their child to grow up to look like them! (no, I don't have children because I can't have them. The friends who were grateful - their children are/have grown up healthier.)

    -Yes, I realize that I will get slammed for saying this!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    How does a 6 month old eat these things? Shouldn't she be on baby food?

    My baby occasionally has pizza and cake but he's 14 months and has some teeth. He had shole wheat English muffin pizza for dinner yesterday like the rest of us.
  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
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    Well! That is really awful, but like others have said I don't know if you can do anything about it. My husband's family tend to eat alot of crap and all I can do it make good choices in front of them, i.e. if they get a cheese steak I get a really good salad with chicken and nuts and cheese. If they sit down to watch TV for hours I say, "I'm going out for a walk, any takers?" Of course this won't influence everyone, but if their kids are there I hope that maybe if they like me enough (husband and I are like the 'cool' aunt and uncle) that they'll maybe one day follow.

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