One of the absolute worst parental errors,
in my opinion, is feeding your child a
poor diet. I absolutely cringe when I see
people feeding MacDonalds (along with
other fast food) to their kids. It is one
of the most disgusting things for me to
see a little toddler shoving fast food
french fries into their little mouth. I
see feeding junk to your kids as
irresponsible, and bad parenting. Your
child's diet is completely in your control
(while they are still young). Why make
the choice to harm them with food that is
bad for their little bodies?
I'm not talking about the rare occasion.
I'm talking about parents who make junk
food and fast food a part of their child's
weekly diet. I have the exact same
problem with parents who feed their
children kraft dinner and hot dogs almost
every night.
What do you guys think about this?
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tigresacanela24
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 5261 Location: Treat your children well, eventually they'll choose your nursing home.
Posted: 07-19-07 08:50am
I don't know. I'm guilty of it if we're
out and about during lunchtime. But
that's not often, I'd say maybe once or
twice a month. I don't give him fries
though and I try to make the healthiest
selections that I can from the menu. Like
milk for his drink and apple slices or
yogurt for his side. But at home he eats
real food. It's easy enough then because
I have to make three meals a day so it's
no problem to just feed him what we're
having. Only thing is for some reason Chu
doesn't like any fruit but apples and
bananas. And as far as veggies are
concerned he only likes yams, corn, beans,
peas, and cooked tomatoes (oh, forgot
tomatoes were fruit, whatever). Now when
he was a weenie little baby he liked
everything. Come to think of it, does
anyone have any tips on getting your one
year old to actually eat more of a variety
of fruits and veggies?
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sillyakchick
Supporter
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2688
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Posted: 07-19-07 09:59am
I believe that you are what you eat. If
you eat crap, that makes you.....you get
it. With the obesity epidemic rampant in
children, i find it reprehensible to set
them up for a lifetime of battling being
overwieght by teaching them bad habits
when they are young. Junk foods are "once
in a while foods" in our house. I do not
use french fries or cake as a reward,
because I don't believe in using food as a
reward at all. I think this leads to the
situation where grown people begin to find
comfort in food and turn to food when they
are upset, angry , depressed, etc. My
family enjoys all aspects of
food-gardening, harvessting, canning,
freezing, etc. I love cooking and my
daughter enjoys cooking with me. But she
has a healthy relationship with food.
When we do have desserts, they are always
home-made. Store bought desserts have so
much more fat, sugar, and preservatives
than anything you could make at home.
As for the vegetables, if Chu likes cooked
tomatoes and maybe spaghetti sauce, you
can always add cooked veggies to his
spaghetti sauce. If he can visually
detect an unsavory vegetable in his food,
try pureeing them and adding them to foods
you know he will eat. If he likes
muffins, add some fruits to his muffins.
Cook with applesauce replacing some of the
fat and egg in a given recipe. Make him
fresh fruit smoothies with a little bit of
a variety of fruits in additioni to the
ones he really loves. You could also make
him zucchini bread and carrot cake or
muffins. Cook rice in vegetable broth
instead of water. If he likes scrambled
eggs, then try adding a little bit of
pureed cauliflower to them. he won't
really notice their presence, and he will
be getting a little bit of them into his
diet. Lastly, don't worry too much about
it. You can lead a horse to water, but
cannot make him drink! All we can do is
give them healthy options.
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Birch
Supporter
Joined: 07 Nov 2005 Posts: 3963 Location: Bliss,
Thanks: 129
Thanked:12
Posted: 07-19-07 15:12pm
I agree, Tanya. Letting your child eat
junk makes you a clunker of a parent.
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young Girl
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 13932 Location: everythings better in, texas USA
Posted: 07-19-07 15:17pm
hmm. im not sure on this one. i know i eat
alot of fast food but i would never let my
child have a happy meal or something more
than once or twice a month
sillyakchick- not all people who eat fast
food are obease? i eat fast food atleast 3
times a week (yeah i know its bad) and i
dont gain any weight hardly at all?
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Magical Logic
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 2248
Posted: 07-19-07 15:19pm
i think its kinda harsh to say if you eat
crap your crap.
moderation is the key to junk food or fast
food.
i guess me and my kids are crap cause i
ate junk food and fast food when i was
pregnant.
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sillyakchick
Supporter
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2688
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Posted: 07-19-07 15:23pm
the_girlfreind
wrote:
hmm. im not sure on this
one. i know i eat alot of fast food but i
would never let my child have a happy meal
or something more than once or twice a
month
sillyakchick- not all people who eat fast
food are obease? i eat fast food atleast 3
times a week (yeah i know its bad) and i
dont gain any weight hardly at
all?
I don't believe that I indicated that all
people who eat fast food are obese. In
fact, I don't believe I spoke of fast food
at all in my post. There are some helthy
fast foods out there.
Obesity, however, is not the only marker
of an unhealthy individual. Believe me,
if you continue to eat fast food three
times a week, you are on your way to being
unhealthy. (Of course, it depends on what
you eat there)
I am curious, though. How will you
justify only letting your child have fast
food 2 times per month if you yourself are
eating it three times a week? It would
seem confusing to a child, perhaps, to
have a "do as I say, not as I do" example
to follow.
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sillyakchick
Supporter
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2688
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Posted: 07-19-07 15:24pm
chase4
wrote:
i think its kinda harsh to
say if you eat crap your crap.
moderation is the key to junk food or fast
food.
i guess me and my kids are crap cause i
ate junk food and fast food when i was
pregnant.
Sorry that was my stab at humor in trying
to say "you are what you eat"
*edited to add
I did say that "Junk foods are "once in a
while foods" ". I too have been known to
eat junk food and the occasional french
fry. And pregnancy trumps all because I
would never ever deny a pregnant woman the
pint of fish food ice cream from Ben and
Jerry, a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, or a
Biggie Fries in her moment of need.
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young Girl
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 13932 Location: everythings better in, texas USA
Posted: 07-19-07 15:38pm
sillyakchick
wrote:
the_girlfreind
wrote:
hmm. im not sure on this
one. i know i eat alot of fast food but i
would never let my child have a happy meal
or something more than once or twice a
month
sillyakchick- not all people who eat fast
food are obease? i eat fast food atleast 3
times a week (yeah i know its bad) and i
dont gain any weight hardly at
all?
I don't believe that I indicated that all
people who eat fast food are obese. In
fact, I don't believe I spoke of fast food
at all in my post. There are some helthy
fast foods out there.
Obesity, however, is not the only marker
of an unhealthy individual. Believe me,
if you continue to eat fast food three
times a week, you are on your way to being
unhealthy. (Of course, it depends on what
you eat there)
I am curious, though. How will you
justify only letting your child have fast
food 2 times per month if you yourself are
eating it three times a week? It would
seem confusing to a child, perhaps, to
have a "do as I say, not as I do" example
to follow.
well i hate mcdonalds. i dont eat it alot.
i like arbys and subway...wendys...i love
taco bell :] no burger king...bleh i hate
burger king
not a fan of sonic either
my goal is to definately cut back on fast
food after the baby is born
not because i feel unhealthy but because
it gets expensive.
i have a very balanced diet
i eat alot of fruits and veggies and rink
alot of watre and orange juice. i eat good
ans far as i know. so i think my diet
kinda balances out either way
right now however i eat what i want
i stopped drinking soda my entire first
trimester and now i drink a can or two a
week of soda. if that.
i dont think im crap because i eat taco
bell or whatever but yes there are some
helathy fast foods too and i agree with
that.
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Birch
Supporter
Joined: 07 Nov 2005 Posts: 3963 Location: Bliss,
Thanks: 129
Thanked:12
Posted: 07-19-07 17:50pm
Knowing what we now know about fast food
and processed foods, it is irresponsible
to your own health to allow yourself or
your children to consume them.
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HcoBrunette06
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 8005 Location: Missouri, United States
Thanks: 2
Thanked:1
Posted: 07-19-07 20:49pm
i need to change my diet before i have
children, i want to be a good example.
ive had taco bell about 8 times in less
than 2 weeks
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young Girl
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 13932 Location: everythings better in, texas USA
Posted: 07-19-07 20:59pm
HcoBrunette06
wrote:
i need to change my diet
before i have children, i want to be a
good example.
ive had taco bell about 8 times in less
than 2 weeks
its good!!!!
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worrywart001
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 27 May 2007 Posts: 200
Posted: 07-19-07 21:05pm
HcoBrunette06
wrote:
i need to change my diet
before i have children, i want to be a
good example.
ive had taco bell about 8 times in less
than 2 weeks
ME TOO..i swear i used to never eat fast
food..i swore off of it, i started working
at a mexican restaurant as a waitress, and
i dont get off til like 11ish..then i go
pick my bf up from work, and taco bell is
on the way..and since i've had no
dindin..taco bell starts calling my name
and i just cannot refuse haha...i usually
eat healthy though, i dont think its bad
to let kids splurge every now and then, i
remember numorous trips to mcdonalds as a
kid and until middle school (those dang
prepubescent years) i was in good
shape..then u go through that "chubby
phase"...well..some of us do haha
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kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 07-19-07 21:48pm
gah. i guess i'm crap cuz i had burger
king for supper tonight .
i was just so worn out today and i needed
a nap really bad. so by the time i woke
up it was late and neither of us had eaten
and neither of us wanted to go pick up
groceries then cook them. if rich wasn't
working such long hours all the time, i
would be able to get to the grocery store
more often, but i can't do it alone in my
hugely pregnant state. i feel totally
guilty about it but at the same time i am
tired and it's hard to do anything right
now so an easy meal trumps a healthy one
sometimes.
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sillyakchick
Supporter
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2688
Thanks: 5
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Posted: 07-19-07 21:55pm
kaerbear
wrote:
gah. i guess i'm crap cuz i
had burger king for supper tonight .
i was just so worn out today and i needed
a nap really bad. so by the time i woke
up it was late and neither of us had eaten
and neither of us wanted to go pick up
groceries then cook them. if rich wasn't
working such long hours all the time, i
would be able to get to the grocery store
more often, but i can't do it alone in my
hugely pregnant state. i feel totally
guilty about it but at the same time i am
tired and it's hard to do anything right
now so an easy meal trumps a healthy one
sometimes.
Refer to rule #2, pregnancy trumps all!
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kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 07-19-07 22:00pm
yay!!
|
Hollyberries
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 1851 Location: Lead, sd usa
Thanks: 1
Thanked:0
Posted: 07-19-07 22:12pm
I don't see why every once and awhile it's
bad? I think we eat out maybe 3 times a
month, and that's not just fast food. I
can see a person eating it every day, and
a kid that's 6 years old and weighs 180
lbs. ( i watched a dr. Phil the other day
about this lol) I know when we go out a
fast food place my daughter will get
apples insted of fries, cookie, or
whatever. And we don't get soda. We grab a
ice tea, or water. I don't see the harm in
treating yourself, or your family out ot
eat sometimes. I know for my house i don't
keep chip, cookies, pop, or a lot of the
crap foods.
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Dannzibelle
Supporter
Joined: 23 Oct 2006 Posts: 3775 Location: South East, England
Thanks: 27
Thanked:11
Posted: 07-21-07 11:56am
I don't really like fast food so i very
rarely eat it, i think this week was the
first time i had something from McDonalds
since before i was pregnant and even then
it was a milkshake. Moderation is the key,
i belive in tottaly depriving your
children of certain foods but i wouldn't
fill them up with pizza and sweets etc
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kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 07-21-07 12:00pm
did anyone watch that jaime oliver show
when he went into schools and made the
lunch ladies learn how to cook healthy
food? and he made that one family eat
only healthy foods for a while and their
behaviour changed completely. i think
that is a good enough reason right there
not to give them junk food. like others
have said, in moderation it's acceptable,
but if you can get them into good habits
early on in life, that's the best thing
you can do for them. i just think it's
tragic how some people abuse their kids
with food.
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Dannzibelle
Supporter
Joined: 23 Oct 2006 Posts: 3775 Location: South East, England
Thanks: 27
Thanked:11
Posted: 07-21-07 12:02pm
kaerbear
wrote:
did anyone watch that jaime
oliver show when he went into schools and
made the lunch ladies learn how to cook
healthy food? and he made that one family
eat only healthy foods for a while and
their behaviour changed completely. i
think that is a good enough reason right
there not to give them junk food. like
others have said, in moderation it's
acceptable, but if you can get them into
good habits early on in life, that's the
best thing you can do for them. i just
think it's tragic how some people abuse
their kids with
food.
Yep i was addicted to that show! the whoel
time it was on i was wishing he's come to
my school because in my school's attempt
to go healthy they made the food have no
flavour and his food looked so so good
.
