Do you care about how much sugar and junk your kids eat?

amother

Smokey

Wed, Jun 24 2020, 2:43 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I don’t want to be *that* parent. And they already use non food incentives plenty. But foods too.

I never call food poison out loud, but I believe there are some foods that are legitimately toxic. I never equate food choices with moral choices either. In fact I try not to talk much about food period. We stock and offer healthy choices, model healthy eating, occasionally we discuss saving for another day, but really not a big deal.

I hear you about schools not controlling snack bags from home. I guess I wish parents would care more to create positive peer pressure. Also, the schools here hand out snacks, and of course there’s the obligatory fruit that most don’t touch but the other stuff is pretty awful.

I think, in general, you need a positive fruit and veggie revolution in the USA, with a change of subsidy policy form high fructose corn syrup towards fresh produce delivered into the cities...

In a television report, they showed that there are whole regions in US cities where no shop will sell fruits or veggies, because people can't afford them... they prefer to buy dry goods, just because it's cheaper and easier to store...

School lunches, as depicted in the US, do not look appealing at all... Where is the salad buffet in the school lunchroom (OK, not now, with Covid, but in general)?

Whey don't they try to present the fruit in an appealing way? Fruit salads? Strawberries? blueberries? Water melons?

I virtually don't know any child, over here, who will not jump for fresh strawberries or blueberries or cherries... they all love it here...

There seems to be lack of creativity in this realm... and also lack of financial resources....
Look how children eat lunch at school in Japan:

Or in France:

Or in Finland:

amother

Linen

Wed, Jun 24 2020, 3:06 pm

EsG wrote:

I think that maintaining a healthy home environment is really about teaching your kids for the future. They will not always be living in your home and in the long run if you teach them how to balance junk food and healthy eating that is the main thing. I grew up with terrible eating habits in my parents home and I still work on improving the balance in my own home and mostly for myself. And it is hard! As long as the healthy, balanced foundation is there I think it will be best in the long run. Your kids are only kids for a small portion of their lives!

I agree with this.

op, my grandparent had diabetes, so I know its important to eat healthy. But, I also know how I cant keep my kids in a bubble.

I taught my kids about looking at nutrition facts. I do give them healthy foods but also let them have cakes or cookies etc.

I do not allow any drinks except milk or water(even apple juice is unhealthy because of the processes they use to make it...kills the healthy parts). I also don't allow candy.

Yes, when they go to school, some of them have the candy. luckily, they tasted soda in school but don't like it(maybe because they are used to water).

They have a lot of cakes/cookies/carbs, but it is all around us and fills them up. I did learn about some cheap, healthy alternatives here that I can make for my kids which I have them eat.

But, yes, teachers are going to be giving out candy as rewards. and, why shouldnt they if most kids come with tons of candy that their parents gave them.

my child who was eating candy in school, started bringing his candy rewards home in exchange for $ to buy a toy....because he saw that his teeth hurt him more when he ate candy.

I'm shocked at how much sugar and carbs is in everything we eat. Cereals, yogurts, etc, and even the public schools now are giving muffins with sugar for breakfast...its all around us, so I told my kids about diabetes...and how we have to have a balance.....I told them its up to them when they are adults..I wont be telling them to eat healthy...but I hope they will be careful...

unfortunately, I grew up on lots of carbs because we were poor, and unhealthy foods are cheaper...im learning a lot more about health because a lot of younger kids now are getting diabetes because ppl are eating too much sugar/carbs.....

I think helping "train their palettes" towards healthier less sweet food will help my kids in the future, but I know holding them back from everything is not good because then they may go overboard...

amother

Bronze

Wed, Jun 24 2020, 6:41 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

why isn’t this a priority for more people?

Because it's not that big of a deal. My grandmother speaks the way you do. She calls things like sugar "poison", made moral equivalencies out of the types of food prepared in other people's homes. She was very controlling about food, the types of food you eat and don't eat, and how much of it you eat. The single worst thing you could ever be in your life is "fat", according to her, and that means a size eight and up.

My mother didn't raise us like that. She herself always ate meticulously, and limited her sugar intake. We didn't have candy in the house. But we always had cookies and pretzels. We had sugar cereals and healthier cereals. We had soda. But every meal was served with salad, my mother never served dessert, and nearly all of us have decent eating habits as a grownup. Some of us don't, but that's life! I never understand all these instagram personalities that make it a point to feature how they're serving their babies vegetables and the ONLY REASON why kids will learn to hate candy is because of a GOOD MOTHER.

That's my philosophy. Yeah, my kids will have hot dogs occasionally. They can have soda on shabbos, but water for seconds. They can go to the candy man. I really don't think too much about it. I don't get hysterical about sugar or nitrates or food coloring. I barely think about it. Offer healthy choices, point out the healthy choices, and let the rest of it go.

Finally: you can be the healthiest eater in the world, and live your life with tons of health problems.

amother

Smokey

Thu, Jun 25 2020, 5:52 am

How health-conscious a mother is is not a predictor of how healthy children will be...

I saw mothers who exagerated their health-consciousness to the detriment of their children.

The mother was into organic food and had a whole list what children should or should not eat at what age.

However, she did not really take the children's feelings into account.

result: one child developed anorexia, another child obesity from an early age...

Perfect is not always better than good...

That's why I plead for serenity...

Model healthy eating habits, have fruits and veggies available, but don't obsess over it...

amother

Olive

Thu, Jun 25 2020, 8:59 am

I am anonymous out of respect for my mother.

My mother was healthy before it was in vouge to be healthy. Today most people know about healthy eating, moat kids and definitely teens/adults know how to eat healthy. In this sense it may be better these days.

However.

Every single one of my siblings and I have some sort of eating disorder. Some eat way too little, some are gym rats and health obsessed and some are binge eaters and obese. None of us have a normal relationship with food. When our whole class got super snacks and sodas for snack we came with apples and pretzels. We never had red meat or anything fried, we ate tofu and whole grains. For shabbos my mother bought one thing from the bakery and anything that was left over she threw in the garbage (she asked a shaila and was told it's not baal tashchis to throw out nosh). When we got old enough we spent our own money on donuts and snacks, we did other kids homework for treats and looked forward to birthday parties for the food. She never baked because then we would eat it all (duh). My mother educated our ears off. we can all probably be a nutritionist at this point. She didn't shame us or others, she just educated us and kept our own home super healthy.
When I first got married I gained so much weight because I was just so excited to make all these foods we never had. Shnitzel, puff pastry etc.
It has taken a lot of work for me to get to a place where I am choosing Healthy eating for myself.
I hope and pray I'm doing better with my kids.
I make regular suppers, no dessert. We have dessert on shabbos or yom tov. I dont ever comment on how much my kids take or eat. They know the difference between a food and a treat. I bring "regular" nosh into the house but not soda or candy. They can eat whatever out of the house.
Most important of all I do not make it a "thing". I am very into how things feel in our body, ie things tasting yummy, us feeling full. I ask my kids if they had enough or are they still hungry. Sometimes my kids will say I'm still enjoying it. That usually means they aren't hungry anymore but it still tastes good. My kids will often not finish dessert. Some of my kids dislike candy. My mother is so impressed by them and I laugh, I didn't do anything. Its what I didn't do or obsess over that helped them learn to trust their own bodies and choices.

I think the world is shifting. Some of you quite frankly sound like my mother ie making food into a value instead of what it is -food. But I think your kids are luckier than we were, being healthy is becoming more and more popular. I think the social aspect of nosh is starting to swing in the other direction and this is all a good thing. And yes I think most people DO care.