Is anyone else ok with their kids eating MOSTLY healthy, MOSTof the time? - Page 4

[WC_hapamama]

I decided early on, before my oldest child was even eating table food, that I wasn't going to make junk food consumption a hill I was willing to die on. Food allergies are limiting enough without being THAT family that does no sugar, only organic stuff, etc.

Besides, "junk food" is a pretty subjective title. Pizza can be pretty healthy, as can a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Heck, even an ice pop or a smoothie can be made healthy.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Didn't read all the responses, BUT, I just wanted to add my .02.

A friend once told me (hes 80% raw vegan btw, and does TONS of food research) that he found the amount of stress you put yourself through about food will kill you faster then the food itself.

SO, rather then let food and what I am going to make and how I am going to make it and.and.and RULE MY LIFE, I try to let it go. Do I feel like a bad mom sometimes for allowing them to eat a frozen chicken patty or french fries? YEA! But I am making conscience efforts to give them wholesome nutrtious meals the other 85% of the time, so I guess I get a pass.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by spottiew

eta: and sugar DOES wig him out... sure doesn't seem to affect every other kid, but sure does mine.

Sugar wigs out ds2, too. I don't think it's a sugar high, though. I think it's when he crashes. He's one of those kids that becomes harder and harder to manage, and physically wingy when he's tired - sugar crashes seem to cause an exaggerated version of the same effect.

[madskye]

Everyone has their own place where they draw the line. I like to think we eat well 80% of the time. We do a lot of whole foods, selective processed foods, and I try to keep sugar to a minimum, without actually living a "low sugar lifestyle"--as in, I keep an eye on how much sugar we consume, but I don't cook special foods or do substitutions. I just make sure if we are having a sugary treat it's a small amount and we all know that it's special and not for all the time. I do think she is sugar sensitive and sugar unchecked can really make her wig out and lose control of her behavior.

I don't do McD's and so far, DD is 5 and it hasn't been an issue, because we hadn't eaten that way for some time before DD was born. I'll let her have a soda at a birthday party, and expect the meltdown that will come later. I think when she's 7, we'll probably have the sugar talk and I'll let her make more decisions on her own.

DD eats everything but celery. She's very good and open about what she eats, and she eats when she's hungry and sometimes she doesn't eat too much at all. It seems to balance out. I don't stress about it.

There's more reasons to post about food issues, so I think we talk about those more on the boards. I am always interested in reading about what other kids will and won't eat, and how people handle it. And also what other consider healthy and not healthy.

[Cascadian]

I agree with a few others that this is not the hill I'm about to die on.

We're about..hmm...80% when it comes to eating healthy. I strive for much higher, but our daily reality is not so hot sometimes.

Organic meat/veg/fruit, no processed food in the house, no instant-anything in the pantry, no white flour...but our kids do have orange juice (real, pulpy stuff not 'punch' stuff :P ), take-out sometimes (mostly Chinese/Japanese, almost never anything else) and once in a long while, McD happy meals.

I do have some treats in my cupboard (cookies, granola bars) but don't limit them when we're out at parties/other peoples' houses. They're fantastic about fruit, but not as great with veggies. They tend to self-limit, actually, and that's what I'm aiming for. Ever seen kids who won't eat cake or white bread, and stop themselves from finishing ice cream? Those are mine.

Once I get my Vitamix, I expect our % to be higher as I can make the 'sweet treats' with natural stuff...and get the goods in them!

ETA we have no allergies or sensitivities. My kids don't really react to sugar or dyes. We are 'those' people to some of our friends although I feel like a shirker on MDC

[grniys]

I think not letting a kid have any junk ever does more damage than a happy meal every once in a while. I feed my kids mostly healthy, but if their friends are all going to McDonald's for lunch I have no problem with us going along. I'd think if a kid never got to eat junk food ever that might attract them to it more and cause them to over-indulge as they get older. But that's jmo.

Anyway, I noticed one post here mentioned pb&j and pizza and stuff being junk and what most mom's they know in their area feed their kids. To be honest, I'd probably seem like one of those mom's to people who don't know me. My ds eats pb&j frequently. And frozen pizza. And mac n cheese. The pb&j is organic on whole wheat bread. The pizza is usually either kashi or organic. The mac n cheese is usually annie's. But at the park all the other mom's would see is my kid pulling out a pb&j, a sippy, and a baggy of snacks (usually annie's bunnies or an organic fruit roll up). So appearances can be deceiving.

[WC_hapamama]

Originally Posted by grniys

I'd think if a kid never got to eat junk food ever that might attract them to it more and cause them to over-indulge as they get older. But that's jmo.

That's the pattern I noticed with my DH when we first got married.

He rarely got junk food as a child and it took him a few years to develop the self control to not sit and eat an entire package of cookies or chips once he was out on his own.

[kittywitty]

We eat healthy most of the time. I do allow some junk-especially at holidays. But I do draw the line at the "you gotta let your kids live let me feed them 8000 pounds of sugar everytime they're around" family attitude certain people we are related to have. Moderation is key. The only time I'm fanatical is when dealing with food allergies. People may have thought I was insane bringing food everywhere when my 2 youngest had severe dairy allergies, but they didn't live with bleeding hives all over their kids' bodies.

[Storm Bride]

I do better than I could, but not as well as I should. My kids eat pretty well overall, but our "occasional" treats aren't as occasional as they should be, imo. I'm working on it. I do very badly when I shop when I'm hungry, forget to take something out of the freezer, or am unusually tired or sick. Today, I'm sick. Dinner's in dh's hands, because I have no interest in food. I'm having trouble making myself drink water.

[Trinitty]

Sorry you aren't feeling well!!!

[bri276]

I'm with you OP. DD is healthy, happy, her teeth look good, she's fine. She's eating ice cream right now, but it was after she ate some grassfed cheese with whole wheat bread and almond butter. I think that's pretty good.

My mom never kept ANY sugary/junk/convenience food in the house, and frankly, we were hungry a lot and both my sister and I went on gross food binges when we left home because we never got to regulate our intake of that kind of stuff. It was "eat all you can, as fast as you can" when that stuff was around because it was so, so fleeting (so a birthday cake would be devoured in one day, or an entire batch of cookies, or whatever). DD already regulates herself at 4 yrs old. She had some Easter chocolate and she stopped eating it when she'd had enough, even though there was plenty left.

I just don't think there's any evidence that a moderate amount of crap is going to have any effect on a child whose diet is MOSTLY healthy.

[blizzard_babe]

Originally Posted by griffin2004

I'm totally fine w/ a "healthy most of the time" diet for my DD. She's a kid, for god's sake, not a robot.

For me, life lived at the extremes is oppressive.

Ya. EITHER extreme. We have friends who feed their daughter, almost exclusively, processed "junk" food. They're just as tied to the "bring your own food" thing as a parent who refuses to EVER let a kid eat anything processed/packaged. Even your average Wisconsin cook-out (a bastion of party food if there ever was one!)... she might eat a hot dog (though if it's at our place, we try to get the "good" hot dogs from the local butcher shop), but fruit salad? Potato salad? My homemade salsa? Just plain ol' nothing-but-fried-potatoes potato chips? V-8 Fusion juice? Heck no! Mom has to come armed with a bag full of Capri Sun, Fruit Roll-Ups, Cheetos, and the like... cuz her daughter won't eat the "real" stuff.

Put me happily on the "unprocessed" side of average. As soon as DS is PLed, I'm not lugging around a bag of "supplies" for him when we go to cook-outs! He eats what we eat, which is what's supplied at the party.

[tessie]

Originally Posted by grniys

I think not letting a kid have any junk ever does more damage than a happy meal every once in a while.

That.

Allergies aside, being completely uptight about food can be detrimental to a child developing good eating habits.

[velochic]

I think that sensibility would dictate that you make your decisions based on age. Just as you wouldn't give soda pop in the bottle to a baby, you have to teach a child how to eat healthy.

There are many articles out there to support this, but the first few years establish eating habits. Not letting a 2 year old eat sugar is different than letting a 6 year old have ice cream after dinner a few nights a week.

We eat NO fast food. Dd has never had soda pop. We don't 100% organic, but we are on an all-natural diet. Dd has a food intolerance, though. We didn't discover this until we started letting her have a little bit of junk food (suckers, actually) around the age of 4.

MDC families are not a good example of the average American diet. The average American eats something like their body weight in fast food fries per year.

[griffin2004]

Originally Posted by blizzard_babe

Ya. EITHER extreme.

agreed!

[Latte Mama]

Add me to the eating healthy majority of the time crowd. No way will I ever be strict about DS' food. He gets treats now and then as do I! I work days and DH works eves so I cook most nights but sometimes we just have sandwiches or takeout. Life goes on.

I make us a healthy breakfast every morning and DH always makes him lunch. DH is actually more strict about giving him junk than I am. DS drinks tons of water, very little juice, BM, cows milk, NO soda. He eats just about anything. I'm fine with our diet.

[Norasmomma]

Originally Posted by Storm Bride

Sugar wigs out ds2, too. I don't think it's a sugar high, though. I think it's when he crashes. He's one of those kids that becomes harder and harder to manage, and physically wingy when he's tired - sugar crashes seem to cause an exaggerated version of the same effect.

My DD is like this-she gets more tired and yet more amped, honestly my ILs don't have to deal with her erratic sugar post-sugar consumptive behavior, she actually has been physically shaking like a drug addict after an exciting day at the amusement park combined with sugar. CRAZY. They think I'm anal, which is funny, but they all eat crap all the time. They're shocked DD doesn't drink soda, ummm she's 3.5.

I think unless you have allergies or intolerances you need to have some flexibility.

[Smokering]

Yeah, I'm happily inconsistent. Some of the things we do are pretty out of the mainstream - baking slow-rise wholemeal bread, soaking grains, cooking with chicken stock, no margarine, no soft drinks for DD except the occasional sip of ginger beer. But I go by taste as much as nutritional principles. I love to cook, and I'm not willing to make tastes-like-cardboard chocolate cake just so I can say it has no sugar in it. You know? I find that most really gourmet food is fairly whole foods/Traditional Foodsy anyway. Real chefs don't bake with margarine, or use MSG-laden chicken stock powder, because - ew. Real food is better. So the better I get at cooking, the less I want to make processed, chemical-laden compromises.

On the other hand, though, I continue to make evil white-flour-and-sugar chocolate chip cookies, because my chocolate chip cookies are a thing of beauty and a joy forever and I'm not adulterating them with agave or buckwheat flour, no way no how no sir. I'll make healthy baking substitutions if they taste good - I replace canola in banana bread with half butter, half yoghurt - but not if they're going to turn the baked good into a sodden parody of its former self. 'Cause I don't get the point of that. Why bake at all if it's not going to be delicious?

[lilyka]

I have never been really uptight about food. I figure if we eat healthy 75% of the time the rest will take care of itself.

And food can become such a control thing and obsessing about it can really hold you back from a lot of joy. what is the point in being super healthy and living a long life if all you do is ibsess about what you are eating? and never go out? and alienate friends? As a good friend once said "life is short. eat the m&m. "

[lilyka]

Originally Posted by Smokering

On the other hand, though, I continue to make evil white-flour-and-sugar chocolate chip cookies, because my chocolate chip cookies are a thing of beauty and a joy forever and I'm not adulterating them with agave or buckwheat flour, no way no how no sir. I'll make healthy baking substitutions if they taste good - I replace canola in banana bread with half butter, half yoghurt - but not if they're going to turn the baked good into a sodden parody of its former self. 'Cause I don't get the point of that. Why bake at all if it's not going to be delicious?

And this is just so beautiful I had to repeat it.