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Why does it have to be a battle? A balanced diet can delicious with little fuss. The evidence will come later if it hasn't already. Their behavior might be a h

Why does it have to be a battle? A balanced diet can delicious with little fuss. The evidence will come later if it hasn't already. Their behavior might be a hint. It impacts focus, brain development, everything.

zmmmmm 6y ago
> Why does it have to be a battle? A balanced diet can delicious with little fuss. Well, I can only conclude either you don't have kids, live in a very different setting, or you're some kind of super parent :-) The main reasons are (a) the kids are highly attracted to foods that constitute a poor diet and (b) they are constantly exposed to opportunities to consume those foods. At its peak we were taking them to 2 - 3 birthday parties a weekend at which they were presented with unlimited candy, giant pieces of cake, sugary drinks, and a humungous bag of lollies to take home. Then at school the same children bring sweets to school and hand them out to the whole class, trade things out of their lunch boxes at lunch time, etc etc. Unsurprisingly they routinely come home having eaten only a small portion of the food we gave them and tell us they "weren't very hungry". One of the interesting revelations as a parent has been how little control you really have over what your children are exposed to and how much is dictated by the society around them.
- mixmastamyk 6y ago
  I agree, however I threw out any rock candy given out to our kid and mostly kept sugary drinks away. These two categories are the absolute worst. Another thing I didn't expect is arguing with the spouse about it, who will also undermine the effort.
- slothtrop 6y ago
  That kids are attracted to candy is a constant. I was referring to ease of food preparation, since that was the context. Notwithstanding the food-swaps at school (I think to liken this all to be candy is hyperbolic), the kids eat what you feed them for breakfast and dinner. Whether this is a battle has little to do with the nature of the food itself. I'm sure you don't believe that perpetually relenting to kids when they whine, piss and moan will make your life easier - they'll normalize the behavior to get what they want and misbehavior will be the norm. Being a parent is the battle and it doesn't end at letting kids eat candy any time they want, which makes healthy eating a moot point.

zmmmmm 6y ago

> Why does it have to be a battle? A balanced diet can delicious with little fuss. Well, I can only conclude either you don't have kids, live in a very different setting, or you're some kind of super parent :-) The main reasons are (a) the kids are highly attracted to foods that constitute a poor diet and (b) they are constantly exposed to opportunities to consume those foods. At its peak we were taking them to 2 - 3 birthday parties a weekend at which they were presented with unlimited candy, giant pieces of cake, sugary drinks, and a humungous bag of lollies to take home. Then at school the same children bring sweets to school and hand them out to the whole class, trade things out of their lunch boxes at lunch time, etc etc. Unsurprisingly they routinely come home having eaten only a small portion of the food we gave them and tell us they "weren't very hungry". One of the interesting revelations as a parent has been how little control you really have over what your children are exposed to and how much is dictated by the society around them.

mixmastamyk 6y ago
I agree, however I threw out any rock candy given out to our kid and mostly kept sugary drinks away. These two categories are the absolute worst. Another thing I didn't expect is arguing with the spouse about it, who will also undermine the effort.
slothtrop 6y ago
That kids are attracted to candy is a constant. I was referring to ease of food preparation, since that was the context. Notwithstanding the food-swaps at school (I think to liken this all to be candy is hyperbolic), the kids eat what you feed them for breakfast and dinner. Whether this is a battle has little to do with the nature of the food itself. I'm sure you don't believe that perpetually relenting to kids when they whine, piss and moan will make your life easier - they'll normalize the behavior to get what they want and misbehavior will be the norm. Being a parent is the battle and it doesn't end at letting kids eat candy any time they want, which makes healthy eating a moot point.