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Old 04-11-2006, 05:26 PM   #1  
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Default Discussion invited: moms abstaining from fast food while indulging their kids with it

I browse many forums, and often read of moms taking their kids to McD's or any of the other fast food outlets, and being thrilled by their ability to pass up the burgers, fries, other junk, while happily letting their kids fill up on it, obliviously setting their kids up for their own serious health issues down the road. I did this too for years when my daughter was younger - and with no help from me she turned turned into a very health conscious vegetarian...in fact I have much to learn from her. Now that I've learned to become much more health conscious, it breaks my heart to see little kids (and bigger ones) filling their faces with this crap with their parents' blessings.

Any thoughts on this?
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Old 04-11-2006, 07:52 PM   #2  
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ditto!
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Old 04-11-2006, 08:03 PM   #3  
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My daughter is almost 4 and has never been to a Mc Donalds. We would rather go and have sushi at the noodle bar, or go to our local Japanese or Turkish restaurant. I really detest the commercialisation of our children's lives and we boycott those sorts of restaurants on those grounds.. not to mention the really crappy foods. It is sad that mamma's think that it isn't good for them, but ok for their children.
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Old 04-11-2006, 08:52 PM   #4  
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My son was introduced to Happy Meals not by me but by his aunt and uncle. I wasn't 'happy' with it at all, but let it go. They had him and his cousin out running around one day and took them to McDonald's. And now he still asks for a Happy Meal on occasion. However, he's not allowed to have them very often. And when he does get one, he gets the hamburger, not the chicken nuggets. Not that the hamburgers are healthy, per se, but I'd rather him eat that than the deep-fried stuff. He still gets fries. But he gets chocolate milk instead of soda.

Not that it makes the meal any healthier, but my point is that he gets these things in MODERATION. I too eat 'bad' foods on rare occasions, I don't consider any one food to be completely taboo. My son gets the Happy Meals as a rare treat rather than a regular thing. Some kids are allowed to eat that crap on a daily basis and are also allowed to drink soda all day long.
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Old 04-11-2006, 09:46 PM   #5  
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I saw this and thought HMMM - and decided to put in my 2 cents (for what it
may be worth.)
I feel eating at mc'd Wendys' ,chick fil a and other fast food places on a constant basis is bad for you.
I do take my daughter (7YO) to mcd's only 1 time per month and she gets a burger and white milk and apple slices. i think it's more for the toy than anything. we do go to Chick fil a once a month for family night but she gets chicken and the fruit cup- yeah the chicken is fried but i feel at least once a month isn't going to kill us.
I agree that moderation is a key to teach to our children and I know some totally disagree with me about taking a kid to mcd's. I think the rare occasion is not a bad thing. i mean we go and get a mini slurpee once a month ( it's like 5 oz.) and yeah it's sugar and ice ( but good)
I think teaching them how to choose wisely and be smart about what they eat is so important. and I think there is a place for "fast food" in a healthy diet. i mean salads- fruit- grilled chicken etc..- I am sometimes in a situation where I can't eat foods i have prepared at home and the only thing for 50 miles is a mcdonalds- - if you share these healthier choices with your kids
( like no mayo on the chicken and NO a taco salad from taco bell is NOT a good choice) then they'll choose those better foods when they are making choices.
But yes it annoys the crud out of me to see people "dieting" and then stuff their kids full of fries and shakes
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Old 04-11-2006, 09:59 PM   #6  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandisuze
I saw this and thought HMMM - and decided to put in my 2 cents (for what it
may be worth.)
I feel eating at mc'd Wendys' ,chick fil a and other fast food places on a constant basis is bad for you.
Of course it is. And I agree. But also remember, we can make just as many bad choices at home. This is why I don't advocate people blaming the fast food industry for their weight problem. Nobody stuck a gun to their head and told them to eat it. Nobody forced me to eat so much food that I ended up weighing 220 pounds. The only person that did that to me... was me.
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Old 04-12-2006, 08:43 AM   #7  
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Totally agree with your post Linda- you said it much better than i could have.
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Old 04-12-2006, 11:54 AM   #8  
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Lots of thoughts came to mind while I was reading this thread.
I have learned a lot about eating from my children. They are truly instinctual eaters. I was raised being forced to clean my plate. I have learned to not put very much food on my plate, cause I'll usually clean it off. I have NEVER made my children clean their plates, and they rarely eat everything they are served. The difference between the way I used to eat fast food and the way my kids do is that 1) I would go on a regular basis, I mean 3 or 4 times a week, and my kids only about 2-3 times a month, 2) when I ordered it was always a large sandwich (maybe 2), large fries, and soda and yes I ate it all. My kids order a small sandwich, small fries, small drink, and have just a few bites or sips. Then I of course would finish their meals too. During soccer season we do go through a drive through once a week. Now I order a small sandwich, small fries and water. That satisifies me and I cannot believe I ate more than that. My kids still don't finish their orders...now I don't finish their orders either!!

I also make an effort to support local restaurants, so we will make those our "drive through" dinners frequently. A vegetarian bean and cheese burrito is a pretty good choice for big and small.

There are some fast food places I boycott entirely, either for moral reasons or just because they make me sick.

I believe it is important to teach kids decision making skills in a wide variety of situations. The last thing I want is for my kids to feel "deprived" of an experience and then, when they are grown and out of my immediate control, go nutso. And, yeah, I am the mom who will buy boxes of condoms for my kids and for their friends, too.

So safe parameters in which to explore and make choices, while sharing my values..that is my job as a parent I suppose.
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Old 04-12-2006, 12:54 PM   #9  
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I'm always in awe of how much kids can eat. My mom split a happy meal between my big brother and I until he was eight! After that, we never had fast food because none of us liked it really. I babysat this one little two year old (well, she was far from little) and for dinner she had three large slices of deep dish extra cheese pizza, SODA, and as much ice cream as she asked for. i was told NOT to say no to her. They wondered why they had to put two diapers and a pair of rubber pants on the child after sending her to bed with 20 ounces of coke in her. Geez...and the mother and father are both active health nuts, who picked up salads and baked children for themselves. I had a hard time biting my tongue and feeding that child the crap.

I have a good bit of experience working with small children. Parents will pick them up from school or day care and ask if they want chicfilla or mcdonalds. This is at least a few times a week. These are not healthy choices, especially not for the 2-3 year old group that I've worked with the most. I am going to school,e ventually to be a health psychologist to work in Hospice care of children or the morbidly obsese. Food effects how you feel. I hate it when the parents of the kids I work with say that they have to feed their kids this fattening junk or they will starve. When I ask about healthy things, like fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grains, they shrug. They are depriving their children of nutritents. You can be malnourished even if gaining weight, and they don't get it. I work along side my mom a bit, and we don't allow much junk in classroom. They don't get juice, they get water. And after a couple days of being told to drink water they don't mind. When children eat better, they feel better, they perform better, and they are gaining healthier habits.

Mothers who don't eat it along side their children, when it is being eaten this often as SELFISH. Its one thing if its an occasional thing, picking up a happy meal or something, and mom isn't hungery but the kid is. I know parents can't totally control their childrens diet, but in the early years, it can be pretty regulated. A child won't know they like mcdonalds chicken nuggets and fries if they are never exposed.

Personally, when my fH and I adopt (can't have biological children) there will be no fast food or deep frieds during the preschool years. Habits are formed in early childhood, and its best to give a good head start. We've already agreed to this, and it should be very doable considering I don't eat it, and he doesn't eat it when I'm around and he has someone to help him cook (bless his soul).
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Old 04-12-2006, 02:01 PM   #10  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anyothername
Geez...and the mother and father are both active health nuts, who picked up salads and baked children for themselves.
mmm...baked children! Try them with ketchup!

Just a typo, I know, but I couldn't help myself
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Old 04-12-2006, 02:32 PM   #11  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by midwife
I have NEVER made my children clean their plates,
Me either. When my son says he's done, then he's done. I was brought up in one of those "eat everything on your plate or you don't get up from the table" families and all my life I felt I had to eat everything, whether I was full or not. And the more I ate, the more I wanted. My son eats when he's hungry. If he's not hungry at dinnertime, then he doesn't have to eat. I'll say, "okay, you tell me when you're hungry and I'll fix you something."

And he does. And he doesn't eat that much, really. At first I used to worry about it, but even his doctor told me, "he's getting what he needs, he's healthy and not underweight, leave him be."

The only meal I 'make' him eat is breakfast. I don't want him going to school on an empty stomach. But he likes breakfast, so that's never been a problem. But lunch and dinner? I fix him something when he's hungry.
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Old 04-12-2006, 02:33 PM   #12  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandisuze
Totally agree with your post Linda- you said it much better than i could have.
You said it well too!
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Old 04-13-2006, 11:06 AM   #13  
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I definately don't like when parents feed their children junk and think just because the kids asks for it they have to give it to them. I see it on Nanny 911 and it just bugs me. Even when I was eating bad, I didn't let my kids eat bad.

My kids (4 & 1) both love veggies, couscous, turkey, etc. Now I will say that we usually indulge in Burger King once a month or every other month. I get a grilled chicken salad (yummy and only 230 calories without dressing), and the boys do get kids meals. It's a treat and I believe in treats in moderation.

My cousin (who is about 13 years younger than me) when she was little her parents never went to fast food places. BUT when she would stay with family members that is exactly where she wanted to go and we usually took her. Sometimes it happens whether we like it or not.
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Old 04-13-2006, 11:37 AM   #14  
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I make my daughter eat her vegetables or she just wont eat them. I think kids are afraid of green foods.

I just want to say.. I *AM* my mother, and anything they have at the fast food joints I can make better at home. I used to hate that crap. However, I understand now.
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Old 04-14-2006, 07:58 PM   #15  
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Fast food really grosses me out. I used to kind of like some taco bell now and then since most of their items are easily made vegetarian (no meat, substitute beans, voila) but now if I have to eat some because I’m on the road or there aren’t better options for whatever reason, I realize how much the stuff I’m eating doesn’t even really resemble real food all that much. Just nasty. If I ever have kids I don’t think I’ll be feeding them that garbage.

I heard on public radio earlier this week that McNuggets have over 40 ingredients and something like 13 or 14 of them are corn derived. I think the guy was trying to make a point about how corn on its own is a fine food, but by the time it ends up in your kid’s happy meal it’s far from recognizable as a vegetable.
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