I read this article this morning in the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/heal...adlines-health

What do you think? Do we parents really allow our children to dictate our food choices? Do you eat more fattening food because you have kids?

Whats scary is that the bad food is around because we are allowing our children to eat it. Talk about perpetuating the cycle of fat. I truly believe in starting kids off right so that they don't develop bad eating habits early and become overweight as children. I didn't even taste white bread until I was almost 13 and I am really glad that my mother emphasized the importance of eating good food. Sometime I get off track, I think we all do once in a while, but a good start is key.

In our house, our daughters (ages 12 and 7) eat what we eat. They eat the enormous variety of fruits and veggies we eat, the brown rice, the whole grain bread, etc. And they love it. They love to pick new recipes out of Cooking Light to make with me. I think a lot of children's food tolerances relate to what they are exposed to. I am pleased that my children like the healthy stuff, and I think that is at least in part because they are expected to! Occasionally they'll whine for things like white bread, but then we just go for whole-grain white and learn that there are great healthy alternatives to almost anything.

Me too! My kids never complain when I fix a healthy meal. They sometimes ask for the not-too-healthy meals, but if I fix those in moderation, they're fine with it. Thankfully my kids also listen to others. DS learned in PE what are good choices and he even gave up desserts for a while so we could get healthy! DD listened to her personal trainer and has given up soda and white bread and full fat dressings.

I never buy junk to snack on. We just don't have chips and things like that in the house. I will only buy them if we're having a party and then it is still in moderate amounts.