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?

ditto!

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.

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.

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
Sandi

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.

Totally agree with your post Linda- you said it much better than i could have.
:)

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.

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).

mmm...baked children! Try them with ketchup! :p

Just a typo, I know, but I couldn't help myself :devil:

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.

You said it well too! :)

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.

I make my daughter eat her vegetables or she just wont eat them. I think kids are afraid of green foods. :lol:

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.

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.

Yep, and I think a lot of this isn't news media and isn't scientific studies and what food is bad and what's not, I think this is just plain common sense.

When I was growing up, I wasn't allowed to drink soda all day because my mother just KNEW it wasn't good for us. Like I do with my son, soda is a treat, not an all day long thing. I see kids my son's age (6) and even younger allowed to drink soda anytime they want it. In fact my son's little 3-year-old cousin gets soda and french fries and Happy Meals anytime he wants them. They introduced him to that stuff when he was A YEAR OLD! As soon as he was able to eat solid food, he was being given sips of soda by his father and grandpa. And I would sit there and look at them and say, "Why in the world are you giving him that? He's only a year old, for crying out loud, give him milk or something."

Of course, they never listened to me. But anytime we'd all get together at a restaurant for a dinner, I would sit speechless at the crap they'd order that child. When my son was that little, in a restaurant I would order him things like plain mashed potatoes and applesauce and vegetables that he could pick up with his fingers and eat himself. What did they feed this little boy? French fries, soda, cake or pie, chips and basically nothing but junk. Now, once kids get older and get around friends and get into school and are 'introduced' to these foods, you deal with it then. Don't introduce this stuff to them yourself when they're not even old enough to know it exists. My son didn't even know what a soda was until he was 3 years old and thanks to his uncle giving it to him when I wasn't around, he found out much sooner than I wanted him to.

It's common sense, dammit.

I don't deprive my son of treats. He's allowed to be a kid and have cookies and ice cream. But as a treat, not as a staple. And yes, he even gets the occasional Happy Meal. I don't think a RARE kid's meal from a fast food place is going to hurt anything and I don't believe it makes me a bad mother. But I know of some kids that are allowed to eat that stuff several times a week.

Yeah, the chicken nuggets are pretty bad. That's why I prefer my son to get the hamburger, when he gets a Happy Meal at all. It's better than the deep-fried crap.

However, we have to remember here that just because a parent gets their kid a Happy Meal, it doesn't necessarily mean they're getting them all the time. We can't concern ourselves with what other parents do, we just have to try to do the best *WE* can with our *OWN* kids. I've seen parents let their child munch on a small bag of chips. But maybe that bag of chips was a rare treat. We don't know that. We can't criticize how other people feed their kids because we don't know the whole story. Sure, I can allow myself to be 'horrified' if I see a child stuffing french fries down his or her throat, but why bother? Maybe those fries were a monthly treat. What are we gonna do, go up to a parent and say, "Excuse me, but does your son eat those all the time? Or is this a rare occurance?"

It's simply none of our business. And I can't look at a parent that gives her children the occasional meal from McDonald's and automatically say, "Well she must be a bad mother."

That's just ridiculous. Who am I to make that judgement?

this post has me thinking (i'm not a mom) but how do you prevent your kid's friend's parents from feeding your kid's crap when they go over to play? do you say something, like, "oh, little johnny isn't allowed to have soda, cookies, fast food, etc, etc...) do you not say anything and hope your kid will just not like the food?

i saw a lady in the grocery store and her boy wanted bologna. they were at the "regular" grocery store when he pointed to it. the mom said, "no, we get our bologna from a different store. remember, we got bologna from whole foods yesterday!" i thought it was kinda sweet/funny. but it made me wonder if she actively makes sure that other people don't feed him "regular" bologna.

thoughts, comments?

Here here! (or is that "hear hear"? lol)

:cp:

thanks for the post. i was just wondering about that ever since i saw that interaction between the mom and the boy. it made me wonder if she has a rule with other moms.

i don't have kids yet, but i guess i was just wondering if discussing nutritional concerns would be appropriate/common with your child's friend's parents, or if you would appear to be an over-protective parent.

i'm not sure what i would do (i'm not in that position yet), but i have a feeling i might be bothered if i let my kid go to a friend's house and he or she came back asking for soda all the time. i think someone mentioned that about their relatives introducing mcd's to their kids. it's like all the work you've done, is undone. i know you can't protect your kids forever or from everything, but still, if it's something that can be prevented, why not try to make sure it is?!

i guess i just hope that when my kid goes over to a friends house, i will be good enough friend's with his or her parents that i would have already had a casual conversation about that (among other things).

I am opposite. I refuse to give my kids this junk. (Once in a blue moon, and only in a huge bind). They eat way better than I do (OK OK, I admit to caving to the once a month french fry craving, but I don't do it in front of them.) I set a good example, and pray they carry through. Once they are old enough to live on their own, they are old enough to make their own food choices. All I can do is give them positive influence. I personally think it's a crime for parents to let their kids eat crap on a daily basis, as they are not old enough to be educated about it. It's not fair. I do allow an occasional treat however, because it is human nature to want what you can't have.

This is the key sentence right here.

The point of my posts was that every parent is different in how they feed their kids. I prefer my son to eat healthy foods, of course. What parent wouldn't? But just because some parents let their kids have the OCCASIONAL cookie or bowl of ice cream or a kid's meal from a fast food place, it doesn't mean they're letting them do it all the time.

Yes, there are some parents out there that let their kids eat junk all day and don't care. Either that or they're just not educated enough on healthy foods. We have to take into consideration that not all parents really KNOW what's healthy and what's not. I know I didn't used to. Until I educated myself.

Yes, it's slightly 'horrifying' to watch a child in public carry a candy bar in one hand and a soda in the other. But maybe the parents just don't know any better. They SHOULD know better, but not all of them do.

Probably me, since I'm one of those 'bad mothers' that allows my son the occasional Happy Meal.

Oh the horror! :yikes:

Or maybe she was referring to the 'other' mothers out there that we were talking about that allow their children to eat candy and drink soda all day.

You know what, kids years ago ate Happy Meals. They drank soda. They ate chips. And they ate candy. But were they fat? No. Because they got outside and moved their asses and played instead of sitting in front of the TV or the computer or the video games. Instead of laying in their rooms on their beds calling every friend they know on their cell phones.

Food today is no different than it used to be. In fact there are now healthier choices. Yet our kids are getting fat.

Think about that.

For the record, my son is trim and at a normal, healthy weight for his age. I DO NOT let him eat junk all freakin day long.

Interesting topic since I just finished reading Fast Food Nation. I dont go to fast food restaurants ever. I think the last time I was at a Mcdonalds was about 2 years ago and I got a diet coke while everyone else ate. I hate fast food I think its disgusting. And after reading that above mentioned book I for sure wont be giving them my money. Evil corporations.

I dont have children but I work with children full time. Some of these kids live off of fried chicken, hotdogs, french fries, and more fried chicken. The 4 year old I watch gets Chik Fil A at least 3 times a week! He told me the other day that Chik Fil A is a "healthy lunch." I told him no it wasnt.

Ever since I have gone pretty strict vegetarian I really notice the food people eat, and how badly I myself used to eat. I blame it on my southern grandparents (cheese grits are healthy right!). When I have childrent there will be no fast food for them, period. I wont give my money to corporations that prey on children under 7. Children develop their tastes very early in life and I can say right now that Mcdonalds will not be a taste they will develop. Especially considering my children will be vegetarians so there's not much for us veggies at Mickey D's.

But to each his own.

Dont get me wrong I agree with you. Its certainly my own fault that I gained 60 pounds, even without eating at fast food restaurants. But these corporations prey on children. They spend millions to find out exactly how to get young children to eat their products. And it works. So trust me these places are not innocent, they may not be cramming it down our throats. But they do have a hand in the obesity epidemic this country is facing.

I suggest everyone read Fast Food Nation and reevaluate after reading the book.

Oh believe me, I'm not advocating fast food. But people are still eating it whether they should or not and nobody is putting a gun to their skulls and making them walk through those doors.

Again, I go back to my point that we can make just as many bad choices at home. Or any restaurant, fast food or otherwise, for that matter. It's not just fast food. You can walk into an Applebees or a Red Lobster and instead of getting the baked, grilled or broiled options, choose the deep-fried ones instead. Just like McDonald's. You can get a Big Mac and fries or you can order a salad.

It's your choice.

And I'm not saying their salads are totally healthy either. Even the grilled chicken is loaded with sodium and the dressings are full of fat (I personally use my own dressing, never theirs), but any restaurant out there is going to have foods loaded with sodium and possibly even fat, even though the menu choice seems to be a healthy one.

It's your choice.

McDonald's and Taco Bell, years ago, contributed to my weight problem. But that's only because I walked through those doors willingly. Now McDonald's and Taco Bell no longer contribute to my weight problem and there's a good reason for that... I stay the **** away from them, except for the occasional treat. Do I still eat Taco Bell? You betcha. But rarely. Very rarely.

That's my choice.

YOU choose what food to put into your mouth. You can go into a grocery store and buy crap or you can buy healthy foods. You can walk into McDonald's and get a deep-fried chicken sandwich or a salad.

Again, I can't stress this enough, IT'S YOUR CHOICE. NOBODY IS FORCING YOU.

We've got to stop blaming our weight problems on everyone else but where the blame should lie - with ourselves.

I don't mean anyone here on the board.....sorry if you thought that. I meant opposite from those parents out there feeding their kids highly processed foods day in and day out while they watch what THEY eat. I was trying to imply I eat more junk than my kids and I'm glad. Their little bodies don't deserve that crap. :smug:

Honestly...I didn't mean you either!!!! :?:
Like I said, if you never let your kids have a little bit of treats/junk now and then, they will want it MORE.

I control that. And my son is brainwashed into controlling it himself. He himself, if offered a soda or candy from someone, will say, "I can't, I've had enough sugar for the day."

Kids will be kids. I'm not making my son eat nothing but vegetables for the rest of his life.

Oh, and I figured you might be talking about the other mommies out there that allow their kids junk all day long :)

I was hoping you didn't mean me, lol!

Let me just requote myself. Trust me I dont need a lecture on why I gained weight, I know exactly what behaviors caused that. (and funnily enough it wasnt fast food's fault).

Im certain that everyone on this website realizes in their heart's that it is their own fault for gaining the weight. But You cant honestly believe that the advertising our children (and ourselves) are bombarded with have no effect on us. These restaurants do anything in their power to get you in the door, and they have succeeded mightily. So no I dont believe it is 100 percent the fast food industries fault that America is obese, but I dont believe they are innocent angels who care about their customers health either.

Ahh, well that I definitely agree with. They don't care about us. McDonald's is, what, four years into promising they were going to use better oils to cut the bad fats in half from their deep-fried products and they haven't budged. Why? Because cost (as if the world's largest fast-food restaurant chain couldn't freaking afford it) is more important to them than people's health.

And I agree they do whatever possible to lure people in to eating their food and they don't give a rats *** about how it affects us.

Believe me, hon, I agree with all of that.

But in the end, it's still our decision as to whether or not we walk through their doors. Even though I allow my son the very rare Happy Meal, do I have to allow him even that? No, I don't. And I probably shouldn't. It's bad food. And to allow him even the occasional bad meal is not setting a good example for him. But again, I've talked to him about bad foods and even he will say he shouldn't eat french fries very often because, and I'm quoting my own 6 year old, "french fries have lots of fat!"

But I will agree on one point that many others have brought up over the years - there are ignorant people out there (and that's not meant as an insult, I simply mean people that don't know any better) who continue to indulge in this crap that may not know how bad it is. Everyone by now SHOULD know, but not everyone does. And I'm giving these people the benefit of the doubt. I was ignorant about this stuff at one point myself. I figured hey, so it's deep-fried, it's still a potato. And potatoes are good for you, right?

That's how ignorant I was. And unfortunately there are still people out there who think like I did.

But then there are those out there who DO know better (like this idiot who starred in Super Size me) yet they continue to eat it anyway.

Believe me, I perfectly understand your points and they're very good ones. I just wanted you to know that :)

After reading all this, I am quite happy that my 13 yr. old asked me for baked chicken, brocolli and salad tonite. Which is what I fixed for just the 2 of us. I guess kids really do learn to like healthier choices when these are about the only options offered. My 20 yr. old son said yesterday that he was going to pick him up something to eat. He came back with a grilled chicken salad and used our dressing from the house. This not to say that they haven't ever eaten junk or been exposed to it, but it says that they like the healthier foods and choose them for themselves now that they are older.

My step sister is a manager of a fast food place and that is about all her two children (and she is now expecting the 3rd) get, sadly. For a while when my mom was watching the kids they got nutrious meals from her, but now that my mom isn't watching them no longer, its mostly fast food. Very sad.......

Mcdonalds, Wendy's, Subway and Choices..
 

With soccer season in full swing.. practices two days a week and games two days a week for both my young kids... (5 and 7).. I find that we are eating out a lot more than I'd like. However, I see this as affecting my kids eating habits in a good way and I'll tell you why.

I give my kids the choice as to what they eat when they go out. The choices in fast food restaurants for kids are LOADS better than they were when I was growing up. I think letting them CHOOSE to eat better is actually helping them more than just being given something by me and being forced to eat veggies or fruits as opposed to fries and resenting it.

Did you know Wendy's is now offering ham and cheese as an option on the happy meal instead of a burger? And you can get mandarin oranges instead of fries? McDonald's offers cut up apples with low-fat caramel dip, low fat milks. (yes their chocolate milk is even 1%) Subway offers you to get a fruit rollup and juicebox instead of a cookie and soft drink with their sandwich.

Given the choice, my 7 year old almost ALWAYS picks apples at mcdonalds, applesauce at burger king, oranges at wendys. He usually picks white or chocolate milk, but often picks water. My youngest gets the baked fish at Red Lobster because he loves it. Both my kids will go to Chili's and order broccoli as their side dish (choosing that on their own over fries) Both of my kids ask for seconds of veggies and grains more often than meat when at home.

Both my kids know that sugar should be limited. They emphasized this in school this year. Ever since, they've been asking me how much sugar everything has in it. Juice, milk, everything. I've explained some sugar is okay, especially the sugar in something like milk that gives them other things like calcium. They are EAGER to learn about nutrition. What foods benefit what, what foods they shouldnt eat too often, etc. My kids get their easter baskets or halloween candy and eat a piece of candy a day. They make that choice on their own for the most part.

They also like healthy snacks in general. Fruits are a HUGE hit with them, they like nuts, crackers or celery with peanut butter, carrots and other finger veggies, and salsa. They are not picky eaters. When they were little we took them to a restaurant called "Souper Salad" and gave them a bunch of finger foods. Little pieces of ham and cheese, green peas, kidney beans, etc etc. They both love black olives now because they were exposed to a lot of different things at an early age when they thought they were fun. (I hate olives)

Personally I don't PREFER to eat outas much as we have in the last month or so, but I think given the choices they have now in these restaurants, I think it's empowering my kids to CHOOSE healthier options. One thing I've noticed is that my kids eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. I never force them to clear their plates and I try not to reward them if they do. We don't have desserts all the time.. its a special treat... and they realize that. We have so many discussions about choices and foods.

I think there are worse things I could be doing with my kids than taking them out to eat. Most people are amazed at how "well" my kids eat, not how much they eat. They love veggies and trying new things. Given the choice of what to have for dinner... my youngest would probably say a baked potato and my oldest would probably say baked chicken nuggets (which he says are better than fast food ones) Sure, they like burgers and fries, but it's not what they would choose if they could have anything.

I personally am trying my absolute best to educate them about the choices they make at home AND outside the home. I've been surprised at how interested in nutrition the two of them have been, but I'm hoping by making these choices/discussions and everyday occurence, they will grow up eating well and living a healthier lifestyle than I did.

The advertisements fastfood companies had were so appealing, I as a younger child was sucked into the artificial joy of Happy Meals. Now, those Taco Bell ads still make me think "Yum, I want to have a burrito!" but then I rethink that and add "Or, actually, a fish taco instead...". Point being, I think it's necessary for parents to decide healthy options. I like to eat healthy now, but I had no clue what was good and what was not before. I didn't have the choice of whether or not my family could eat at those sorts of places, and I think parents nowadays should show their children the healthy eating choices they could have (by modeling them). That in itself is a major factor for eating healthy from a young age.

**Holds hand up** I'm 'one of those mothers' who let their kids eat the fast food ALL THE TIME. We are cutting back on it now though, better late than never, right?

I hate, hate, hate, HATE to cook....I'd rather stick my hand in a meat grinder than cook!!! I've BEGGED my husband to eat out, even when he said 'no we can't afford it'....but, since I've started eating right, and feel better as a result, I'm able to cook with minimal damage to my mental health...lol.

When hubby was gone on deployment, for 6 months, I took full advantage of him not being there to say we couldn't afford it and I'd say (ashamed) that 95% of that time we ate fast food. We'd do Mickey D's, Wendy's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell. It's pretty sad when you ask what the kids want to eat that night and your 8yr old tells you 'anything but Taco Bell, I'm sick of that place for the week'!!!

I'm a southerner....deep fried is a food group for us. I never knew there was a way to eat okra and squash without frying it (mmmm)! Now that I'm older, I'm seeing the difference, and I thank God every single day that I'm not ALOT heavier than I am! I have no idea how I've topped out at 180, and that was after reaching 5 months in a pregnacy!

All that awful stuff said...lol...it's been almost a month since we've had real fast food...we ate at Friendly's one night, and have had Dairy Queen once in this whole month since I've put forth the effort for eating right. I'm having to ease my 11yr old son into eating right, but my 9yr old daughter LOVES salad, so she usually has a smaller portion of the dinner and a side salad to go with it. She's not FAT, but she's hefty. I haven't told her that, but I am offering her healthy alternatives (she has Diet Coke at dinner as opposed to Hawiian Punch) and letting her know the difference.

My son...he's gonna take some work. We were talking the other day about eating healthy and he said 'I"m not fat, I don't have to eat healthy'....that stopped me right there, and I vowed that the family as a whole will be making huge changes!

So yeah, some of us 'bad parents' do change! I don't feel that it made me a bad parent to let my kids eat the stuff, I just feel that I was making bad choices about foods as a parent.

Kim

Well I have to admit that now fast food places do have a lot more healthier choices. But I know for my neice and nephew they wouldn't eat a lot of foods my mother prepared for them because they are so used to eating out all the time. They finally eventually would try new foods. I'm not saying it m akes anyone a bad parent, but I just think it limits your kids food choices at times. But now like I said, fast food places are offering more choices, so they are not just stuck with eating chicken nuggets or hamburgers. Parents do what they gotta do. My mother was a single mother. We didn't have a lot of money. She did the best she could and I have no complaints. I think parents do what you gotta do. What works for one, may not work for someone else.

Just my humble opinions.