Ta PP, and big respect to a mother of 5 boys! Blimey!
I might write something. I mean how hard is it to fix a round of toast and marmite, for petes sake?!
Actually the same thing applies to adults to... if it isn't in the house we can't eat it either.
I very much agree with PhatPhoenix - everything in moderation - if you ban something completely kids will then look on it as something very special and binge on it as soon as they can. I like the idea of making it an 'out of the house' treat - I have a theory that once you bring this stuff in to the house it breeds.
The other thing, of course, is that if there is enough health related backlash from parents then the manufacturers/retailers will stop making so much of the rubbish foods and put more effort in to providing us with interesting tasty alternatives for the children.
Hmmmmm - I wonder what sort of age she will stop expecting a treat after using the potty. I've got this mental picture of an 18 year old saying 'Mum.... you owe me a Malteser'.
I am no expert and have no kids of my own but to be honest - from what I have seen - a lot of kids have fads and I am amazed that people get kids to eat anything. I think sometimes- as long as they get soemthing down them...
My friend's kids have cocoa pops sometimes and without milk too - so they are not even getting the benefit of milk! My neice is really fussy - I wonder even at this early stage (she is 5) whether she is determined not to be like her mum who is grossly overweight. Also her mum is fussy as well - does not really like fruit and veg and prefers chocolate. Her daughter takes after her but also, takes ages to eat - really plays around then won't eat what is cold on her plate! Her brother is different and tries most things. He loves miso soup!
I am glad I don't have kids. OK times are different - we had the same meals as our parents - althoguh I do rmember having breakfast cereal like frosties and cornflakes (and badgering her for any little toy inside) but I found it hard being at the same table as my neice and sitting there while she 'sodded about' with her food. OK she is much more indulged than my middle brother and I - we HAD to eat everything, even though greens made my brother sick. He eats them now.
I remember reading in one of th sunday papers - a dinner lady for little kids saying how much food they wasted so she was saying even if they do have junk food - they aren't eating it!
The strange thing is that we didn't used to be like this. When I was a kid I don't remember anyone of my friends being fussy or faddy eaters.
What went wrong? Its something that happened in about the 70s.
When my daughter was 5 she went through a phase of only wanting to eat home made macaroni cheese EVERY day - and after a couple of months of tantrums and refusing to eat if she didn't get her own way I just stopped making it. But for those two months I'd given in to my daughter basically for an easy life and I think it probably shifted the balance of power in our relationship to a less mother/daughter one where she had more control than is good for a child - when I stopped consulting her on meals the situation reverted to normal.
To this day I don't really know why I did it - I'm sure that my Mother would never have dreamed of making me food because I demanded it.
Mum and Dad were quite firm over food with me and my middle brother but the 'baby' of the family wanted only ground rice - he called it 'Callum rice' after his cousin who ate it and it had to be coloured blue or he would not eat it. He hated salad. I guess mum relaxed with him nore - over everything - later bedtime, food everything!
It is true I think we would all sit down together to eat - now kids are shoved in front of the tv so no wonder they are slow at eating! We never had dinosaur shaped chicken things either.
I used to be far more indulgent with my kids - even then none of them had an ounce of fat on them - but when I started healthy eating, I realised we were often preparing two lots of food - and the adults' was far healthier! And I thought *If I love my kids, why am I feeding them worse than I eat myself?* So that's when the rubbish food stopped!
Interestingly, they all now hate McDonalds except for the 6 year old. (Who is the skinniest of them all!) My oldest and 2nd (and now it looks like No 4, too) have dyspraxia which, amongst other things, makes them repulsed by certain textures - esp of food. So that can manifest as 'food fussiness' - and be misintrepreted, by parents. So it can be a sign of something amiss, not a fussy child! (Their sense of touch is affected, which is what impacts food.... Also my autistic son went through a phase of only eating white, dry food! Which is common with autistic spectrum kids).
But generally speaking, kids are pandered to. too much these days. My parents used to serve something up for the next meal if my bro left it - but they were always softer with me, being the youngest! So I didn't get cold porridge for lunch - but there was always the lurking thought that I might do! Nowadays kids would ring Childline if you did that!
Hmmmmm - I wonder what sort of age she will stop expecting a treat after using the potty. I've got this mental picture of an 18 year old saying 'Mum.... you owe me a Malteser'.
lol!!! I'll stop soon enough. Apart from my nursery rage, deep down I feel sure I can keep control long enough to give her a good start and good habits.
Instead of giving a food treat after the potty, maybe perhaps something like a little prize - maybe some stickers, a new coloring book, new crayons.
Or how about a chart and when they were done with the potty they could put the sticker on a chart and when they finish the row of stickers, maybe rows of 5 or 10 they get a prize?
Hi Rockinrobin, yep, I tried stickers, stories, singsongs, crayons you name it.
It was the only thing to get the ball rolling. I'm giving less now, she seems increasingly content with praise and a cuddle, as she becomes more confident and has a sense of achievement in controlling her erm...movements.
day - and after a couple of months of tantrums and refusing to eat if she didn't get her own way I just stopped making it. But for those two months I'd given in to my daughter basically for an easy life and I think it probably shifted the balance of power in our relationship to a less mother/daughter one where she had more control than is good for a child - when I stopped consulting her on meals the situation reverted to normal. 
