My mom gets upset with me because she buys Fruity Pebbles and Fruit Loops for my son when we're over there, and I won't let him have them. She starts in with how once in awhile isn't going to hurt. And I continue with at this young age, yes it will. And YOU don't have to take him home and tell him that he has to eat his wheat bagel, oats, eggs, whole wheat pancakes with fruit spread because you don't stock what grandma has. Gee mom, maybe it's why I was so overweight. Maybe it's why my daughter is the same. Maybe it's why you and dad have gone on one diet program after another and have started yet a new one this year...which you're back on every other day after binging at some church function or another. ::sigh:: Some people just won't/don't get it, no matter how you point it out to them. And they think you're such an ogre not allowing your kid to have "good stuff". My son gets good stuff. It's just not her idea of good.

Yep...the kids go to my MIL's, and you know those big plastic "buckets" for ice cream? She saves them, and bakes 6 batches of cookies...a BUCKET of each kind-so the kids have Snickerdoodles, brownies, chocolate chip, no bakes, and peanut butter to choose from. Then wash it down with a Capri-Sun. :faint:

Then she will make pancakes (white flour) with syrup and bacon for breakfast...they often will go for a Happy Meal (at 8:30pm!) for dinner. That's an average day when they spend the night at MIL's house.

I don't think my kids are "deprived"...I still let them have "kid" stuff, just healthier versions of it. They are just as happy drinking 100% juice as they are with a high fructose corn syrup/food coloring Capri Sun. They can still have a PBJ, it is just on whole grain bread, with natural peanut butter, and 100% fruit spread-rather than white bread, regular Jif, and sugar laden grape jelly.

I agree with that fact that "once in a while" won't hurt...BUT...that is if once in a while IS once in a while, and not 3 times a week. My kids have plenty of sweets on their birthday, Halloween, Christmas...once in a while does not mean "every weekend". Apparently, grandmas tend to think that is what once in a while MEANS. :rofl:

I really think most kids wouldn't notice the healthier substitutions if you give it to them. I don't tell my kids that the pancakes are whole wheat. I don't tell them that I use ground turkey now in my recipes. They haven't noticed that the butter is heart healthy and lowfat or the sour cream is low fat. They don't care the bread is whole wheat as long as it's soft. They don't ask for whole milk and don't even notice we use skim milk now. They eat the light popcorn without complaints. If they do have ice cream, it's low fat . They love fresh veggies and they never noticed the veggie dip is now low-fat. A lot of the substitutions I make, no one cares. They just eat when they are hungry. Always having fruit available, they eat it. If all I had available was junk, that is what they'd eat. Parents need to fess up and realize that obese children is most often the result of what they are taught at home. End of story.

BTW, my SD who is a little overweight herself, just irked me to no end a little while ago. Her 2 1/2 yr. old son was asking for some cereal (raisin bran with skim milk) and she said "no, let's get in the car and I'll go get you a happy meal at McDonald's." GGGrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I told her I'd make him a bowl of cereal and she said "no, I don't want to wait on him to eat it, we'll eat in the car."

WHAT?! Why on earth did she do that? She had to have her Mickey D's fix so the kid has to be subjected to that as well?

cb, that was my guess too. She wanted McDonald's. He would have been perfectly happy with the cereal. He even brought me the box, asking for it and cried when she said he couldn't have it. He eats it here all the time and loves it. But, she'd rather feed him junk food and waste her money.

This is the nurse? Oh my.

That's so true. A friend of mine back in college told me about baby-sitting a young cousin (I think she was at least 6 at the time) who wanted a snack, so she gave her a cut-up apple. The child munched away and said, "I've never had this before." Granted, I never tried a kiwi (or any other "exotic" fruit) until after I got to college, but I always thought cut-up apples were a standard snack for any child.

lilybelle, the story about the mother not wanting to wait for her son to eat cereal just makes me sad. She could at least have put dry cereal in a baggie for him to take in the car.

omg...lilly - see that sounds like my friend who thinks ANY meat (or meat by-product) is better than anything else for a child.

portion control is another thing too. that dad was all "it doesnt seem fair that a 7 yr old has to be on such a restrictive diet" well uh..maybe if you gave him ONE oreo instead of TEN

We have some junk-food in our home and dd gets some occasionally. A cookie. A dove promise. A Hershey nugget. 10 M&M's. If we have ice cream, and we do sometimes, she gets a small scoop - probably about 2 oz.

Yeah, we watched a child overnight in an emergency situation. Breakfast time was **** - cereal without sugar? nope (I even was willing to cave on this kid -reform wasnt my job at the moment-and add sugar but they had already tasted it without and wouldnt try it again) my dd's favorite bread (brown with seeds)- no way - yogurt sweetened with sugar (wasnt gonna even try plain) but not filled with bright pink food coloring - nope. Fruit? nope There was nothing in our house she was willing to eat.

I gave up and just took her to her daycare and advised them she might be extra grumpy

cb, this isn't the step-daughter that is a nurse. This one basically does pretty much everything wrong IMHO. The one that is an RN now is expecting her first baby in June. From what I have seen, she'll be a great parent.

ennay, I know what you mean. This SD thinks those chicken nuggets and fries and coke are better than a bowl of healthy cereal. Her car looks like a graveyard for McDonalds, KFC and Taco Bell sacks. yuck!

I've also babysitted kids before that wouldn't eat anything in my house. It is because they never had it before.

Same here. My son (7) gets them as a rare treat only. But what's really funny is he doesn't want McDonald's kid's meals anymore because they're made with the "bad fat", lol. I think I've warped him.

I didn't see the show everyone is talking about, but I agree with most of the points. These kids don't have a chance if the parents keep giving them junk.

Wow. That's too bad, lily.

In my group of girlfriends, only two of us have children (although I just found out last night that a third has a bun in the oven!).

I have a hard time relating to some of the choices that they make for their little boy, who is almost 3 years old. A few months ago, we went to their house to go out for dinner, and their son was just waking up from a nap. He was upset, so his father gave him a Hershey's chocolate candy bar. A regular-size candy bar, no less.

Then, we were at their house for dinner a couple of weeks ago, and for some reason he now receives a handful of Sour Patch Kids when his diaper is changed. Then, he had a soda and hot dog smothered in ketchup for dinner, plus a few cookies. We were there for Super Bowl Sunday, and he was drinking a soda in his sippie cup and had a bowl of chocolate pudding for dinner.

When you combine those eating habits with the fact that he watches TV 24/7, you have a recipe for disaster. He's a very slim kid now, but no way is he healthy. Both parents complain that he runs around the house constantly, sometimes until midnight. Hello, sugar high!

Did I mention that his mom has a bachelor's degree in early childhood special education? Could she really not know how irresponsible she is being? It floors me. I have known this girl since we were born, and we grew up as best friends and next-door neighbors.

I just don't get it. I feel bad for her little boy, and bad for her too for not doing the right thing. It's not like I feel superior or anything, but I'm almost glad for the constant reminders of the wrong things to do, and their consequences.

Nikki, that diet sounds almost abusive. I am just amazed that they feed a 3 year old such things as SODA IN THE SIPPY CUP??!!! Gross. Have you tried talking to them about this at all? No offense, but your friend sounds really truly ignorant.

oh Mami you have no idea. I knew a girl who's parents gave her 2 cans of Dr Pepper a day. In her bottle, because she was 8 MONTHS OLD.

And the parents of the kid who wouldnt eat in our house were excited when pop started coming in those little cans that were the "perfect size" for their 19 month old

My 16 mo. old LOVES apple. Course, he also loves banana, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, pears, peaches....

I have to hold back on oranges. The acid does a number on him. :(