Do parents let their kids eat fast food?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i grew up in the 70s, when fastfood was just emerging on the scene. my mother was/is an ex-hippie-wanna-be, into health foods and whole foods, vitamins, etc. i remember PLEADING with her to let us eat at the new hardee's in town. her response, "you want a hamburger? i can make you one at home!" it resembled more of a meatball, with onions INSIDE! gross!!!! i thought she was so mean!

today, i am a mother of a toddler. i can't remember the last time i ate at a burger joint. i hope i can be just as "mean" to my kid as my mother was to me. thanks, mom!

Well, that parenting approach can go one of two ways: conform or rebel. Ever dealt with a rebellious child? Not fun.

[Anonymous]

It's best to eliminate or limit fast food. It's definitely possible. You just have to make an effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i grew up in the 70s, when fastfood was just emerging on the scene. my mother was/is an ex-hippie-wanna-be, into health foods and whole foods, vitamins, etc. i remember PLEADING with her to let us eat at the new hardee's in town. her response, "you want a hamburger? i can make you one at home!" it resembled more of a meatball, with onions INSIDE! gross!!!! i thought she was so mean!

today, i am a mother of a toddler. i can't remember the last time i ate at a burger joint. i hope i can be just as "mean" to my kid as my mother was to me. thanks, mom!

Well, that parenting approach can go one of two ways: conform or rebel. Ever dealt with a rebellious child? Not fun.

This could be have been me and my brothers in the seventies. However, we rebelled and LOVED fast food and would gobble it up at any chance. My best friend from childhood still talks about us coming over and eating all the "chips" in her house (she's British). When I went away to school and had to choose from different foods for the first time, I gained a whopping 25 pounds.

Anyhow, I lost the weight after college, and my brothers and I could all be described as foodies. We love great food and restaurants and we're all pretty thin now. Interestingly, my parents have become really boring and unadventurous eaters. They do eat in great restaurants, but order very conservatively. Healthy is not always fun.

I vow to give my children a variety of foods - and that will include some junk food. My second child has eaten it already and she's only two. Hell, anyone who has been on the Jersey Turnpike with two hungry preschoolers can understand having to stop at McDonalds.

I hate all the fighting over this issue. Food is food - people are taking it way too seriously.

[Anonymous]

My kids eat fast food about as often as I do, very rarely. It is yummy and that is fine. We define it as a "every now and then" food. I refuse to make an issue of it or they will crave it.

[Anonymous]

I love cooking and good food, personally can't stomach fast food at all (well, maybe the fries if I am straving). My son didn't have any fast food until he turned 6, then he started pleading... I think mostly he likes the toys, not the food. I agonized over it because I really don't want him to eat it but nor do I want to make a big deal out of it. So the rule now is that he can have it once a month, and he is okay with that, and so am I. I also explained to him why it's not good for you, and I am just hoping that it will sink in.

[Anonymous]

Everything in moderation.

My parents steered us away from pop-culture, pop-food, pop-music, etc. It was hard to have things in common with other kids at school. Sometimes I just wished that I got to watch Love Boat and order pizza, too.

When my son reached the age of 3 and asked for tofu satay and didn't know who Elmo was, I started letting him have the occasional fast food and watch the Disney channel on occasion. He's a more balanced little person as a result. He isn't wondering what he's missing. And he still loves tofu satay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything in moderation.

My parents steered us away from pop-culture, pop-food, pop-music, etc. It was hard to have things in common with other kids at school. Sometimes I just wished that I got to watch Love Boat and order pizza, too.

When my son reached the age of 3 and asked for tofu satay and didn't know who Elmo was, I started letting him have the occasional fast food and watch the Disney channel on occasion. He's a more balanced little person as a result. He isn't wondering what he's missing. And he still loves tofu satay.

That's funny

[Anonymous]

We've been able to keep away from fast food so far, except for our fellow EVIL DAYCARE PARENTS who order crappy Dominio's pizza to be brought in for their kids' birthday parties. My LO is old enough to cry if denied the pizza, so now we have to give in and allow it. I wouldn't care if it were a few times a year, but sometimes it is 2-3x per month.

Thanks for the rant . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been able to keep away from fast food so far, except for our fellow EVIL DAYCARE PARENTS who order crappy Dominio's pizza to be brought in for their kids' birthday parties. My LO is old enough to cry if denied the pizza, so now we have to give in and allow it. I wouldn't care if it were a few times a year, but sometimes it is 2-3x per month.

Thanks for the rant . . .

What does daycare have to do with this. I'm the mom who cans, ferments, freezes, and dries. I am a working mom with children in daycare. What does that have to do with it?

What do you expect the parents to feed the kids? Although my toddler eats grilled salmon, asparagus, beets, and for us fast food is a Lara Bar when we have other kids over, I buy the traditional foods such as pizza and quesadillas (OK I admit, I make the pizza from scratch) because I don't expect that the other toddlers are going want to eat my slow roasted Moroccan Chicken.

When we go to parties ourselves, it does not bother me in the slightest that the kids are having Costco cake full of trans fats and chicken nuggetts that probably have intestines ground into the meat. I know that my children will one day thank me for the whole foods that I serve at home.