Do you make separate dinner for your kids? Or do they eat what you eat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We totally have some of this "junk" in our house. Because you know what, macaroni and cheese is freaking good. And so are chicken nuggets. Like....when was the last time you tried mac and cheese? It's great.

Our 3 year old had mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, strawberries and broccoli for dinner just last night actually. Finished the chicken, broccoli and strawberries (had seconds) and asked for yogurt. Maybe had a few bites of the macaroni.

Not a big deal. She eats a variety of things just like we do. Feed your kid what they eat and encourage them to try new things. When you have the attitude that some foods are "bad" I think you are doing more harm than good.

I don't see anything wrong with mac and cheese, or any of this so-called "junk." But...

1) my idea of moderation is probably different from yours and
2) I will serve it if that's what I'm also eating and
3) I disagree with this framing: "Feed your kid what they eat and encourage them to try new things." How do they eat what "they eat?" Because it was introduced, because you buy it, because it's offered regularly. You can start out with a base of nuggets and mac and cheese (and fruit and vegetables) or you can start out with a base of pho or lentils or spanikopita or whatever-- these aren't hard-to-like foods IMO. I'm not talking about hot curry or something. There's a very intellectually incurious strain in some of these discussions that posits The Kids Menu (TM) of America as some sort of purely natural starting point for children's tastebuds. It isn't, or doesn't have to be.

It's not "natural" that Kids Menus and Kid Food (speaking only of entrees) is 80-90%:

Plain cheese pizza
Hot dogs and hamburgers (plain)
Chicken nuggets
Mac and cheese
Buttered noodles or maybe throw some spaghetti sauce on it
Cheese quesadilla

Actually it is natural. Kids have different nutritional needs than adults. They need more fat (cheese) and carbohydrates than we do. That's why they crave them.

Nope. Not at all.

Fat and carbs? Natural.

So there's:

Guacamole
Lechon
Salmon/Tuna
Sausage
Delicious cheese that is not American "cheese!"

There's:

Rice Noodles
Couscous
All manner of breads, rice, grains... take your pick
WITH SAUCE AND MEAT AND/OR VEGETABLES

I addressed this. It's not that "Kid Food" is fattier and carb-ier than adult food may be.

It's that it is limited to like 6-8 total possible entrees, and most of those entrees involve

Deep-fried and/or super-processed fatty meats
White bread/tortillas/pasta
Processed cheese limited to maybe 3 cheeses or cheese food products
Basically almost no seasoning except for maybe marinara sauce or ketchup and, often, a boatload of salt

THAT is what is not natural.

I like a little of all of the above, by the way! But it's not like this is the natural starting point for the human race, from which kids should only be expected to very slowly venture.

You sound incredibly obsessive about food to be honest.

[Anonymous]

My theee year old generally eats what we do, but I sometimes add rice or another carb if needed. Or if we are eating something really spicy I’ll make something really easy for him, like a sandwich or boxed Mac and cheese or an omelet.

I was actually wondering whether he can have a slice of my birthday cake coming up- it’s for 1/2 cup of bourbon in it. Can kids have baked desserts containing alcohol? No idea if the booze bakes out... the bourbon is used as a soak for fried fruit before being stirred into cake batter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My theee year old generally eats what we do, but I sometimes add rice or another carb if needed. Or if we are eating something really spicy I’ll make something really easy for him, like a sandwich or boxed Mac and cheese or an omelet.

I was actually wondering whether he can have a slice of my birthday cake coming up- it’s for 1/2 cup of bourbon in it. Can kids have baked desserts containing alcohol? No idea if the booze bakes out... the bourbon is used as a soak for fried fruit before being stirred into cake batter.

Sorry, the 1/2 cup of bourbon is used as a soak for DRIED fruit. Then the fruit and any remaining bourbon are dumped into the batter.

[Anonymous]

I think everyone here has fair points but just a heads up. Be cognizant about how you talk about food, and from an early age. I think parents of young kids care a lot about conquering picky eating, and that's understandable. I used to be very proud that my kids were all adventurous eaters who preferred roasted brussels sprouts to apples, couscous to mac and cheese, and glazed salmon to chicken nuggets.

Well, fast forward a decade to my tween daughter who needed to see an endocrinologist because she was growing slowly. We needed to increase her calorie intake, and quickly. Unfortunately, the foods you need to do that (full fat dairy, milkshakes with corn syrup, extra servings etc etc) were a hard sell to a perfectionistic daughter raised the way she was and starting to be influenced by media standards for the body. We are at a good place now, but it required about a year of readjusting how we talked about food in our family, as vital fuel for the body, about calories are important for growth. We do not refer to foods as "fatty" or "unnatural" in our family any longer.

Not saying this is a common issue but just keep in mind that the way you think about food and discuss it with kids will last into their futures.