Inspired by the chocolate cereal thread.
I am a huge believer in good, nutritious food, especially for kids and teens. We rarely had ready meals, almost all dinners were cooked from scratch. I did all the ‘right’ things, tried to provide balance, eg I didn’t outright ban foods, but we didn’t routinely buy things like coco pops or white sliced bread, for example. But if the kids went to parties or we ate out, they could choose what they wanted. If we went to the beach they got an ice cream. And so on.
But then my teenage daughter developed anorexia. All the foods I had, in the past, judged people for routinely giving their children (neurodivergence aside- I have worked with kids who can only eat certain foods/have ARFID) like coco pops, sliced white bread, cinnamon cereal, special k bars and the like became the very foods that keep her alive. Anything she is willing to eat, even tiny amounts of, even the most UPF you can imagine that a couple of years ago I would have never, ever dreamt of allowing in my home, goes at this point.
Yes, mostly non UPF food and a brilliant, healthy diet is of course the aim, with some balance for treats and so on. But until you’ve been faced with a child who is so severely unwell that ANY food is good food, you can’t say you’d ‘never’ give your child x food. You just can’t.
Sending support to all who need it.