Do you have "junk" food in your house on a regular basis?

Crap like crisps, UPFs and chocolate all the time isn’t part of a normal healthy diet. We don’t have that stuff in our house and we generally don’t eat it.

We’ll make homemade cakes etc. sometimes, generally without refined sugars.

I think these generalised assumptions are quite insulting, like people don’t find their own way in life. Part of growing to is deciding how you want to live. Of course the way you are brought up influences you, but that can be to stay the same, rebel or somewhere in the middle.

life is long, food fads change regularly, it’s really not simple.

I think you are totally reasonable and junk food, which used to be socially considered as a treat is now the staple of many cupboards. I’m with you though.

We never (honestly never) have: fizzy juice, crisps, sweets or choc other than if DC have had party bags/halloween etc in which case I keep it out of their reach and ration it out at other times.

We do have treats though but they’ll be made made desserts eg crumble, flapjacks, cakes etc. I think this is important as DC (primary ages) can now make most of these basic treats and see UPFs as party type treats rather than daily occurrences.

You did indeed deny your DC these foods, by not having them at home. Their own food gathering resources would have been very limited.

That may well have been a wise decision, but why lie?

When deceit is so obvious, the story as a whole does not ring true.

I don’t buy ‘junk’ food often. But I do usually make something sweet each week. Scones one week, tray bake or cookies another.
So once a week we have something treaty. Often I do just before we have people visit so it’s shared also.

But I haven’t teenagers yet.

I actually disagree with this. I think a lot of the time if children grow up in a home where there are always crisps, biscuits, etc then this becomes the normal for them and they thunk a normal diet is full of UPFs.

My DC was not denied those foods - we just didn’t have them at home - and has grown up to be an older teen who has a really healthy diet.

I compromise with my ds17 who is endlessly hungry. I cook all meals from scratch except his Friday night pizza & garlic bread.

I buy some biscuits & crisps for him to eat. Once the week's supply has gone, I don't buy more.There is an endless supply of eggs, cheese, salad, bread and fruit instead.

I don't buy fizzy drinks ever. Thankfully he hates the feel of carbonic acid on his tongue so only drinks water.

according to my teens we only have ingredients in house. not actually food. whine whine.

very rarely, tbh for occassions only we buy actual snacks/junk. but not for every day.
eggs, toast, pickled veg make great sandwich maker food.

It's not really a matter of reasonable or unreasonable diet.

By your own admission you've managed to place yourself at war with your offspring, and having us "endorse your virtue" won't change that.

I have an age range of 26 to 8 years old and it’s so sad to me that some of your kids have to ask for permission to take food In their own home do they have to ask to use the bathroom too ?

My children are grown up but we always had a cupboard full of chocolate, cake, biscuits and crisps. If they wanted something they just took it but I don't remember any of them eating huge amounts of it. Maybe a chocolate bar a day. All grown up and eat well, all very slim and active.

During the summer holidays I do tend to have more treats in than usual. The kids are by no means allowed to help themselves but they know where the crips and chocolate is kept and it's not out of reach. There's something about the summer that I just like it to be carefree and fun before they go back to serious school days. I like the running in and out of the house, going to bed at late hours, sleeping in, having maybe a bit more chocolate than they should or the odd meal that isn't completely balanced or eaten at a table etc.

Once they go back in September, there wont be as many treats and everything will be to a strict routine. Meals will be healthy and sensible so they can focus well at school betimes will be strict etc, so there's sensible healthy snacks in and not so many chocolates and crisps

Totally agree with you and I do this too. Mine are a bit older than yours and they don't complain and don't tend to buy junk snacks themselves. I do bake snacks for them like cake bars or flapjacks. I keep a load in the freezer so they always have something sweet if they want it. But it's not processed food.
Educate them on UPFs and how harmful they are, and explain you wouldn't give them food that harms them. Junk snacks aren't a treat IMO

I always had them in the house and it was up to the kids, once they were teens, to self regulate. Once the treats were done they were done.

And god help them if they ate my stash of galaxy.

There are always a lot of people with health conditions in middle age, from any decade. It’s what aging is all about!

I don't know - there are a lot of overweight 80s children with diabetes, IBS, heart disease etc 😕

We're similar to you OP. We don't have junk food around the house routinely anymore (we used to). DC used to grumble a bit but actually, they are good at knocking up more filling and nutritious snacks now (something more protein heavy). I will occasionally buy hobnobs /ice cream or something if they get put on the shop list - so they are not 'banned'. But this isnt routine now. DC will also spend their own money on additional treats if they want them -fizzy drinks for example, which is one thing I just don't buy.

They’re practically adults-why are you making decisions on what will keep them sated until lunch? I think as someone said, you’re in the habit of managing their diet the way you did when they were 6.

This makes me laugh. Sometimes millions of us managed to mature into sensible food after being brought up on a 80s diet of findus crispy pancakes oven chips flavourless mince and mash rola cola and penny sweets 😂

Crisps, rarely.
Biscuits, usually (one after dinner and fruit).
Chocolate, rarely.
Sugary cereal, never.

If they're a teen though, they can pay for their own junk food if they want it? Cheeky to complain to you. When I was 16, my parents gave me £40 each month, which was the child benefit they got for me. I could take food from the house, which was basic stuff for lunchboxes (and a decent, hot dinner), and anything else I wanted, I bought myself. I had a Saturday shop job and picked up a few waitressing shifts. Had to get my own bus pass and clothes too, but always had enough. Would have got a short, brusque answer if I started whinging on about not having enough cake in or whatever 😬😂

OP, teens are very serious about their junk food.
Yours is an ingredient house which they don't like!
I have come in for the same criticism but it is somewhat tempered by my regular baking.

I also keep an excellent variety of ice cream in the house and plenty of bottles of freshly squeezed orange juice, not from concentrate, in the fridge.
I but a few packets of crisps, but when they are gone, they are gone.
I also buy some frozen margarita pizzas which they
My argument is they buy enough junk food as it is.
Lunch sounds delicious.

I think different approaches work for different families. I was raised like you are raising your children and I think it set me up well for adulthood. I'm not overweight, I know what a healthy diet is and I veer away from this at different periods in my life depending on how stressed I am but I'm glad my parents taught me what a healthy diet is, I always try and eat healthily.

Since about 8yrs old my children have had the opportunity to have 2 choices in the food shop for choc/sweets/cake or crisps and then once it's gone there's nothing until the next shop, except what's in the cupboards ( ingredients! ) they learnt quite quickly whinging didn't change that and now have very balanced shopping lists they WhatsApp over the day before shopping.

Yes we do- usually cereals, fruit yogurts, crisps, various “bars” - chocolate, flapjack, protein etc… ice creams and ice lollies.

we like to snack in this house.

i don’t think food is that big of a deal- I was brought to with a healthy attitude towards food and am eager to give my children the same.

so many women of our age have disordered eating that they disguise as healthy eating, intolerances, longevity etc…. It’s massively common but I think the next generation will be mentally more healthy

I think your food sounds incredible! But most kids love a bit of junk food and restricting or not buying it won't help them long term with making healthy choices.

Just from personal experience, my mum was the same and made lovely home cooked food and cakes etc but all I wanted was the odd kit kat or chocolate bar like my friends. When I got pocket money I'd then buy chocolate and eat it in secret, and will still eat junk food/snacks more than I'd like now in the same way. Basically if they're restricted they'll see them as a treat that they're missing out on, and they'll want them more. If they have access to them, they'll be less likely to crave them and then make better food choices (at least, that's what's working with mine so far)

Best of luck, we're all just trying our best and it sounds like you're giving them fantastic meals at home. Introducing a couple of unhealthy snacks wouldn't ruin all that good work if you felt comfortable doing so