To think that what I feed my child is my business..

[mummalish]

MIL has been preaching to me about child nutrition, this is the woman who's own children were obese from a young age.

I choose to be careful what I feed my ds, therefore I do not give him sugary cereal, sweets,crisps, or juice. He has freshly cooked food, and I enjoy cooking and preparing it.

So why should I defend myself? She claims that it is unrealistic for him to eat this way.

Yet, I do allow treats: pizza and chips yesterday on a day out, juice when we have it at home, biscuits (every day), home made cake when we have it.

I get compared to SIL all the time, she allows coco pops, fruit shoots etc. I don't, these things are fine, but not for us.

Just so tired of having to explain myself.

Pizza and chips a bit starchy eaten together, but pizza good way of getting extra veg in, and introducing small quantities of new flavours...

I put salads on the table and they weren't eaten. Even at 6 months DS would lick a bit of cucumber, pull a disgusted face and drop it on the floor. DD is a bit better, fortunately, and they are both OK with most vegetables.

I think it shows that the advertisments showing crappy processed food of zero nutritional content and many empty calories as "normal" for children have really done a good job on most areas of the population and all ads for crappy food of this type should be banned.

But yes, some people take offence at other people not choosing the same as them and they take it as a criticism....very common in families, my MIL is lovely but her ideas about nutrition are somewhat influenced by Tesco (5000 aisles of sweets and crisps and 2 of veg) and endless adverts showing these products to be great (with the implication that feeding this to your child makes you a good mum and other children, not eating said product are sad and deprived). My MIL (9 grand children) has drawers full of sweets, and cupboards full of crisps, and chemical laden soft drinks all over the place. Luckily, as DD has these things so rarely she generally only finishes about half a packet of crisps and often hands things back to me saying "too sweet".

I often hear people say sweets and crisps are a "treat" but if children eat them everyday, in my book, that does not make them "treats" but a staple food!

Lolapoppins, I am pretty sure I would beat you in a spelling mistakes/typo competition! I was laughing at myself for being pretty much brain dead.

Mummalish, just ignore her. I guess she couldn't/didn't have the time to do that for her children and sees implicit criticism in your choices.

I have a similar problem in that my SDs feed my DS cocopops and ghastly processed stuff. I want to scream at them quite often. Takes deep breath!

But don't children need carbs and fat? Their balanced diet is not exactly the same as an adult one, but a range of fresh foods has to be good.
Pizza with wheat flour, olive oil, cheese, tomato, what is wrong with that?

PerArdua - yes I have that problem with juice. We do have squash here, DH is a fan, and DS gets probably about one beaker a week. But I know it is squash, not juice. Unlike a mum I know who seems to think that drinking loads of squash compensates for not eating fruit

Altkinmum - oh ok, yes I agree that pizza is actually not that unhealthy. People get hysterical about it for some reason that I can't fathom. Tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, lean ham, cheese, bread - what on earth is wrong with that, especially if it's eaten with a plateful of salad which is how DS likes his.

I get the 'ooh how do you get him to eat fruit and veg'. Because he's always had it and it's delicious so he loves it! A friend of a friend always has a supply of biscuits and sausage rolls in her bag for her 2yo, and then wonders why eat won't eat anything at mealtimes.

Colliecross - agree, little ones need their carbs, and some good fat.

In fact, carbs should make up the bulk of their diet. Or, at least, they should have more of them than anything else - fruit and veg next.

Little People's Plates is a great website to check you're on track with providing under 3s with a good diet.

Does anyone else rememeber the thread from a woman who thought her husband was being a terrible father becasue he once fed thier children cheese and tomato pizza for breakfast?

There were a few posters saying "would you feed them bread, chhese and a bit of tomato for breakfst" and she was still going mad not seeing that it was kind of the same thing. That was very funny.

lola - yes I do, and was infact thinking of that thread while reading and posting on this one

I often get the 'wow she eats healthily how did that happen?' thing too.

um, because I started her off healthily! she doesn't really know any different. she's just turned 3 and nothing is banned now. she'll have the occasional sweet, some crisps or bit of chocolate, but not her own packet IYSWIM. and hell, she even has the occasional Happy Meal! with milk though, not her own fizzy drink, no way.

it does take effort not to go down that slippery slope though. there's a little newsagent stall by the bus stop in town and DD has occasionally asked for chocolate there. I've been tempted sometimes if she's in a mood (to shut her up basically! ) but I'm glad I've said no, as she'd come to expect it every time!

doesn't it depend on the pizza...?

HM pizza nothing at all unhealthy about that, think I would struggle to describe a deep pan meat feast pizza from Dominos or somewhere as healthy...?

I am of the everything in moderation school of thought (although i think my definition of moderation has started to stretch a bit recently....)

OP ignore sounds like you are doing a good job.

whoneeds - yes of course you are right about the pizza, but I think most supermarket fresh or frozen margarita/mushroom/chicken (ie.simple toppings) pizzas are ok if you only have them once in a while and are careful to choose one without too much salt.

pizza is perfectly healthy meal. trouble is when people start treating it like a meat. ie, pizza and chips sort of thing.
its meant to be eaten on its own.

You are doing the right thing by feeding you kids good nutritious stuff.
So what if you want to cook everyday, you enjoy it and see it as an important part of your family life. She probably sees it as a problem as she can't be bothered to stand at a cooker for an hour when she can pull out a ready meal and blitz it in the microwave for 10 mins.

We by no means are a totally healthy family but we don't rely on ready meals to the extent we used to. I like to cook fresh when I can but my skills aren't up to much, but I'm getting there. I try to choose stuff which isn't laden with salt and sat fat as well.

I have also got better with age and feed dc3 better then I did dc1 and 2. Mainly due to money issues. She eats more fresh food and has a very varied diet compared to dc1 who just like processed food and detests veg. I do remember being told I was cruel for not giving them choc biscuits when they were a few months old. They didn't need it then and none of them need it now.

Pizza is a good meal if either made yourself or with a range of low fat toppings. A meat feast from the local takeaway with suspect meat and cheese is not a good choice.

I love home-made pizza. only trouble is sometimes I pile so much veg on that the base doesn't cook properly!

I don't think its necessary to give children low fat toppings .in fact I was under the impression that full fat was the way to go for younger children ..funny what some people think are healthy options

I meant low fat as in not greasy processed meats or meat with loads of fat on it.
Fruit and veg is great for kids and that is low fat. And I don't mean reduced fat spreads like cream cheese where the calorie content is usually the same.
You are right full fat milk and cheese is healthy but is full fat pastry??

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/aug/16/health.lifeandhealth

I've said it before and I will say it again, a low fat diet is not appropriate for children. They need MORE calories from fat than adults do. It's essential for brain development.

And children need saturated fat for the proper development of the nervous system, the brain and the immune system.

The diet that is perfect for a 5 year old would give a 60 year old man a heart attack. For the purpose of nutrition, children might as well be a different species.

Small children do not thrive on high fibre, low fat diets. They will neither receive nor absorb adequate nutrition. It's one thing being skinny and healthy (I see lots of children like that) but it's quite another being skinny and malnourished because your mother's scared of you getting 'obese'.

although surely it still depends where you get the fat from? full fat cheddar - great - oodles of calcium. maccy d's every day - not great. (that's right, right?! confused now!)

also, presumably if they got all their fat from junk food as children, they would then have such a taste for it/lack of desire for fruit and veg, that they then carried on into their teens eating junk food and then would get obese.