<<sighs>> So then, how should DC who have a propensity to be sturdy be fed/be encouraged to make food choices?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

I would rather that my DC don't have sugar on their cereal. They have never been offered it and are perfectly happy to eat it without.

To me this is not banning sugar, this is making wise food choices, along with frilling food rather than frying, and only using a scraping of butter if necessary, and so on.

I am trying to educate them that the best policy is moderation.

It has been mentioned to me that if I "control" how the children eat then they will grow up to rebel and eat everything possible because of a restrictive upbringing (which I don't think I am doing).

So, how should I be feeding the DC so as not to damn them to a lifetime of sturdiness?

Tomato ketchup is quite good for you in small doses. Yes, it does have some sugar and some vinegar (hence the cleaning action - it's not the devil's work, it's just ordinary vinegar) but the key thing is that it contains processed tomatoes. This is A Good Thing. The chief nutrients in tomatoes are lycopenes. But raw tomatoes are not easy to digest as the cell walls are very tough. You get more lycopenes from tinned tomatoes, passata, ketchup or any form where the cell walls have been broken down.

squeaky - oddly enough it's a bad idea to brush your teeth too often. Twice a day is sufficient. Any more in the long run risks damaging the surface of your teeth, especially if you do it too quickly after a meal containing acidic food.

I really wish that I'd been fed healthily as a child. My mother just gave us whatever we wanted. My mother didn't think twice about serving macaroni cheese as a whole dinner. Or sausage and chips etc with no vegetables. It was a real effort to train myself into eating properly. It took me years to realise that I should have veg with every meal. Fortunately I liked fruit as a kid because I got maybe five servings of veg a week.

I think the only good thing my mother did for me diet wise is that she didn't get me into the habit of putting salt on my food and sugar in my tea etc.

Bringonthegoat. fruit sugar and nature sugar is still bad for the teeth.

If we're going for tooth health then you should all be feeding your kids xylitol instead of normal sugar. It tastes just like table sugar but is actually good for teeth. It's also really low GI which is good for prevention of diabetes.

Ketchup isn't that acidic. My partner has terrible problems with acidic food and he's fine with ketchup in reasonable amounts (which is a lot more than a carefully rationed-out teaspoon). I guess it depends on ketchup brand, mine boasts that there's a tomato in every few tablespoons, so that's good enough for me!

let them eat whatever you give them but make sure they play out and burn off the calories

Ketchup contains vinegar. Vinegar is acetic acid. "A 1.0 M solution (about the concentration of domestic vinegar) has a pH of 2.4" a fairly strong acid. How is that not acidic

you could try this experiment with your ketchup - u need to scroll down to get to the ketchup bit.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with 'robustness' as long as your kids are healthy on the inside. A really good test of anyone's inner health is (ahem) their poo. It should come out reasonably firm, no lumps, in a sort-of s-shape. If its overly dry, or wet, or comes out in lots of pieces then your diet needs more water or more vegetable fibre. I'm not sure if you're going to go searching for your kids' poo but if you can find a way to do it then it will tell you a lot about their health.

The difference between nowadays and the 1970s is the prevalence of refined, processed foods. So you could have sugar on your cereal then, because your diet as a kid wasn't filled with processed bars, sweets, chips, nuggets, flavourings, colourings etc. That's the stuff that really makes kids ill (and fat). If you can reduce the amount of processed food in your kids' diet then you'll make a huge difference to their longevity and vitality. A good trick is to look at the ingredients list on the side of the box or packet. If the item has more than say five ingredients or if there are a lot of ingredients listed with numbers in them, then don't put it in your trolley.

Oh sorry OP I've just given you a big old lecture when really I was responding to previous posters. I reckon just ignore the comments. You are not 'restricting' your kids diet at all by the sounds of it, just being a responsible parent.

Wow Lost, that was amazing! My friend's dd has a problem with certain foods and she thinks it's acidic. One of her worst reactions is to tomato sauce.

Anyway, my dc's don't have sugar on their cereal either. I have never banned it as such,it's just never come up. DD1 is 7 and is having a sleepover at her school in a couple of weeks I wonder if they will have sugar there. I have just never thought of giving them sugar.

What is nature sugar!?!

Anyway - my post did not refer to teeth it was about the effects of refined white sugar as a horribly addictive poison.

well for a start I'd not be having sugar on cereal ....

(BTW I agreed with you on that other thread!!!!! You're not BANNING sugar, just don't see that it's necessary to add it to cereal and YOU ARE RIGHT THERE!!)

Thanks HipHop.

We never had sugar on our cereal or in our tea as children and now I find that it just tastes weird to add sugar to things. I guess that your tastes start in childhood and that's where lifelong addicitions start.

All things in moderation. You don't make a big deal out of food and label it 'good' and 'bad' and ban things.
It is what you do as a family that counts. You should all eat a healthy diet. Cook from scratch. Keep off processed food as much as possible. Involve them in cooking-encourage them to try everything. Do not pander to what they think they want-take note of real dislikes, but apart from that serve things up for everyone. Portion size is very important-make sure that it is reasonable for age. Drink a lot of water.Do not serve lots of snacks-get used to eating at meal times and forgetting about food. Have fruit available if they want a snack. Make sure that the adults in tha family are doing the same. Get lots of exercise.

If you do this all the time then you can relax about offering sugar to visitors, having the occasional McDonalds, sweets or party food etc.

Get all funny about McDonalds, ban crisps, sweets,all fizzy drinks etc and you are setting up problems for the future! I know DC who can look the parent in the eye and say ' I don't like crisps', when everyone knows they stuff their face when mum isn't looking!
Do not make food an issue. If the visitor wants sugar just let them have some-let your DC follow if they want to, but in general don't have it out.
If everyday is healthy eating-the odd day doesn't matter.

I dont think there is naything wrong with 'control' over your childs diet, it teached discipline too as well as healthy food choices. Better to have 'control' as you describe than a a lack of it resulting in poor food choices.

I dont think they will rebel at all. Besides when they are older they can take responsibility for their own diet, any damage they do then is on them, you can only feed them well and educate them well.

We were brought up in a 'mixed' house ie at chip shop twice a week, sweets from shop and had big puddings, but we also ate lots of vegetables and fruit bowl always filled. Neither my brother or I are fat as a result, and we played out for hours all the time.

I am overweight now but I am old enough to see it is my lack of exercise and ahem poor food choices.

My DS has no sugar on cereal. I often serve him brocoli on side if he's having tinned raviloi or fishfingers. Chips are treats from chip shop/Mc D's.

It is only 'control' in that you all as a family, eat healthily everyday and you only have healthy food in the house. You, as the parent, obviously have to stick to it-they do as you do and never as you say.
You can then relax and not start posting on here if another family take them to McDonalds or the birthday DC gives them a lollipop at the end of the school day.
Normal family eating habits are not what I would call control. I would be concerned about the parent who has to control every minute detail when they are out of the home. Calling food 'bad' instantly makes it desirable!
I can remember right back to toddler times-those allowed a biscuit when out had one and played. Those not allowed a biscuit thought of nothing else, except how to get hold of one!

I wouldn't give tinned ravioli and I would make my own fish cakes (except on the odd occasion when stressed)

My mum did ban and restrict lots of foods, she also fed me diet foods, for example cottage cheese and ryvita in my lunch box at 7 years old.

I watched her struggle with keeping stick thin and then have phases of binging on chocolate.

I'm now overweight and have a horrible relationship with food/diets.

I wish I knew, I really do, but I think protecting them from anything to do with "diets" is vital.

Doing what you are doing sounds very sensible, and not controlling IMO.

exoticfruits

People put sugar on cereal? Except porridge where I put a bit of brown sugar or maple syrup on it but on cereal, never.

"Normal family eating habits are not what I would call control." I agree. Don't make a big deal or call some food 'bad'. Just don't call attention to it at all and steer clear of those aisles at the grocery store. Although I do a lot of baking, ( I highly recommend the Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld ) DD doesn't go crazy for junk food. I let her eat what is available while we are out at friend's house, but have found she doesn't seem to go for the crisps and cheesies and such anyhow and when we meet for lunch with friends somewhere where even the kids menu is all fried at some level, she doesn't eat much. Once I ordered her chicken nuggets at White Spot and she took one bite and spat it out and that was it. She had some roast beef of my beef dip sandwich and french fries, which were thankfully, fresh cut.

I just find it bizarre that someone denies sugar on cereal and yet is happy with tinned ravioli which must have far more than a spoonful of sugar! The only difference is that you can't see it.

exoticfruits just because I dont put sugar on cereal doesnt mean that I do not allow sugar at all, balance

Enjoy polishing your halo

I polish it regularly

I agree with balance-my halo comes from the other thread really, where people won't even keep sugar in the house. Visitors have to do without in their drink or not have one! Hatred of sugar comes before hospitality.

well we like sugar in this house and keep it in moderation.

This 'no sugar in house', is it just refined sugar, or all foods that contain sugar, what about naturally occurring sugars?

Now see i think that is a bit extreme