To be horrified at giving a 3 yr old crisps, chocolate biscuits, cheesy bites...

[starofastorath]

....at 10 in the morning? After having sugary breakfast cereals?

[bruffin]

I'm not the one who needs educating.

[ElectricSheep]

Just as benefit claimant = scrounger

now

Fat= poor = social underclass

Remember We're All In It Together

[AlienReflux]

Children NEED snacks in the day, and one big mac will not do horrible things to your insides, eating one a week might, they really are full of shite, but one? nah.

[countrykitten]

OK - you carry on feeding them to your children but don't judge people who won't. I am completely amazed by this thread.

[AlienReflux]

I've never given my children big macs ffs, am just saying eating ONE will not wreck your insides, and snacks are essential fuel for growing kids, healthy ones preferably, but a biscuit occasionally will not make them obese or bulimic.

[AlienReflux]

I'm not judging, I think that's your area of expertise.

[Sirzy]

I was always under the impression that little and often was actually a much better way to eat especially for children as they need constant 'fuel' rather than just being filled 3 times a day.

[PickledInAPearTree]

Are you qualified in this field country?

Your just very very forceful on the matter.

No one was saying about giving toddlers Big Macs but as a fully grown adult one here and there over months? Is that a big deal?

[insancerre]

Children need calories and all this rice cakes or fresh fruit for snacks is baloney.

[CarriedAwayAnnie]

But not empty calories eg sweets.

They need calories that provide nutrition and energy.

If a decent eater, a child will get all the calories they need from 3 meals a day. Thus snacks only need to be fruit etc.

A rice cake with a spread of houmous/philly is a decent snack.

[bruffin]

There is nothing wrong with a few empty calories if they child is burning them off.

Much to my sadness as being a bit greek, hummous is not healthy for my son and I also hate the fact that it has been taken over by the MC as a healthy snack. It supposed to be a dip with lots of luscious white greek bread or pita bread not bloody rice cakes.

[Sirzy]

They may not need sweets but that doesn't mean they are bad a part of a balanced diet.

[PickledInAPearTree]

We all don't need a lot of things. Do we ? Food isn't just about survival it's about enjoyment, that's why ergo out for meals and have things like birthday teas and cakes.

I want my children to eat well learn about food and cooking and learn how to enjoy a moderate amount of sweets and control themselves.

Like I do.

[CarriedAwayAnnie]

"Children need calories and all this rice cakes or fresh fruit for snacks is baloney"

It was this comment I was responding to. It implies that children 'need' sweets or crisps as they need calories.

Which is ridiculous. My point was that, yes they do need calories but they do not need empty calories.

Which isn't say they can't have empty calories, just they don't need them.

Which is why I suggested Houmous - it's a good food for children as it's calorific but healthy.

[bruffin]

Bt you also suggested rice cakes which are basically empty calories.

[CarriedAwayAnnie]

Not with a spread of Houmous and Philly though. Which was my point.

[bruffin]

So you agrervits about the whole diet over a period of time rather than looking at one item of food.
A sweet as part of an overall balanced diet is not a problem. If they were just eating sweets all day or a rice cake all day and nothing else then you don't have a balanced diet.

[insancerre]

carriedawayannie you are putting words into my mouth
I didn't say that children need sweets. in fact, I never even mentioned sweets.
I said that children need calories. Restricting what they eat to only fruit or healthy alternatives, is not necessary- children can cope with the odd biscuit or packet of crisps and it won't do them any harm.

[CarriedAwayAnnie]

Exactly Bruffin - everything in moderation.

insancerre - I have no idea what you are trying to say tbh. Your first post implies giving them fresh fruit is bollocks. I was lost after that.

[insancerre]

I confuse myself sometimes
I meant that just giving them fruit and so called healthy food is bollocks

[JudithOfThePeace]

Countrykitten - I think it is quite strange to say that all snacking is a bad habit. Snacking (healthily) can help stabilise blood sugar and help keep you mentally alert throughout the day. This is why schools offer snacks mid-morning. Last week, my son's favourite mid-morning snack at school was a carrot and a glass of milk!

I think your rather extreme attitude to food (where all snacking is bad and a single burger does actual harm) is not actually as healthy as you believe it to be. It is my aim to teach my children to make healthy food choices, but also to encourage them to enjoy food without guilt.

I also think that is the aim of most mums - and where the 'everything in moderation' maxim comes from. It doesn't mean that for every apple a child eats, it's also ok to have a burger - but a burger every now and again is not going to rot them from the inside out.

I once went to a children's birthday party where every child sat together and ate a piece of chocolate cake. Every child except one, who wasn't allowed chocolate. Not because of an allergy (I knew mother and child well) but because the mother wouldn't let her daughter eat anything 'unhealthy'. She was literally made to sit there watching the others eat chocolate cake. I refuse to believe that an occasional piece of chocolate cake at a party - however much saturated fat and E numbers it contains - will do more harm to any child than that. She'll probably shove chocolate cake down her neck at triple speed when she's older.

[PickledInAPearTree]

Hurrah for Judith.

[CarriedAwayAnnie]

Poor child

Banning certain foods is as crazy as offering crisps, chocolate biscuits and cheesy bites at 10am.

[Toadinthehole]

Who is actually suggesting a complete ban on crisps and sweets? I'm not. The only point I've made is that making them part of a child's routine diet is likely to lessen their ability to enjoy other, healthier, types of food. That is all.

[PickledInAPearTree]

It was mooted as a solution toad. However that poster has given up on us now.

So yes it has been said.