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?

[loismustdieatyahoodotcom]

Ophelia. I also have a 0.4 percentile child and I was given the exact advice you were by all Drs, HV and Dieticians. D's has a health problem and I do what I can to ensure he's happy and healthy, and if that means choclate , biscuits and other high fat foods then so be it.
All I can say is woe betide any who judges or questions without asking why.

[hippo123]

Well I told my almost 3 year old that if she walked home from the school run this morning she could have a packet of choclate buttons , so that's what she was eating at 9.10. Should I be calling ss on myself? She did however have a banana, blueberries and strawberries for lunch and both my kids love rice cakes yuck if that makes it any better?

[Aethelred]

I cannot see the point in giving children unhealthy things unless they are a treat. My daughter has never tried sugary cereal and, consequently, she happily eats the plain ones. She has fruit, veg or something else healthy as a snack; they are easy enough to carry around and she is not too full to eat her balanced meals. However, it is people's choice how they bring their child up. If, as a result, they end up with fussy eaters, over- or underweight children or their children grow up to be unhealthy then they can shouldn't complain or blame their child (as I have seen done).
It does annoy me when people give my child unhealthy things without asking or question me not giving unhealthy food in front of my child ('oh, let her' or 'she's a really good eater so it won't hurt her').

[Badvoc]

As long as the child is fit either obese, got scurvy or rickets or rotten teeth, then it's it really an issue is it?
Children's likes and dislikes change so much.
A word of comfort to those with small dc...
Ds1 was 4 lbs 15oz at birth (undx IUGR) and had lots if issues wrt feeding, both milk and solids and I was worried sick as I know you will understand.
He is now 9 and ate 9 pancakes for breakfast this morning :)
There was a great panorama programme about infant feeding on a few years ago - was abi a paed at Birmingham children's - and it was so comforting.
She basically said, give them what they will eat and lots if it! It's all about the calories with small or FTT dc.
X

[countrykitten]

It amazes me that adults eat this kind of crap let alone feed it to their kids. Each to their own I guess.

[PickledInAPearTree]

What one chocolate biscuit? Are you serious? Seriously?

[headinhands]

Horrified? As in experiencing the emotional state of horror? Over snacks? Horror over snacks?

[marjproops]

Between careers I did p/t at a fast food place for a couple of months. about 15 years ago.

EVERY night this family would come in, the 3 kids looked between 2-7 years old, and theyd have the same...the full works, double burgers, large fries, fizzy drinks the lot. I tried so hard not to be judgemental, after all, I was serving said food to people, but i felt so sad.

didnt know their story, maybe its all they could afford, maybe they ate fruit and veg rest of day (they were all on the large side) whatever... but....

plus on way to infant school with DC years later, on the bus, id see this girl nearly every morning feed their toddler with wotsits and snickers (apart from the danger of toddler choking on nuts) and a fruit shoot. I wasnt the only one with the judgy pants on the bus!

Mine gets treated to a Mcd's or KFC or something once a fornight on holidays, Fridayevenings and Saturday lunchtime we have what we call 'treat meals' where, yes, well have fish fingers/pizza/nuggets etc, healthy foods rest of week, DC loves her food, whatever she eats, shes never been a fussy eater.

kids do like the occasional 'fun' food, just in moderation.

I suppose cos of that I myself tend to get a bit judgy. do try and think there might be other reasons or things are a one-off.

so do understand, OP.

[beachyhead]

Probably a third child... You give all sorts of stuff to a third child... Past caring by then

[thebody]

Horrified!!! Mmm op you need to get out more or have older kids.

Chill and mind your business really.

[BlahBlahBlahhh]

Friend was in Drs waiting room other day. Told me about a lady sitting with a little one, about 1 year old. Was sat shaking a bottle of Fanta. Picked up little one and gave it the drink...."if you shake it, it looses its fizz" my friend heard the woman say to her friend....she clearly thought if she did this, she wasn't giving fizzy drinks .

[countrykitten]

I never tell my two that crap food is a 'treat' because it's not really is it - it's shit 'food' which is of little nutritional value and which is sometimes harmful. They are still alive and well without having to have chocolate biscuits. I too get cross when others give them stuff that is rubbish - it's out of order.

[Badvoc]

Simply cannot believe so many on here are so against the odd chocolate biscuit.
Maybe you have issues wrt food yourself?
Very odd.
Please bear in mind that you won't always be able to control what your dc eat...when they are at older and buy their own lunches at high school etc...ime the kids raised on hummus and pitta only tend to go a bit mad when faced with lots of "banned" food whereas kids who have had a more balanced diet including some treats tend not to.
But, hey, each to their own.
I am a child of the 1970s and I won't horrify you with some of the stuff my parents fed us :)

[Badvoc]

...and also please bearin mind that "crap" food I cheaper than organic corn fed meat and organic veg.
Some people really dont have much choice.

[dikkertjedap]

I don't think cookies, chocolate, certain types of crisps, are 'bad food'. It all comes down to how often and how much you eat it. I also don't think that it is helpful to teach kids that there are 'bad' and 'good' foods. It is better if they learn that they need certain nutrients and in which types of food you can find these.

However, it does concern me how much salt and types of additives are in especially the cheaper cookies, crisps, ready made food.

Also agree with other posters who have pointed out that fresh food is much more expensive. The same often applies to making things from scratch. Making cookies yourself is more expensive then buying the cheaper supermarket range (home made does taste better though, and at least you know what you have put in).

[Badvoc]

Dikkert....I agree.
I like baking but tbh it's cheaper to buy a Victoria sponge than make one what with food prices rocketing.
I do try and buy good quality meat and veg but have had to stop buying organic...just too expensive.

[Cat98]

It's irrelevant op - you need to look at the diet over the course of a few weeks, not a snapshot of a morning...
Plus, while I can be a little strict with my pfb over food, it's hardly the crime of the century to give a few too many sugary snacks. Plenty of far worse things to get judgey over!

[PickledInAPearTree]

Badvoc

ime the kids raised on hummus and pitta only tend to go a bit mad when faced with lots of "banned" food whereas kids who have had a more balanced diet including some treats tend not to.

I agree with you on this! My cousin was very strict with her PFB and at several parties he was found gorging, one time picking out cake out of a bin.

I dont know anyone (and I know some really strict parents with food) that find a biscuit horrifying. Its just.. ODD!

[Badvoc]

I knew a woman from baby massage class who only let her ds have 3 chocolate buttons out of a pack (I guess there were about 8 in the pack)...
Found out later that he had suffered from anorexia in her teens.
It showed in her attitude to food tbh :(
She used to look on in horror as my ds2 shovelled a bakewell tart down :)
My ds2'has always been 75th centile from birth.
His teeth are perfect.
He is certainly not the largest child at pre shcool, although he is the tallest.
He is on the move all the time, swims, runs, likes to be on the go.
So he gets to eat a balanced diet and I don't stress about it.

[prozacbear]

Threads like this make me paranoid about feeding DS biscuits in public

I used to be militant about healthy food - poor DS was pooing lentils daily. Now much more relaxed; he's going through the picky phase and I am loathe to freak him out by forcing him to bed hungry when he won't eat the bloody salad.

As long as children are active, stimulated and not grossly obese, let them eat cake. I wish my mother had had the same attitude.

[JudithOfThePeace]

That is what you consider bad parenting?!! Blimey, I hope you continue to be so sheltered from the world!! Quite what nutritional value you think there is in a rice cake, I don't know.

Unclench and open a pack of Wotsits.

[countrykitten]

Ah so those of us who do not feed our kids crap are all destined to have anorexic food obsessed children! Really?! I don't have what people on here consider 'treat' foods in the house - we have never eaten cakes, biscuits, crisps etc - and just because I now have kids does not mean that I shall start to buy it. I shall also never take my children to McDonalds or Pizza Hut or any other junk food outlet. My kids, my choice. Amazed as ever at the crap that others merrily feed their kids but each to their own.

[SizzleSazz]

My DD would destroy anything in her path for sweet chilli snack a jack rice cakes

[littlewhitebag]

My DD2 (age 15) starts the day, every day with a bowl of cheerios and some pancakes. She is tall, skinny, sporty with great teeth. What can i say? Better to eat crap than not eat at all!

[stopgap]

Just one 17-month-old DS here and he's oblivious to junk food. I don't eat it myself, but I do love a good slab of grass-fed steak, roasted yams and garlicky kale. So does the kid. I won't object in the slightest to him having cake at birthday parties, but we won't be feeding him biscuits etc. on a daily basis as that's not how I eat, nor how I was raised (dead working-class, but Italian background and everything was cooked from scratch).