to keep the expensive stuff for me and let the kids use the normal stuff?

[2kidsintow]

There are few things in life that are reserved for me alone.

However, I buy the DDs the normal bog standard chocolate spread for their weekend breakfast pancake treat and keep the lovely Cadbury stuff for me alone, on a high shelf.

inferior brands and* quality

The martyrs of this thread!

Im currently sat here tucking into M&S vegetable crisps while my toddler has quavers.
Poor fucker will be scarred for life

And i made him give the cat one of the quavers so she would leave mine alone.

Poor deprived cat too

Least your toddler is learning to share

Adults and children should get treat i dont see what the problem.would be with sharing them id have to give dcs at least a little bit couldnt be greedy

Chunderella, I am criticising people who think that kids dont know any better, so get away with feeding them rubbish while reserving the best for themselves. Btw, I dont think the OP was doing that

If the family want to eat Tesco's basic ice cream then go for it, but it wouldnt be right if only the parents were eating the finest organic gourmet version, unless the kids actually preferred the bad stuff

Anyway, I'll let you bring up your children, and I will bring up mine ;)

Good point! Inm teaching him a valuble life lesson

You can fuck off if you think i am sharing though

I must be a brilliant mum because I sacrifice all of the fruit in the house to the dc. Every last piece. I have to snack on biscuits instead poor me.

Actually I make them snack on fruit first as I think its better for them, they are allowed chocolate/biscuits/icecream after tea.

Almost everything in our house is for everyone but there are things they consider treats that I buy just for them, haribo, icelollys, etc that I wouldn't eat as its for them, its what they enjoy.

Then there is ben and jerrys which is for me, they have treats why cant I have treats? If we all went to the supermarket and chose one treat each they wouldn't choose ben and jerrys.

There are odd meals that I make different but that is because the children would turn their noses up and so they get a free pass maybe once a week at most, for example if we are having fajitas, they don't like spice or peppers so they would have nice ham and cheese to put on theirs or plain chicken chunks, but we would all be round the table sharing the salad etc and if they want to try the fajita chicken and peppers they are totally encouraged to.

Chunderella, you've just spent several messages berating mijas for giving her DCs 'artisanal' ice-cream and then ask her if she thinks it's ok to give kids transfats. Transfats are much more likely to be in cheaper products!

And that's the thing. On one hand people are saying that its fine to give kids cheaper or poorer quality products because they "don't know the difference"(which I don't think is true, I know my dog doesn't but ime kids do) and then going on to say that the expensive 'treats' are bad for you anyway. But poorly made 'treats' are likely to be worse!

I also don't know why some people are exaggerating so much, and making out as if others have accused them of high cruelty! Of course it's not cruel, but throwing down markers about what's adult food and what's kids food does send a clear message - and a poor one. It sends the message that what kids eat is not particularly important.

Different for me it's not about deliberately hiding things out of sight of the kids out of some sense of misplaced guilt just that i'll tend more to buy the treats when i'm not with them so as to savour the moment and have 10 minutes of tranquil peace like bliss. As I said before, equally if i'm with them and they want some then that's no problem

artisanal most pointless word around. I only see it on here as well

It isn't greedy to eat or have what you like why is it greedy ?

I agree that it's a pointless word. What shall we say instead? Made with high quality, natural ingredients?

I use clarins shower gel ..the kids use aldi stuff ...I am going to hell

Duck to Water - Exactly!

I think this was meant to be a light-hearted thread, making the point that parents are individuals too, with their own needs which they should sometimes indulge - harmlessly, with some expensive chocolate spread, for instance!

The point is that, quite rightly, we are all very child-centred in our approach to parenting these days - with most of us agonising over every decision concerning our children and desperate to get it right - so it is a very healthy antidote to be (secretly!) a little bit selfish over minor things!

It helps to maintain a healthy boundary between ourselves and our children which is good for them as well as us.

We all know, surely, that if there were ever a genuine food shortage, all we chocolate-hoarding mothers would be falling over ourselves to make sure our children got all the healthiest stuff - and the lion's share of everything going.

Sorry that should have been minor things!

Chunderella - yes they are two different issues

1. If you have a varied diet, then a bit of junk doesnt hurt
2. Artesan pistaccio ice cream definitely isnt junk. Although if you ate kilos of it every week, then you'd probably put on weight, but you can say the same about walnuts or raisans or avocados, all of which my 2 year old also enjoys

And then why should I be worried that my little boy gets attached to ice cream, and even if he did, so what? It gives great pleasure. If at any point he became overweight or healthy, which in our family, is very unlikely, then we could reassess.

Anyway, to make this relevant to the OP, if I bought the pistaccio ice cream for myself but then said the 2 year old must only eat a cheaper version simple beause he is younger than I am then that would be enourmously cruel.

YANBU
I be had steak for dinner in the past( rare treat) and given the little ones Angus steak burgers. At that age they wouldn't appreciate medium rare steak and it would probably be too chewy. My oldest DS is 12 now though so he'll have a steak next time

I don't hide my treats. Because they dc know they are not to touch it, or they will be replacing it from their pocket money!

Only half joking there...

Why wouldn't young children appreciate steak? This is one thing I think the French do right. Even at nursery children get all kinds of quality food that many British would reserve for adults.

mijas of course there are unhealthy foods! even a small sugary snack every day will have an effect on a child's insulin level and cause tooth decay.

Nevertheless, Chunderella, whether or not you think that it is ever acceptable to give a child a sugary or dairy based 'treat' (most people seem to think they are ok in moderation), aren't cheap treats more likely to contain really unhealthy ingredients like transfats? And doesn't that suggest that there might be good reasons for ensuring that everyone in the family gets the best option the family can reasonably afford? Rather than the adults having well produced ice-cream and giving the kids hydrogenated vegetable oil foam?

As for clothes, make up and toiletries. I think food is totally different question. Ok, there are issues with parabens and phthalates in cosmetics and toiletries, but they are just as likely to be in expensive brands. And if you care about that enough to avoid them, then you probably do extend that caution to your DCs as well. But most people don't see toiletries as a health issue, while it's undeniable that food IS and the habits and values we instil in our kids about food can last a lifetime - or take a lifetime's work to get over.

The attitude that it's better to keep a good quality ice cream or chocolate bar for an adult, because the kids wants LOTS of ice cream and giving them cheaper stuff enables them to scoff lots of it seems bizarre to me. Surely it would be better to instil the message that sweet things are to be enjoyed in moderation?

All food here is for everybody however about once a month I buy myself a treat that I don't share. Likewise I buy dh and dc a treat most weeks that I wouldn't expect to share either. My treat is usually a pastry from the patisserie whereas theirs are usually chocolate because that's what we each enjoy. If they were with me when I bought my treat and asked for one I would buy them one too tbh.