healthy eating drive and ice-cream vans in park

[embeddedclaws]

In London they must spend millions on healthy eating classes, leaflets, dieticians in playgroup etc. Quite sensible for our borough looking at statistics for all age groups.

The council then let ice-cream vans have pitches in parks. No other vehicles are allowed to drive in. I don't mind vans on a different gate, I'm aware they can park freely on the street, I can quickly walk past. However I'm fucked off that in all our major parks whichever part youre in you can see the a van. Over and over one of the kids notice it again after being distracted and it hangs over th e whole visit.

It seems crap that in the only place in walking distance where young children exercise easily (mainly flats, no gardens) they make such pressure to indulge in sugar. Obviously I say no, in fact I've stopped indulging them at all otherwise my toddler doesn't understand sometimes she can or can't. However everyone hates it because it so hard to avoid, it puts you off the park altogether. I presume they pay for the right to sell in the park.

Aibu to complain more officially, or a misery? It's ever present April to September about 10ft from the play area and all the parks have little pitches next to play areas for vans. Surely they could off set lost revenue against healthy diet info provision for families, only targeting high nee families?

How much do you think ice cream vans contribute to childhood obesity? It's a genuine question - I have no idea. But if I base it on the amount my kids have (not an extensive survey, I appreciate) it would be something like 0.000001% of their annual calories.

True

I think we should ban all traffic as well because if a child wants to run across the road, just how will the parent cope with saying 'No, you can't'

YABU. 'There are no bad foods, only bad diets'. Get your poor toddler an ice-cream once in a while.

and get rid of plugs because heaven help us if we tell child they can't push things in the plug hole!

I'm not sure if the OP can read this but I found this a very interesting thread. I've never thought much about the ice-cream van in terms of healthy eating at all. Ussually they visit when it's hot and people are outdoors in general so it seems okay whilst children are out and active but of course it's not a good idea daily. I also know that in some parts ice cream vans sell far worse things than sugary snacks.

However I couldn't help thinking that the point made by the OP is partially true because it's 2014 after all and there is a market for healthy eating. Whilst falafel vans might not be appropriate for most (I'd love it!) I think it would be great if there were alternatives. For example fruit smoothies and other natural sugar free cold snacks that are healthy but delicious. If I had the money and knew how to do it Id probably have a van on the road that would cater to various park users rather than worry about what the ice cream van is selling.

Lastly, it wouldn't hurt to say no to your children if you don't feel comfortable with them eating sugary snacks. No one could possibly give their kids snacks every time they were on show.

It's ridiculous. They blame party food and Ice cream vans? That happens what two or three times a month?

How about looking at what they are eating at school or home. That's the real culprit

what a disgrace having an ice cream van in the park in the summer disgusting. Lets also ban shops from selling sweets near checkouts mcD from existing thank goodness we don't have woollies any more or they would explode with the pick and mix and cheap choc

CogitoErgoSometimes, I didn't say I didn't ever give my any kids any sugar. Cos I did give them cakes & ice-creams & stuff like that. (Though I often felt bad about the sugary rubbish they had from me and, more often, from others.)

I was just trying to point out that all parents are under enormous pressure to give in, (often on a daily basis), to the culture of "treats".

And I think putting an ice-cream van into a park isn't helpful to parents ... just as the sweets next to the check out don't help harrassed mums & dads.

Please go ahead have a minute of silence for my poor kids if you feel sorry for them. (Nb They are now all adults, out of my control, reasonably happy ... & don't particularly like sweet things any more.)

As long as you also have a minute of silence for all the poor kids who are on their way to diabetes & ill health/an early death, even though their parents love them very much. (And who are far more numerous than the kids who NEVER have any sugar, I would imagine.)

By the way, if it was so easy to teach kids self-control, (as you are suggesting), why don't they do it in schools? (To save the future of the NHS?) And why are there so many adults, (some of whom post here on MN), who are sad, (or even very depressed), because they are finding it very hard to lose weight?

Most of us find it quite hard to avoid temptation ... when it is put in front of us.

On what planet are "parents under enormous pressure to give in" to the culture of treats? Not on mine or anyone else's I know.

Self-discipline is a gift our parents give us, although of course it rarely felt like a gift at the time.

Parents should just get on with the important job of actually parenting their children rather than worrying about being popular and being their children's "best friend".

If I "gave in" I'd have a dog I have no room for, fifty friends for a party there's no room for, a dd "flew" down the stairs, kids who eat sweets all day, I'd have to clone myself to be in the park, pool, cinema, all the time and apart from sweets they'd be starving cos i wouldn't be home to cook a meal or walk said dog

That's where no comes in

What's to be scared and feel pressured about in saying it

DC want a lot of things, each has £2.50 pocket money every week.

If DS wants a new skylander, he saves up.
If DD wants a new pony, she saves up.

They can spend their pocket money on ice creams in the park or to go cinema or swimming.

There are time when no means no, no amount of saving will change my mind.

By the way, if it was so easy to teach kids self-control, (as you are suggesting), why don't they do it in schools?

Well children have had 4 years of eating before they start school, and have 5 meals a week at school when they start so its pretty hard for the school to counter what is being done at home (although of course they do try)

I'm not particularly keen on the idea the op had on targeting high need families how do you define that ? Our local children's centre tried to give us a support worker because I have two children with disabilities

There always used to be one outside DD2's school. There was one particular day of the week we had a little extra time after school, so that was the day she could have an icecream.

Once a week for a treat is fine, IMO.

Why don't you tell your DC they can have an icecream on Wednesdays, say. It will have the advantage of helping them learn days of the week, as well.

Rice Why should schools teach self control? That's your job as a parent. I don't know what planet you live on that has a 'treat' culture. Again your job as a parent to address this. Why do you shift responsibility to everyone else for what you're supposed to be doing?

And I think putting an ice-cream van into a park isn't helpful to parents ...

Tough. It's very helpful indeed to those of us who might want an ice cream on a hot day. It's an ice cream van in a public park, not a crack dealer in a nursery.

The world generally isn't organised solely around what is, or is not, helpful to parents. Occasionally the kids have to dismount the sugar-free, winged unicorn of delusion and hear the word "no". There are even schools of thought that suggest it might actually be good for them.

My 3 have been raised to know that no means no. They have been raised to know that treats are for sometimes not for every day. They have been raised to know that they get to choose what they spend their pocket money on and they have to make wise decisions, they all save really well for holidays and bigger things they want to buy. These are all essential life skills. Teaching them this stuff is part of parenting! You cannot just remove temptation so you never have to say the NO word! As others have said, these are exactly the kind of kids who do not learn self control because they over compensate for what they have not been allowed whenever they get the chance.

By the way, if it was so easy to teach kids self-control, (as you are suggesting), why don't they do it in schools?

seriously? loads of what they teach them in school about behaviour and interaction with other people IS about self control

don't take things that don't belong to you
wait your turn, share nicely, play fairly
be polite when others are speaking
put your hand up if you want to ask something
put things back in the right place

the teachers have trouble with some kids, whose parents do not have similar expectations of them or who have never been told NO in their lives!

Good point, well made GreeboOgg.

I'm heartily bloody sick of parents who think it's everybody else's effing job to do their sodding parenting for them.

Life is not fair. You can't always get what you want, precisely when you want it. The world does not revolve solely around your wants or needs. Etcetera, etctera. Not necessarily fun things to have to understand but absolutely and totally vital if you don't want your kids to grow up into total anti-social and friendless arseholes.

It's hard being a parent but some really, really shouldn't take it on if they can't be arsed to expend some bloody effort or show a good example to their nippers.

I agree with the point that not everything is created to revolve around children in this case there may be adults or older children that want a ice cream

Well the children have to know that they can't have an ice cream every time we go out anyway, mine are tiny and have no problem understanding, "we're not having one today", same as if we walk past a shop that sells them.

I actually get your point op. I found it really annoying when my ds schools idea of fu draising was to sell homemades cakes after every nursery pick up for a week. Of course you can say no. But they make life difficult for parents. Displaying cakes at eye level for kids to ogle over. It does seem madness to do tbese things when it completely undermines healthy eating campaigns. Although dont think i could be bothered to actually complain though!

Our rules on ice cream vans

It has to be a Friday AND hot, I think the kids average 5 ice creams on hot Fridays over the summer ;)

We don't call food a "treat" - a treat is something nice you do for yourself, food is just food. I tend to go with the "it costs too much to have one every day" and "we need lots of different kinds of foods" angle, both true. I'd worry that if I restricted sugary foods too severely, or made them into a desirable "treat", then the children would want them all the more. Don't get me wrong, they do want ice creams, sweets etc, and they do ask, but they also leave them when they've had enough.

CoffeeTea2013 ... actually I don't, (especially), think schools should teach self-control! (Agree that families should be doing that where possible.)

I only made that comment as a knee-jerk reaction to another poster who implied that it is easy to teach your kids self-control re food/treats.

Obviously some parents do struggle with controlling what their kids eat,and/or recognising what is too much sugar.

I only came on this thread to support the OP, (who I think has blocked the thread cos she's upset at the harsh reactions), cos I do think there is a problem with kids eating patterns/weight & the amount of sugar they consume.

An ice-cream once a week might be fine (depending on the size of it etc) but what if they have other sugary things on most (or all) other days, and wat if the total adds up to a massive amount of sugar in their diet .... some of which is quite 'hidden'?

And I thought the OP made a fair point that the govt is trying to teach healthy eating (with lower sugar) while allowing icecream sellers into the park where some (fat) kids might be nagging for a treat. (Agree that the parents can and should say "no" but the fat kids are probably the ones whose parents don't and can't say "no"?)

But let's not all get excited.

I am just on the side of parents who are trying to do their best and finding it tough.