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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that junk food as a reward is really harmful

94 replies

brt100 · 27/05/2014 19:09

Currently looking after dn and on the most part it's a delight.

However picked her up from school and she was very proudly showing me a sticker she earnt, was so excited that she forgot her coat and bag!

I congratulated her etc but when we got home she said that mummy usually gives her a kinder egg when she does well. Idont want to wear my judgey pants, but I hate the idea of harmful addictive junk food as a treat.

I've said I will make her a lolly instead, this will just be frozen fruit on a stick.

Aibu not to give junk food?

OP posts:
littlemslazybones · 27/05/2014 19:40

It means that it's probably more trouble than it's worth to have you look after your niece given that you are sitting in lofty judgement on her parenting.

HeyBungalowBill · 27/05/2014 19:40

I must say I disagree with that as a reward also, I think food should stay as food.
Food shouldn't be a reward or a punishment just something we eat to live

Personally I think the sticker should be the reward and a nice "well done" from parents/family is enough

motherinferior · 27/05/2014 19:40

It would be like those grim parties fill of wholesome non-delights rather than crisps and chocolate fingers.

Edenviolet · 27/05/2014 19:41

Obviously fruit will have vitamins in that chocolate doesn't but if we are focusing on sugar content 1 kinder egg contains approx 11g sugar, by comparison a large apple contains approx 25g of sugar.
The sugar in a kinder egg will also be released slower than the sugar in fruit due to the fat in the chocolate which would avoid a sudden surge of sugar in the bloodstream.

wonkylegs · 27/05/2014 19:42

You are over thinking this and using slightly hysterical language.
If your niece has an already unhealthy diet filled with chocolate and junk food then yes it probably isn't the best idea.
As an occasionally treat for a kid who has a healthy balanced diet and exercise then it'll probably be fine.
I also wouldn't necessarily believe my niece - kids are crafty so and sos.
Unless you have grave concerns about your nieces health I think I'd dial it down a notch and enjoy being auntie and leave large parenting decisions to her mum.
For perspective my DS sometimes has chocolate/sweets as a reward from us but sometimes money which he saves up on a chart for toys, books, DVDs he wants. He's a skinny, healthy boy who eats well & has great teeth.

usualsuspectt · 27/05/2014 19:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Beardlover · 27/05/2014 19:44

I agree with you Op

Original poster
brt100 · 27/05/2014 19:45

I mean kinder is a highly processed item made of processed sugar and processed fat, the combination of fat and sugar is very addictive.

You can't compare the sugar in an apple to the sugar in sweets. Just like you can't compare the fat in chips to the fat in avacado, they are totally different.

So should I just not mention any treat? I did we me looking after her was her treat, she seamed disapointed

OP posts:
CoffeeTea103 · 27/05/2014 19:46

Oh god get over yourself. No wonder Kids have such issues over food, when people act the way you do. Just give her one and don't make a huge deal over it. Seriously ffsConfused

Sizzlesthedog · 27/05/2014 19:47

Isn't a kinder egg a cheaply tat toy, covered in a thin layer of chocolate?

Or have they replaced it with crack?

wigglesrock · 27/05/2014 19:48

From a teeth point of view I'd rather my child had a Kinder egg.

Edenviolet · 27/05/2014 19:49

I agree about the good and bad fats and the effect they have on the body but sugar is sugar. Whether its from sweets or fruit the body has to deal with it in the same way and it has the same effect regardless of its source.

Nomama · 27/05/2014 19:50

Puhlease!

Sugar is not poison, it is sugar.

A kinder egg for being a good/clever girl is a nice thing, sweeties and childhood, same as butterflies and never ending summer days. The adult just needs to control the frequency.

If my mum had stooped to woven yoghurt, seeds or hummus when I was a kid I am certain I would have grown up with a massive complex.

Get some perspective.... and whip off those judgey knickers quick!

HeyBungalowBill · 27/05/2014 19:51

I really don't think this is about the kinder egg itself Grin

It's about the relationship being created with food!

It associates junk food (or any food at all) with a reward.
It could be burgers, chips, pizza, chocolate, sweets it doesn't matter that it's a kinder egg.
It's just creating a bad relationship with eating that will stay with children for life into adulthood.

Yes one kinder egg is fine but creating a thought of eating junk food is a reward sounds like it could be a problem in the future when children reach adulthood

MinesAPintOfTea · 27/05/2014 19:55

Its partly about the sugar but its also partly about teaching small children to behave appropriately and persuading them to do so.

I was never going to bribe my DC with sugar until I was faced with an actual toddler and a single biscuit for not screaming all the way around the supermarket seemed like a fair exchange.

cantbelievethisishppening · 27/05/2014 19:56

Hey
I completely agree and think any sort of food as a reward can be harmful and will create bad relationships with food, especially as it's unhealthy as it links junk food as a reward.

What are you basing that on exactly?

ClashCityRocker · 27/05/2014 19:57

I think it's attitudes to food like this that make it such an issue.

If it's a reward or treat for doing well, surely that's better than an everyday occurrence and is actually teaching a child that it's not something to have 'just because'.

For big 'well dones' in our family we'd get taken out for a meal somewhere of our choosing (I mean exam results, awards that sort of thing). It wouldn't be healthy, I'd finish off with an ice cream the size of my head.

I don't think it's caused untold psychological damage.

Besides, as kinder eggs go, they're probably on the healthier end of an unhealthy snack.

cantbelievethisishppening · 27/05/2014 19:57

Spot on Nomama

LauraPashley · 27/05/2014 20:00

What about the notion that kinder eggs (and other addictive and menacing kiddie treats) are not part of an everyday diet, but ok to have every so often, so therefore are a "treat"?
I like mahoosive cakes, don't eat them every day at every meal, but every so often I have one. Don't think I am addicted, I just know which foods are only in moderation. Like kinder eggs!

Edenviolet · 27/05/2014 20:01

Pretty much anything in moderation is ok, its not like your dn was asking for a kinder egg for breakfast each morning.

PourquoiTuGachesTaVie · 27/05/2014 20:01

I agree, I don't like the association that I may be giving my ds about treats as a reward.

However, if anyone can tell me what else can be used as a reward for him actually eating his dinner (I've never made him eat all of it; just as much as he can manage of everything that I know he likes and at least a taste of anything new) then I would be grateful.

The promise of pudding (a yoghurt/bit of chocolate/cake) is literally the only thing that will entice ds to eat. A year ago his diet was limited to a handful of things, now he will eat actual real meals, and this is only because he is now old enough to understand the value of a decent bribe.

I honestly don't know what else I could do. He doesn't understand "You can't survive on toast and cheese alone."

cantbelievethisishppening · 27/05/2014 20:02

It's just creating a bad relationship with eating that will stay with children for life into adulthood

Hmm How on earth do you know that it does this? Or are you just speculating?
grocklebox · 27/05/2014 20:02

I've never understood why we expect children to be somehow better than we are. I have chocolate as a treat. I have alcohol as a treat. I go out for dinner as a treat, and eat stuff that isn't particularly healthy.

I do believe its called LIFE. Kids live too.

ChoudeBruxelles · 27/05/2014 20:03

Kids want kinder eggs for the bit of tat inside rather than the chocolate in my experience. I could offer ds a far larger piece of chocolate and he'd still go for the tat

Original poster
brt100 · 27/05/2014 20:06

Norma have you ever read pure white a d deadly? It was banned by the sugar industry.

OP posts:
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