to think what kids eat here is not really healthy?

[aeromint]

I am a live in au pair who entered this country just two months ago, taking care of a 8 year old boy for the past 6 weeks and his diet seems to be made of cornflakes, sausages, burger, string cheese and lunchmeat sandwiches.. aren't these, er, junk food?? That's what we would term them in my country. I really dislike making sausages every other evening to him, but this is what I have been instructed to do... Some of my friends also tell me that the kids in their homes eat mostly this kind of food...

How can this be healthy? I am honestly puzzled.

I grew up in a country where we followed this combination of foods for all three meals of the day - one carb item (usually rice or wheat based item), one or more vegetable medley (compulsory), a dip/sauce made from either a veggie or pulses and a fried item like shrimp or cassava crackers. And lots of seasonal fresh fruits, nuts and buttermilk throughout the day. Proper meat-based meals was usually on Sundays and special occasion / rituals day etc (about 1-2 times a month but it will be like a festival with too much of it) - so, a treat, not normal occurance. Basically, we had vegetables every single meal....

So... the only vegetable I see my kid (I use the word my very loosely) eat is carrots or potatoes smothered in ketchup (which is full of sugar?)... but he eats processed meat everyday, he packs a sandwich to his school and has cornflakes for breakfast... On weekends he has potato waffles or pancakes.... not sure what he eats for dinner, but his mum cooks a roast on sundays with potatoes and peas.. I am always invited to join them on sunday lunch and I love it but I miss the vegetables! Like broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, radish, asparagus...

Will AIBU to gently suggest her to include more veggies or should I just mind my own business?

(Sorry if the details here are a bit vague, I know my host mom is a member on this site, don't want to out myself...!)

From the survey linked by North 'boys and girls aged 11 to 18 years consumed on average 3.0 and 2.7 portions per day respectively. 10% of boys and 7% of girls in this age group met the “5-a-day” recommendation' (there doesn't seem to be any comment in the summary about F&V consumption by younger children).

They need to work out a way to include more Mumsnetters in their survey - they will then be able to claim that there has been a huge improvement in the diet of the nation.

DarceyBusselsNose Thu 21-Sep-17 10:34:41

"The Uk, traditionally is a very meat based society, no doubt you have heard the expression 'meat and two veg'? "

Sadly, what an awful lot of children eat these days is not meat and two veg, but burger in a bun, or pizza. The meat is often of poor quality: cheap sausages or chicken nuggets.

Ds was pitied and teased by his mates for having to eat traditional meat + two veg meals.

Haha Barbara - I'm actually a bit shocked some people are so convinced there isn't an issue in general terms - a third of children are obese at end of primary school age, increasing numbers of tooth extractions in hospital due to surgery diet- the list goes on. I struggle with my kids diets but am trying to be better :)

You sound awesome OP.

Mine are fussy little buggers, I make a 'rainbow' salad they can pick at- lots of colours to make it interesting. I also talk about the flavours and textures.

And I emphasise that they may grow up to like foods they dislike now- so it's always worth them trying it to see if they're grown up yet .

They are much better and are more adventurous now DH isn't though.

That said, it is bangers and mash night tonight.

You assume your home country's fried food and carb heavy diet is healthier than meat everyday, but it's not. No matter how much veg you eat beside it. This is a big reason why this generation of Asian people (now city dwellers / office workers instead of farmers) are dying earlier than their parents / grandparents - they cannot burn the fatty stodge they eat.

nuttynoo sounds like bullshit to me. Isn't the rise of Asian obesity attributed primarily to the availability of western style convenience and junk food?

I always return to Michael Pollan's mantra 'eat less, mostly plants' and it sounds like OP's native country follows that pretty well.

I expect to get shot down for this but I think there's a culture here that expects and encourages kids to be fussy about food. As a child I always ate practically everything. My brother otoh was very picky and I think it was largely because it meant he got more attention and was allowed to choose what he ate.

Not all children are my dd eats a lot of fruit and veg as i dont buy much junk food. We have a weakness for homemade icecream though she has that about 3 times a week.

I expect to get shot down for this but I think there's a culture here that expects and encourages kids to be fussy about food. As a child I always ate practically everything. My brother otoh was very picky and I think it was largely because it meant he got more attention and was allowed to choose what he ate.

Absolutely. We always ate the same family meal round the table (not sure why this isn't possible for FT working families like ours, unless your kids are going to bed at 7) and if you didn't like it, tough shit, there was nothing else on the menu. Surprise, me and my brother ate everything. Yeah we each had a few foods we didn't like or were fussy about when we were younger, but nowhere near the extent that seems to be normal!

Half the reason kids are fussy is because they are pandered to and given a separate meal. My auntie consults her toddler on what he wants to eat and practically chases him with a spoon for 2 hours trying to force-feed him "just one more bite" and makes eating an ordeal - and he is terrible with food.