To think pouches are awful?

[AIBUnamechanger9]

I have two DCs and have never fed them from pouches. I see babies and toddlers sucking on them everywhere and it seems horrible for their teeth? Also for having a routine of eating at mealtimes or teaching them to eat properly. I recently spoke with a friend (who I am quite close with and believe she’s a wonderful mum) and she told me her 8 and 10 yo children still eat from pouches, especially if they’re on a day out, etc.

AIBU to despair at the prevalence of pouch feeding?

I'm in my 30s so pouches weren't a thing when I was a baby - but jars were so had those.

The same food just in different packaging

I had twins. I felt mum guilt about a lot of things, but giving pouches was not one of them!

Some people get so het up about what other people choose to do with their children, i can never get my head around it. Giving your baby a pouch of baby food is not child abuse.

My dc are 8 now. Perfect weight, perfect teeth.

My 6 year old is autistic and fruit pouches are the only way he will eat anything fruit. They are one of his safe snacks and when he is is ill they and oaty bars are literally the only thing he will eat. He has a very limited diet and some days it is a battle to get him to eat anything. He does not however eat chocolate, ice cream, cake etc that other children eat. It's good to know I can add him having a fruit pouch to the list of things people judge my autistic child for 👍

I didn't know what you meant.

I thought you meant some kind of handbag that are raved about on the Style and Beauty forum.

I'm clearly out of touch .

If they are processed food packed in plastic then yes, you are being very reasonable.

My DP has a pouched yogurt most evenings 😂

My 9mo baby ate a brioche roll for two of his meals the other day. But at least it wasn’t a pouch. 🤨

I wish he’d eaten a pouch but he likes BLW.

Usually he eats what we eat. He had roast lamb with veg. But he didn’t want the omelette I’d made for breakfast and I didn’t want to give him my lazy lunch of breaded UPF chicken goujons.

The odd pouch is not a problem. Nor is a regular one tbh.

No judgement here, but there are evidence based reasons to be concerned about over-use of pouches - this Institute of Health Visiting blog based on British Dental Association research summarises them, and links to the research.

I was surprised to see the posh brands like Ella’s Kitchen called out as being the most sugary.

https://ihv.org.uk/news-and-views/voices/british-dental-association-research-on-baby-food-pouches/

Pouches are so convenient, and when mine was smaller there were always some in the changing bag and cupboard at home. You don’t need to worry how long they’ve been out of the fridge, and you can eat out knowing you have something for them, plus a godsend when travelling. We still get the odd fresh yoghurt pouch. Honestly, parenting is challenging enough without worrying what people think of your feeding choices 🙄

I give them to my baby who is weaning and spoon fed. Once they are eating solids they won’t have them anymore.

I wouldn’t give them to my 4 year old because they are expensive and not going to be filling.

But there are a lot worse things, I wouldn’t be bothered about someone else giving them to their DC.

If disposable nappies were cheaper and more readily available back in the olden days, you would have absolutely used them. You're just jealous because you didn't have the option.

We used them if we were out and about. My lo liked the Ella’s kitchen spag Bol the best. His dietician never recoiled in horror if they appeared on his food diary.

This is the ingredient list
Organic Tomatoes 37%, Organic Cooked Pasta 18% (Water, Organic Pasta (Organic Durum Wheat, Organic Dried Egg Whites)), Organic Beef 11%, Organic Carrots 10%, Organic Vegetable Stock 7% (Water and Organic Vegetables: Onions, Carrots, Parships, Leeks, Swedes), Organic Broccoli 6%, Organic Onions 5%, Organic Mushrooms 4%, Organic Cheddar Cheese (Milk) 2%, Organic Mixed Herbs <1% (Thyme, Parsley, Sage, Oregano), Organic Garlic <1%, Organic Black Pepper <1%, Other Stuff 0%

Which part is supposed to be awful? Or do you mean it’s awful we didn’t make every single meal from scratch?

For what it’s worth, my son needed purées/ mushy food for a very long time due to health needs, and pouches/jars meant I could take him out for the day without worrying about how I’d get him fed.

I’d spent 4 months with him in hospital, worrying if I was ever going to take him home, so yes, I was lazy when it came to packing his food for days out. I was exhausted.

Anyone who judges you is a twat. As a fellow SEND parent I can't imagine having the headapace to worry about what other people are feeding their DC, let alone post about it.

My child with additional needs ate them, sometimes to the exclusion of anything else, so I was so grateful they existed and he was my third child, so hadn’t relied on them before. I had to take a load on holiday last year, hoping they’d last. I hate to think how much I’ve spent on them.

I couldn't see the point of pouches other than laziness.

Shelf stable. Really handy for when we would be out all day which we often were.

@gwanmen

Pouches are full of fruit and veg, not crack

Are they? I'm going to have to stop buying them then!!

🤪

@AIBUnamechanger9
@Meadowfinch

you're only see what the baby/child is eating at that moment.

why are you, ridiculously, assuming that's all they ever eat?

pouches are far better than home made tubs of purée when out because you don't need to worry about keeping them cold then warming them up, so you can just keep a couple in the nappy bag

the odd pouch isn't going to hurt them.

My main reasons for avoiding pouches would be cost and them not being recyclable, plus the fact they are very finely pureed and bland so probably don't really help babies learn how to eat a variety of textures/flavours, if that's all they're eating. But used sometimes for convenience when out and about or when needed due to lack of time etc then I see no problem with them.

What a nasty post. Yabu and very rude.

A really handy way to get lots of different fruit/veg into their diet without having to buy every single one and chop, cook, mash etc. I occasionally buy one of the fruit&veg ones then over a couple of days squirt it onto yoghurt/porridge. The Ella's kitchen ones are all organic too, whereas I would never normally buy organic produce (can't manage the expense), so I feel ok about them. Meat/fish in a pouch creeps me out though.

Makes me laugh to read shit like this. When your children are now healthy, thriving adults you won’t even remember this crap, you do you.
there are children in abject poverty in this country, so I wouldn’t be dying on a pouchy hill.

Do you mean the fruit stuff or the ‘spag bol’ meal. Where we live I’ve seen adults still have the fruit compote, there’s half an aisle of the things in every supermarket. I really don’t see a problem with that for an out and about snack and a bit of energy. 10 yr olds eating the Ella’s ‘chicken curry’ or whatever would be more surprising.

edited to say: babies and toddlers eating the meal pouches out and about is totally fine surely. An easy, healthy, less messy meal for a small child and their parents. Seems like everyone wins if the child likes it.

Wow, there is a conclusion and you leapt to it.
Resorting to childish knee-jerk name calling doesn't reflect well on you, dearie

Which part is supposed to be awful? Or do you mean it’s awful we didn’t make every single meal from scratch?

I guess the accusation is that unless you're suffering/struggling, you're not a good mother. You need to suffer, dammit!

Screw that. I'm a better mother when I'm not spending hours chopping up and pureeing vegetables that will get thrown around the room by baby twins who didnt care if they eat or not but their paediatrician said they had to!

I did a mix of finger food, home made meals and pouches. Didn't see any naysayers knocking at my door offering to help me with feeding 3x a day😁

I suspect OP will be ‘that’ grandmother. Still hasn’t got her shot together, life still disappointing so still finding silly things to make her feel superior.

Hit a nerve there?