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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

British kids and eating habits - IABU ?

895 replies

lovemycoffee2 · 23/07/2024 16:17

I have two young kids and we live in the UK but we are not originally from here.

At home we cook everyday from scratch our food and we take that food at a lunch box at our workplace. We have a light dinner again made from scratch.

The issue is our kids which are of course going to school/nursery and they love to copy their friends!

In the UK it's healthy if a kid eats sausages (god knows what the meat has inside), or for example Heinz baked beans which have 10% sugar and 20% salt (leaving 70% being actual beans) or if they eat fish fingers which are pre-fried (even if you bake them they were already fried before got frozen) or chicken nuggets (again pre-fried which god knows what was the oil quality).

It's also acceptable to drink juices which have no sugar but plenty sweeteners.

Also, it's perfectly fine to have a ham sandwich for lunch which has ready made processed bread full of emulsifiers and ham which (like sausage) god knows what ingredients has.

It's ok that primary schools offer desserts, even if they are small portions and low sugar on a daily basis - not on a weekly or as special occasion! I don't have a dessert everyday, why my kid is offered one?

Honestly, are all these things ok? Am I paranoid?

I am very worried that the kids will either end up obsessed. with diabetes or with other health issues given all the processed food and the fact that we are what we eat.

YABU - are you crazy?

YANBU - unfortunately this is a "balanced healthy diet" in the UK!

OP posts:
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18
NotSmallButFunSize · 23/07/2024 18:17

NotAlexa · 23/07/2024 16:30

I hear you OP. I'm also from the continent and British kids (as adults too) have atrocious diets. I did not know what chocolate was until 7 years of age, and was only allowed fruit for the sweet tooth. To this day, I do not want chocolate, because I am not addicted to it like to an opioid.

Kids menu's on the continent are also significantly better - there are no chicken nuggets and pizza's; kids eat what adults eat, just smaller portions!

We also don't have a problem with children and tantrums. Somehow european kids palates are well developed and they simply don't want unhealthy stuff.

Also there is something to be said regarding the fact that we introduce babies to solids at 4 months old, in the UK they all look at me like I'm an alien. 😅And we get them potty trained as soon as they can sit!

I would say, for the sake of your kids try to explain to them the back of the ingredients list on packaging and definitely show them pictures of obese people so they know what can be the result of sugar/aspartame overdose and processed food eating. Definitely going to do that to my DD when she is old enough to read.

I've just been to Italy and there were plenty of chips and nuggets etc on the "Baby Menu" and pretty sure I heard some screaming kids too....

Oh and we wean at 6m because that is what research suggests is the best age, not because the English have "weird" eating habits. It's no coincidence that the external signs of being ready for solids appear around 6m old, almost as if we evolved to be this way?? 🙄

SabrinaThwaite · 23/07/2024 18:18

hastingsmax · 23/07/2024 17:50

DONT BRING UP GRAPES!

Didnt someone on here once describe them as literal bombs of sugar 🤣🤣🤣

But that sugar turns to alcohol during fermentation, so obviously wine is healthier than grapes.

Chin chin!

Mirabai · 23/07/2024 18:18

LadyFeatheringt0n · 23/07/2024 17:56

*Kids menu's on the continent are also significantly better - there are no chicken nuggets and pizza's; kids eat what adults eat, just smaller portions!

We also don't have a problem with children and tantrums. Somehow european kids palates are well developed and they simply don't want unhealthy stuff.*

You do realise lots of us travel regularly to the continent? France is full of boulangeries selling sugar laden cream cakes. Germans eat tons of sausages washed down with beer and plenty of bread, cakes and pastries.Spanish food includes plenty of chorizo and salty serrano, lashings of olive oil, cheeses etc.

Ive seen many a European child throw a tantrum. However I've also seen lots of tantrums avoided by parents in europe tolerating behaviour i wouldnt. Guess what - i don't assume all European parents are the same based on the limited sample I've seen and you shouldn't either.

As does Italy yet the average BMI in France and Italy are the lowest in Europe, with the lowest % of overweight people.

There’s obesity everywhere, but equally everywhere you see a dichotomy between the obese camp strongly linked to poverty; and the non-obese camp which is linked to more disposable income, higher education levels, healthier diet and more exercise.

In the non-overweight camp the diet is noticeably better in European countries than here - much less reliant on processed food - hence the term “Mediterranean diet”. Longevity in Spain, Italy, France, Sweden is higher than the U.K. (although Ireland fairs well on that score).

You simply wouldn’t get a French school serving the menu in the OP.

fleabites · 23/07/2024 18:18

Just send your child in with the packed lunch. That's it. They'll have to eat what you give them.

Anonymous2224 · 23/07/2024 18:18

My kids eat all of the things on your lift, they also eat lots of fresh veg and fruit, good quality meats, meals cooked from scratch, everything in moderation! They also have the odd packed of crisps and biscuit, the horror!!

stichguru · 23/07/2024 18:19

You have the education to understand nutrition, the ability to read, the money to buy fresh ingredients and the time to prepare them. Good for you!

Ratsoffasinkingsauage · 23/07/2024 18:20

The is not a typical school lunch for nursery. My DD’s nursery lunches were all protein, fruit and veg. Ditto her current school lunches. However she takes a packed lunch of a sandwich, cucumber sticks, yogurt and fruit.

Oh and we cook all our own food for dinner. Saying that Brits don’t is narrow minded bollocks.

Growlybear83 · 23/07/2024 18:20

BaronessBomburst · 23/07/2024 17:03

The food in the Netherlands is absolute shite. The kids at DS school live on frikandelbroodjes, which are a sausage of dubious origin wrapped in heavy, fatty puff pastry, with chemical curry sauce.
It's normal to eat white bread with Nutella or chocolate sprinkles for lunch. Peanut butter is considered to be healthy.
I make salads for our lunches, often with chickpeas or pulses and DH's colleagues comment on a regular basis.

Sorry but I think I would much prefer the Dutch diet - I can't think of anything worse than taking a packed lunch to work with a salad with chickpeas or pulses. Im not surprised your husband's colleagues comment 😆😆

Hedgeoffressian · 23/07/2024 18:20

The moment I read ‘we cook everyday from scratch’ I just knew it would be yet another of those judgemental posts from someone who has the time and money to feed their children good quality food from scratch.

Not everyone can afford to do so. Not all the mums are married to a dad who earns a nice big salary in the city which means they can be a stay at home mummy who can spend all afternoon cooking meals from scratch.

Fresh food is a lot more expensive than processed food. That’s why a lot of children from disadvantaged families are overweight. Posts like this anger me because it shames parents who can’t afford to buy fresh food all the time or where both parents work busy jobs/ can’t afford a nanny and therefore don’t have the time to cook ever from scratch.

Est1990 · 23/07/2024 18:20

thankyoujeremy · 23/07/2024 18:12

Well done him, he sounds like an excellent father figure. Did he do all of the housework too?

Show quote history

Mainly yes, on the weekend he also cleaned the house. He also drove us as my mum didn't drive. (My mum was a drinker for many years and had cancer. She is much stable now but wont to do much apart from putting clothes in the wash and dryer or make rice and cook a steak). He is my hero and a proper man (in case there was sarcasm in your question)

JollyPinkFox · 23/07/2024 18:21

You’re right but people hate to hear it.

runrabbitruns · 23/07/2024 18:21

NotAlexa · 23/07/2024 16:30

I hear you OP. I'm also from the continent and British kids (as adults too) have atrocious diets. I did not know what chocolate was until 7 years of age, and was only allowed fruit for the sweet tooth. To this day, I do not want chocolate, because I am not addicted to it like to an opioid.

Kids menu's on the continent are also significantly better - there are no chicken nuggets and pizza's; kids eat what adults eat, just smaller portions!

We also don't have a problem with children and tantrums. Somehow european kids palates are well developed and they simply don't want unhealthy stuff.

Also there is something to be said regarding the fact that we introduce babies to solids at 4 months old, in the UK they all look at me like I'm an alien. 😅And we get them potty trained as soon as they can sit!

I would say, for the sake of your kids try to explain to them the back of the ingredients list on packaging and definitely show them pictures of obese people so they know what can be the result of sugar/aspartame overdose and processed food eating. Definitely going to do that to my DD when she is old enough to read.

Here we go. So European children do not have tantrums ?

Is it the same reason French children do not have ADHD ? (because their difficulties are ignored and the children are taught to shut up and put up)

Give me fish fingers and tantrums over emotional neglect any day.

ChallahPlaiter · 23/07/2024 18:21

Maddy70 · 23/07/2024 18:17

They may stock them in tourist areas perhaps?

. Locals do not buy them.

School lunches are nothing like what we serve in the uk. Which are cheap and shameful as a treacher it used to beeak my heart knowing that some of those on free meals it could be their only food all day. It was masked as healthy because we didn't provide salt to add to the chips!
Here
Always a salad to start

Healthy main. Fish or meat with veg or rice or a veggie option such as stuffed tomato or pepper

Pud. Yogurt or fruit

Show quote history

Haha we are locals. Not too many tourists in our part of Asturias.

BigDahliaFan · 23/07/2024 18:21

oP has a valid point, school meals should be healthier, loads of kids, and adults eat shit food…and not because they are pooor. I lived in Japan for a bit and school dinners were well funded and really good and healthy.

CatrionaBalfour · 23/07/2024 18:21

fleabites · 23/07/2024 18:18

Just send your child in with the packed lunch. That's it. They'll have to eat what you give them.

She's apparently not able to deal with the aggro from her 4 year old!

Riapia · 23/07/2024 18:21

The Kids menu was designed to make the feckless feel right at home.

Mirabai · 23/07/2024 18:21

ChandlersMum · 23/07/2024 18:16

This has little to do with the UK diet and more to do with kids being kids.
They'll always want to push boundaries and say their friends are getting better stuff/staying up later/allowed to play xbox all day.

I'm not disagreeing that school meals are rubbish. But you're being unreasonable to expect the school to base their menu on what makes your parenting easier. They need to provide a certain amount of calories on a strict budget, and that budget doesn't stretch to multiple professional chefs providing healthy nutritious meals.

Kids learning no isn't an easy lesson, but it's necessary. Don't blame the UK for that.

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It would be perfectly possible to provide healthier meals than in the OP on a budget - but it simply isn’t seen as important here.

JollyPinkFox · 23/07/2024 18:22

European kids do have tantrums though and they’re everywhere even where inappropriate. Just got back from Spain where it was ‘normal’ for 3/4 year old kids to be sitting on the floor of a bar screaming their lungs out at 11pm on a week night. Hellish

Growlybear83 · 23/07/2024 18:22

lovemycoffee2 · 23/07/2024 17:07

I got the numbers wrong on baked beans but still... out of 125 ml there are 7 grams sugar, which is about 6%.

And if you read the ingredients one by one you read "sugar". Why would you give beans with sugar to your kids and not just boil some beans? It doesn't take long and is not so artificially sweet too...

We come from South Europe by the way

Probably because home boiled beans taste like shit to most people 😆😆😆

greenpolarbear · 23/07/2024 18:22

yes, welcome to the UK. our food is 90% beige, processed, fried, because we are an island and it hides the taste of the bad imported food and poor food we grow ourselves.

I didn't actually realise it myself until we hosted a Ukrainian refugee.

Yorkshire puddings - beige
fish and chips - fried
crisps - fried
sausages and cold meats - processed
pasties - processed meat
toad in the hole - processed, beige
shepherds pie - beige, processed meat
chicken nuggets - processed, beige
pasta - beige
english breakfast - fried

Sahara123 · 23/07/2024 18:22

biscuitandcake · 23/07/2024 18:10

Yes!!!

Show quote history

Phew , thanks ! Good one, you nearly got me going there!
Although i should've noticed your user name !

Maddy70 · 23/07/2024 18:22

CatrionaBalfour · 23/07/2024 17:47

@Maddy70 - Spain with all the processed and cured meats, and supermarkets full of convenience food?.

Jamon is cured with salt. No additives or preservatives unlike the packet hams we use daily in the uk.

Of course unhealthy foods are available in any country but the vast majority in Spain cook home cooked meals. Very little convenience food available unlike the uk where microwave food is king

If you hunt it out youll find it im sure but its definitely not the norm. Tourist areas maybe?

hastingsmax · 23/07/2024 18:23

Riapia · 23/07/2024 18:21

The Kids menu was designed to make the feckless feel right at home.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

CatrionaBalfour · 23/07/2024 18:24

Nope. Visiting my son who was working in Valencia. Too much salty food and meat for me,@Maddy70 although I did develop a taste for those packaged vanilla cakes.

Safaribar · 23/07/2024 18:25

Est1990 · 23/07/2024 18:09

I don't have kids but spending time on Mumsnet gives me the impression that many parents do separate meals for their kids and is usually 'pasta and sauce' or nuggets. Which for me is bizarre and doesn't surprises me that they grow into 'fussy' eaters. Another thing is soup...we used to eat soup at every meal and doesn't seem a normal thing in the UK neither

Then people get offended if this is pointed out and start mentioning their autistic kids (as if they were the majority rather than the minority 🙄).
Plus my dad used to cook everyday and he only arrived from work after 1830. If you have kids you have to put effort....tired or not.

Did you hesitate at all when you were writing 'I don't have kids'. Spending time on mumsnet does not qualify you to have a say on anything concerning kids when you have no experience of having them. Sorry, but you have no idea. Yes, I realise maybe you didn't have kids because you couldn't (this was me for a while!) or aybe you didn't want to, but again, you can't understand if you haven't walked in others shoes.