Chicken nuggets etc

[Goldengirl123]

Can I ask why people feed their kids this shite? Why don’t you start off weaning on proper food and then just serve up whatever you have cooked for the whole family? I really cannot understand this

My son used to have vegetable lasagne as his favourite food. We did the most sophisticated veg-based weaning system you can imagine and, until my DS went to school, we were golden and I, too, felt smug that I had beaten the system. Fast forward four years and we still cook them proper meals but they've both decided that broccoli is the only legitimate vegetable and sauces are the work of the devil. There is lots said about how you don't want to turn mealtimes into a battlefield as that isn't healthy either so sometimes it feels like you are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Can I ask why people feed their kids this shite?

Because it's -

Cheap
Quick
Easy
Their children like it
Not the healthiest food, but not the worst food they could be eating, either.
Convenient - can be kept in the freezer as a standby & you take out as many as you need

Disclaimer, I'm Gen X so grew up before this kind of food was a thing, don't have children and don't personally buy chicken nuggets - too bland for my taste - so no skin in this game at all, but I don't struggle to see why they're popular, it seems very straightforward.

Sometimes lazy parenting, sometimes circumstances, sometimes failures in their experiences of parenting. Sometimes lacking capacity.
Best not to judge though as 'there by the grace of God 'and all that,
Childhood obesity is complex. Some of it to do with rich people, who feed their children brilliant diets, being in power and making decisions to close recreational facilities or build nice house where the now fat children used to play and get exercise. Some of it to do with parenting, obviously, targetted advertising, environmental factors, access to healthy options, planning decisions that permit high concentration of fast food outlets,
The list is long and interactive. 'Lazy parents' only one factor.

You specify they should be feeding their children something with vegetables every night

What are your examples? What did you feed your children every night?

Seriously who makes a meal without any kind of veg. I don’t think I’ve ever done this.

I cook everything from scratch (I have to as a celiac) - really healthy food. My child was brought up on really wholesome homemade food. Shes a teenager now - I cook the same good food. But if you shoved a pizza or Chinese under her nose, or processed crap, she would take it over my food, almost every.single.time.

most kids like this type of food….it may change as they grow but they like it and it’s a hard thing to be up against, even when you have a parent who can cook and is completely nutritionally aware.

I was more so asking whether she is expecting parents to be cooking stew and vegetables everyday

Sausage and mash is a typical weekday meal!

But with peas or broccoli or green beans surely?

Sounds lovely. Do you think local butcher's artisanal sausages and your homemade beef burgers are actually what the OP has in mind?

Yes of course! I was just highlighting that the OP had mentioned sausages as one of the 'bad' choices

😂
Very politely put, though

I was quoting this polite post.

Because chicken nuggets are better than tube feeding

I don’t know anyone who feeds their dc chicken nuggets as much as you suggest. It’s my dc favourite McDonald’s order - they’re 15-18 and have McDonald’s up twice a year. Dd is at uni and cooking for herself and told us on Friday she’s discovered birdseye chicken nuggets and loves them 🤦🏻‍♀️😆 all those organic meals for weaning and homemade meals and she’s loving the food I rarely gave her. I’m sure she’ll survive.

Oh I love a good food thread that gives a solemn ticking off to mums who aren’t obsessive about ‘horrors’ like chicken nuggets, takeaways and white bread!

So I’ll just drop in an absolute truth: there is no such thing as healthy and unhealthy food. There are unhealthy diets. But anyone who eats a varied diet can forget about UPFs and all that pseudoscientific crap.

Look at it this way: a Big Mac and chips is no better and no worse than steak frites in a French restaurant. I would prefer the steak frites, but that’s just about what I think is tastier and nothing to do with health.

No, but I wasn’t replying to OP. Someone asked what was wrong with sausage and burger. Somebody else replied to them that they’re processed meat. I was merely pointing out that they don’t have to be. Not everyone who gives their children sausages or burgers are feeding them crap.

That just isn't factually correct though. You can say it is the truth, but that doesn't make it so. I could say that my cat has the brain power of Hannah Fry. Unfortunately she's just fallen off the sofa while trying lick her arse (my cat, not Ms Fry)

Oh yeah, it is the truth. Verifiably, repeatably, logically the truth. That’s so, whatever odd ideas you have about your cat.

Not just people with toddlers but families in general
there is a cost of living crisis on and places like Iceland do 10 items for £10
people buy what they can afford

We did wean with a massive variety of food. It starting amazing until the "acceptable" foods got narrower and narrower. Chicken nuggets are a very regular occurrence in our home now and I'll feed them whatever I need to ensure they are fed.

It was me. They are processed meat. The beef or pork is minced, that's the process. But I suspect that's a touch of the 'tism on my part in my being a bit pernickety. But I suspect most of us here are talking about birdseye/ Iceland/ farmfoods/ supermarket own brand type burgers and sausages. If you're going to complicate matters with posh versions, that's just not on now

I dont agree that its about affordability. Potatoes and drumsticks are cheaper than nuggets and chips (per kg) for example. Air fryer beige js a recent cultural phenomenon that isn't much to do with poverty in my opinion.

We never fed our children UPF like chicken nuggets. But we had a. lots of money and b. lots of time.

Some families don’t have either.

Given how unpleasantly judgy the OP is, I'd be surprised if they spoke to her much

Can you come and help me? PLEASE?!? Because I have BEGGED for help from all the professionals since weaning my eldest at 6 months old. I would LOVE for her to eat something other than bloody chicken nuggets or cheese. Literally keeps me awake at night with worry. Ive cried buckets. Blamed myself and then my second came along and has been a dream to wean. Yeah he will have some chicken nuggets but give him a choice and he picks the homemade meal with lots of veg every single time.

As for my eldest, we are now looking at a tube. Have you seen how many chemicals are in the sustenance provided by tube? Am I supposed to feel better about a tube? Is the chicken nugget better? But yes. Judge away. There is literally nothing you can say that I havent already berated myself for.