To despair at the crap some people feed their kids

[Apotofrealcoffee]

Currently watching a kid who can’t be more than age 3, tuck in to a packet of ‘squashie’ sweets on the bus. No sign of a tantrum, kid seems perfectly happy looking out the window, but out come the sweets. And to pre empt the ‘snobbery’ thing, the parent seems middle class to me and certainly eloquent.

I regularly see kids tucking into chocolate bars, packets of crisps, lollies, all on the school run. Many of them toddlers in their buggies dropping off older siblings. Parents meeting kids at the school gate with full packets of Oreos, bottles of pop, doughnuts.

I’ve been trying not to judge for years and have been repeatedly told it’s ’just one snapshot of their day’ but honestly, I feel like the time for judgement has entered. I have never fed my toddlers crap like that, let alone just after breakfast. My 3 year old has never had a fizzy drink.

Why, just why! AIBU to feel there needs to be some kind of very direct public health campaign at this point? Maybe even a ‘no sweets at the school gate’ rule?

Oh, get a grip.

This happens at my son's school in the nicer weather. The kids love it.

See I knew these comments would start up. Acting like there’s no grey area between ‘severely restricting’ treat food and churning your own butter.

Nobody is saying never ever give them treats. But it’s far too much, the worst kind and far too often.

Yes I do judge somebody giving their toddler sweets filled with absolute garbage which damage their teeth at 9am!

How do you know that them sweets were not a weekly treat... You seem very judgemental when your child is only 3! I allowed my kids treats when they were younger, it wasn't a big deal. They never finished bags of pix n mix, popcorn etc had Easter eggs that had to be thrown at Christmas. My friends/family kids who were "limited" were always greedier IMO and some become secret eaters and lost the plot when they were given free reign with dinner money in secondary school. So be careful with sitting on your high horse, you may raise a binger!!

Saw a 2yo yesterday eating one of those multipack pastries, chocolate chip something.

I don’t judge convenience foods, at all.

but surely pre packaged fruit, cooked chicken or plain yoghurt pouches are just as convenient as grabbing a 10 pack of those?

Yes - which is why so many adults are overweight or on weight loss drugs. These food preferences and how our brain and digestive system works and responds to food are all established through what we eat, starting in childhood. We literally are what we eat.

Agree completely. I think a lot of guilty parents are rocking up here to console themselves that feeding their kids like this is somehow normal and even to their benefit!

I think this is really one of those 'it's a snapshot of their day' moments. It is a couple of days after Halloween, maybe Mum said you can choose one sweet for the bus ride. Maybe they've been to an appointment that deserved a treat, who knows? If you are a parent then at some point or another a complete stranger will likely have made the judgement about you being the shit parent from a passing moment. Don't be the judgy pants on the bus, there is no benefit to society from it.

It's been going this way for years. Kids used to have sweets in their lunch boxes going back some time.
What is Halloween if it's not just more sweets eating. They wouldn't be interested if you left fruit out would they sadly?

Of course they are. She could’ve just as easily grabbed something less bad - a banana, packet of rice cakes, whatever. But nope - straight to the worst kind of garbage.

Worst I have seen is a child in a buggy being given a can of Red Bull.

But how do you know its far to much and far to often?
You have no idea if that toddler has a totally crap diet
Or its a one off treat even at 9am.

That's very unlikely to be a weekly treat. Your just hopeful.

My kid eats nothing but junk for various reasons and I don't feel at all guilty about it. Thankfully his diet is no one else's business.

Absolutely, it’s now a societal issue. A quarter of the kids look like James Cordon at his biggest. It’s shameful. And this ‘be kind, dont judge’ is just permissiveness that allows it to be acceptable.

So you judge? What is the point, the parents concerned will never know or care, all judging is doing seems to be getting you really would up about something that has nothing to do with you or you can do anything about. Mad.

ODFOD

My 12yo has sweets everyday immediately after school and a fizzy drink twice a week after activities.

Her snacks in school have always been fruit and her lunch always has at least one portion of fruit or vegetables in sometimes 2. She also has another portion of vegetables with her evening meal. She's getting 4-5 portions of fruit or vegetables a day, so why not let her have some sweets as well?

Agree. I see the same parents feeding their kids this rubbish at the school gate almost every day. It’s not an emergency situation or a treat

My kids sometimes have sweets and chocolate but I also brush their teeth and pay for private dentistry for them. So me, I pay.

Again, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

A good diet doesn’t justify a ton of junk on top. Ultra UPFs are terrible for you.

Seriously expecting a toddler to eat a packet of plain chicken?! Is he a mini gym bro 😂

Kids need carbs and calories. I’m not saying a packet of pastries a day obviously but it’s really not that big of a deal in isolation.

The problem with this kind of judgment is people don’t realise or don’t know how often this type of food is given. I’m sure people were horrified to see 3yo DS tucking into his once-a-month doughnut from the bakery while in his buggy on the school run. They didn’t see the porridge with fruit all the other days did they.

Watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew melon are less acidic for teeth if it’s a snack between meals.

I quite agree with you, OP, but it was never going to be a popular opinion, because that is what happens these days, sadly!

Having said that, when I was at school (aged 9-11) we were allowed a 'sweet tin' which came out after lunch and before our 'rest' (on beds for half an hour!). It was fun choosing sweets to put in it over the weekend before the coming week at school! (Prep school in Dorset)

Fair enough and great that your child is very active! What food do you take to give them at pick up? This thread is giving me the impression it's always doughnuts and sweets!