Those of you who are so very strict (or call it consistent) on the good food issue...

[emkana]

... aren't you worried that your children will overdo it on hte unhealthy stuff once they can make their own choices?

I find with myself that as a child we never once went to McD or anything like that and instead of putting me off it I still have an irrational feeling that it's a treat.

I'm trying to teach my children that it's okay to enjoy the rubbish in moderation as long as you make sure you eat healthily otherwise.
Don't know if that's right/going to work out though.

I must say though that I am frequently speechless how very purist a lot of you are!

If the basic daily diet is balanced and healthy, and they are used to eating a range of food that isn't especially high in salt or sugar, I think it is the approach and attiutude to additional foods rather than the availability or frequency that makes a lifelong difference.

DS doesn't 'go mad' for sweets. I didn't really give them to him when he was younger, but I didn't make a particular deal out of limiting them or holding them back, either. I never did 'if you eat this you can have pudding', and once when DS was 2 or 3 and eating spag bol, he spotted a packet of buttons and asked for one. To a friend's horror I gave him a couple, and having had his instant interest in them dealt with, he went back to eating his spagbol. If he has had enough first course, he will refuse pudding, even ice cream. He was, actually, a terrible eater - just not eating much (and I didn't deal with that at all well)- but pestering for treats has not developed. I just haven't used the word or concept 'treat'.

We went to McD, and he doesn't particularly like it - but then my leaving the gherkin in probably acted as a secret permanent deterrent!!

in the long run they'll remember what they were eating at home day in and day out, not the special occasion treats, and that's what they'll eat once grown up.

Oh I'm glad there are other Mums who really make an effort with their childrens food. My son, who is 16 months old, doesn't eat any processed food. I cook all his food from scratch and he eats loads of veg and fruit.

I have a lot of problems with my friends when we go out because they offer him chocolate, biscuits and other rubbish like 'chocked full of salt'- dairylea dunkers and fruit shoots to drink. He only drinks water and milk. They all say that I am really mean for not letting him have chocolate, sweets and biscuits etc, but my view (at the moment) is that he doesn't know what any of these things are yet, so why force him to eat things that are unhealthy and have no nutritional value at all.

When he is old enough to ask for chocolate and sweets he can have them in limited amounts. Until then though I don't see the point. Oh and I am dreading the first invite to a party at McDonalds!

I did make him some biscuits last week and he played with one for a while, threw it on the floor and shouted for a banana - bless him.

I did notice that Jamie Oliver himself [bows in silent homage to the Great Man) said during his interview with Jonathon Ross that he wasn't against junk food and burgers per se, but that he he was against them when they formed the majority of the diet.

with my dd, i have never defined food as good or bad. my logic was if i do, i am just giving her ammo when she wants to be tricky etc. there is just supper. sometimes there is something sweet, sometimes not. i just make sure its always tasty. as a consequnce she eats absolutely anything, and chooses fruit over pud etc.

but i have never taken her to maccy d. not yet anyway (dd is 3). all the people who i know who take theres (i repeat, all the parents i know, not all parents) go because they want a maccy d. i reckon she just doesnt need to know about it.

i would say i think home made burgers, for example, are fine. perfectly healthy if made right, and not eaten exclusively

Depends what you view as crap or junk, really.

Lots of people think sugar and butter are the devil incarnate and would prefer sweeteners and low fat.

Those people are barking, IMO.

Saying that, I figured that sugar was pretty much empty calories for both DSs in the first year of their lives, so they won't have it. From one, I got a bit less strict with it.

From 6m to 12m, they're growing ridiculously fast and their cells are getting all sorts of messages about how to behave for the rest of their lives (this is SO scientific, this way of thinking...!) - basically, I want to make sure my children have a good start, foodwise.

DS1 hasn't got a sweet tooth now, and he can take or leave "treat" food - he likes chips, he likes crisps (Organix Goodies ones ). He is a party ring refuser though - sweet cakes and biscuits do nothing for him.

DS2 likes cucumber and oranges best of all.

I don't take them to McDonald's because DS1's very favourite out and about food is an M&S sandwich.

I try very hard not to let them have things with transfat, artificial colourings and sweeteners in. I think that the "everything in moderation" lot should have a look at the effects of some of these things. I don't restrict food, I do restrict this non-food muck.