How many takeaways a week do your kids have?

[summersbysea]

My ex spoils them rotten each time they visit him. My children are 5 and 7 and now after school keep asking me for takeaways!
They refuse to cook food I've made and will ask for kebabs, chips, Macdonald's blimin big Mac !
He's got them addicted and I feel it will make them really unhealthy.
Right now both aren't overweight but If they carry this on into teens this can't be good for their health and also their wallet.
I have to keep forking out and costs me a fortune.

Maybe one each holidays. We probably go to restaurants every couple of months too (and much more when on holiday).

My children are grown up now but when they were little we had a McDonald’s maybe every three months or so.

You really don’t have to keep forking out...you can just say no, that’s a once a month treat (or whatever).

Kids have this power of the nag and creating a big scene in public when they don't get what they want.

My children are adults now but an honestly say they had a Macdonalds 3-4 times a year as a treat.

Probably once or twice a month. You just say no, if they don't eat the dinner made for them they don't get anything else.

Macdonalds breakfast when going on holiday.
Other types maybe once a month/every 6 weeks. Pizza/Chinese/Indian.

McDonald's once a week.

Sometimes a subway or a pasty from greggs. They don't like Chinese curry or chip shop though.

No. If they’re told no and they make a scene then guess what, you’re still the parent and you still say no. It isn’t actually a big deal.

No dinner? Shock horror. I would instantly get a call from the school and my ex asking me why they weren't fed.
Because they're so used to it they nag and create a scene bawling their eyes out in public if I don't stop in the chippy

We get fish and chips every Saturday night and my two will have that. Every other night is a fresh home made meal so it balances out happily for me

Most weeks none, some weeks 1, very very occasionally 2.

You're kids are 5 and 7, you decide what they're having not them. If they nag you say no, make the food and they either eat it or they don't. They'll learn that nagging doesn't work.

What you are doing is teaching them that nagging is an effective way of getting what they want and that they should keep doing it.

3 or 4 times a year, but now that they are teenagers, they will meet friends in Macdonald's at weekends, or go out for bubble tea.

I fancy a burger and fries now!

A handful of times a year these days . Once a week during the worst bits of lockdown!

its your job to feed then nutrition. Just say no.

A few times during the summer holidays and not for the rest of the year.
How do you think you sound when you say you have to buy them junk food because they cry and beg?
Do you think that's reasonable?
Did you think others will agree, oh hun we've all been there, relax and take it easy, I love a maccers for my dinner.... ?
What were you hoping for because this sounds terrible,
Just bloody say no.

at least once a week as we don’t like to cook on a Friday (or properly cook). Can be anything from a pizza from the asda counter (or ordered in) fish and chips or McDonald’s.

weekends we might go out for breakfast or lunch.

this week my eldest had two take aways / subway Friday (rather than pizza) and Saturday.

anything not prepped/cooked at home can be seen as a take away.

Maybe 6-10 times a year at the most?

Try making some "fakeaway" recipes. I think homemade food tastes so much better than 99% of takeaways anyway, they're nearly always greasy and bleurgh.

This has got to be a wind up. You'd rather feed your children McDonald's whenever they fancy it, than deal with the fall out of parenting them? You've got bigger problems on the horizon than what they eat I suspect.

The ‘shock horror’ comment did rather sound a bit...put on, tbh.

Fish & chips once a week.

We have a takeaway, as a family, about once every 3-4 weeks.

If DD made a big, bawling, fuss, I'd be sure not to give in to takeaway, it's something I'm pretty precious about ("nagging gets nothing"). I tell her regularly, that as her mother it's my job to make healthy decisions (walking not driving, vegetables, fruit for pudding all those boring things).

Umm mine have gone to bed with no tea when they won't eat what I cook. I don't make things they don't like, they can eat it or have fruit/yogurt or nothing. Faced with that they usually eat what I've cooked.

Takeaways is usually once every couple of months, and we would probably all go out to eat as a family about the same amount.

And I'd explain to the ex that they weren't fed because they created a scene over it because they have gotten used to getting their own way and being stuffed with unhealthy processed food by him. I would explain to the school that I was having issues coparenting with my ex and that the children had access to plenty of healthy food but that I wasn't giving in to takeaway demands and they were unhappy about it.

What do you want us to say? That you're right to give in constantly to tantrums and teach your children that that is how to behave? You're their parent it's your job to make sure they eat decent food, especially if the other parent is failing at that.