how much and what kind of junk food/drink do you allow your kids? and at what age?

[sugarbaby]

Over Christmas I was at a party, nothing heavy just family get together, there wer a few kids there. I was horrified when someone else at the party poured her 3 year old son a glass of coke, but later when chocolates were offered she wouldn't allow him to have any because "it contains nuts and children shouldn't be exposed to nuts until they're 5"? The double standard of it all struck me somewhat, although I didn't say anything.

So I was wondering, how much junk food/drink do you allow your kids? and at what age? Personally my DS will not be allowed coke until he is much much older, but I do allow crisps/chocolate/biscuits, but coke just contains too much cafeen/sugar and is in my view, highly inappropriate.

Just a general question though

ds 2.9 is allowed, although not unlimited..

juice
fizzy water
Ribena
cup of tea (milky)
biscuits
crisps
chocolate
cake
chips
fishfingers
sausages
Dairylea dunkers
Ice lollies
He would maybe get one of these each day.

He is NOT allowed

Canned type fizzy drinks, like Coke, fanta etc
squash with sweeteners
Fruit Shoots
dairylea Lunchables (IT'S NOT LUNCH!!!)
sweets
Processed chicken food.

Although he may get one of these if we are on holiday.

Incidently, a friend of mine fed her 3 year old a cup of milky coffee, packet of crisps, a cake, a packet of chocolate biscuits and a lolly, all in 1 hour, then an hour later complained that he had "Gone really loud!"

It would be funny if it wasn't true.

Mine are 4 and 1. Neither has ever had coke. DS has had a sip of lemonade and decided he doesn't like fizzy. I (manipulative mother me) have regularly reminded him of this. He has occasional fruit shoots because his friends do. Also my MIL has taken to buying them in for him. I wouldn't buy them in but let him have them when out and about. Although generally in a pub/restaurant he is happy with a plain britvic with a straw.

They have crisps occasionally - very rarely a full packet to themselves. Chocolate - the house is still brimming with Christmas stuff but they are only going through it slowly. They have both been exposed to nuts (no history of allergies) but I wouldn't let DD eat peanuts because of choking risk. Think the age 5 thing about nuts is meant to be choking as well. DS is allowed to choose something from the vending machine after his swimming lesson assuming he has behaved.

Definitely slacker with DD than DS - but that's unavoidable really.

DS (6 in March) has never had coke. One of his friends has it regularly and bounces off the walls. He has had lemonade a couple of times - on holiday. We don't ever drink fizzy drinks so I guess it wouldn't occur to me to buy them.

The children have biscuits sometimes and chocolate sometimes but this week they haven't because we are all troughed out post Xmas. Don't ever but crisps - just doesn't occur to me (I never eat them).

Agree with Malory on Mcd's and burger king. It helps that we don't eat meat tho!

Also never taken either to BK or McDs although they have had other junk food. But I always (maybe only one day a month that I don't) cook from scratch at home.

Yeh I think the 5 thing is choking as well, although she said she's never even given him peanut butter. Although I'd imagine that eating cakes/sweets/biscuits etc he's probably been exposed to nuts anyway as she said he doesn't have an alergy.

I read an artacle once about coke which showed that if you put a chicken liver in a glass of coke overnight, by morning, it will be gone, pretty scary really.

Our house is also brimming with Christmas chocolate - and I am dieting!

all in moderation:

bisciuts, all fruit/juice lollies (i make them myself), cakes, ice cream, mcdonald's, sausages, bird's eye fish fingers, mcain's oven chips w/baked beans.

NEVER any fizzy drinks, crisps, artificial sweetners, dairylea

Me too Bozza - always from scratch.

I don't think good quality fish fingers or sausages qualify as junk colditz. Dairylea dunkers tho......

Yeh likewise always from scratch.

Not much junk here. No squash, fruit shoots or coke (anything fizzy), no takeaway/fast food, no 'sweets'.

What they do have is chocolate as treats and also biscuits (usually plain digestives or rich tea).

In terms of main meals the only 'junk' is fish fingers but I don't class those as junk really - it's 100% cod and breadcrumbs, no nasties!

My DS gets White Coke........

I am quite up my own ase about junk especially sugar. I have got slightly more lax lately but think I will stay strict for a while longer after an incident over Christmas - my BIL asked what ds and I would like to drink and I said "water or juice" for both of us. We were given something orange and juice-like, but after about 90 mins when when ds was having a huge, uncharacteristic tantrum and I had a splitting headache, I checked the bottle and it was way* full of sugar. I was surprised - first that my BIL would be such a div, and second that it had such an immediate and dramatic effect.

you do seem in quite a judgemental mood today sugarbaby

dd is 3.3

She has

Crisps
Dairylea
Fabs (her fave treat)
Fishfingers
Sausages
very occasional chocolate
iced gems

Never let her have junk food as in mc donalds, fizzy drinks etc

My DS actually prefers to drink water over anything else, it was only a couple of months ago he started having the occasional cup of Ribena, but hardly ever.

that coke/nuts thing is funny. That sort of thing makes me laugh.

We don't have a lot of additive laden food in the house because ds1 reacts very badly to it (makes him headbang like crazy) especially aspartame and MSG- so no fizzy drinks, or flavoured crisps- ready salted crisps are about the healthiest thing he eats though (closest thing to a vegeatable). DS1 drinks water and fresh juice, ds2 water and pink milk (a new one). I was surprised how few additives pink milk had these days- was OK for ds1 to try (not that he'd have it). DS3 has chocolate (he's a year old), but the in laws only send choc to his brothers so he has to steal theirs!

McD's/BK- yes i take ds2 and ds3 and school have taken ds1. Bigger things to worry about!

dd1 (6) has coca cola in the pub/cafe/restaurant
dd2 has lemonade

btw I think the coke/nuts thing is fine! Coke is just sugar whereas nuts can spark allergy.

DD is 2, and has had (on random special occasions) chocolate, biscuits, cake, crisps, chips. Usually at other peoples' houses. Never had (never buy) fizzy drinks, McD or BK.
Mostly cook from fresh, resort to fish fingers at least once a week.
DD usually gets her occasional chocolate from choc flavoured baby puddings - otherwise she gets speedy and mad. But, once a week we go for pasta at a local place and they include ice-cream in the kids' menu...we tend to share it, for DD's good of course....

agree with everything in moderation

The closest he gets to junk food is MCD about three times a year.

No crisps.

No fruit shoots or similar.

No Chicken nuggets.

my mother's help takes them both to Macdonalds in the school holidays - fab, then I don't have to go and they don't get a hung up middle-class complex about how fantastic it is

oh yes she has been to McDs I just wont take her as it makes me barf

LGJ, walks off muttering because no one has asked her what white coke is ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~