If you believe "everything in moderation" where food's concerned, answer me this, please

[SneakyMouse]

I was wondering - why aren't more people actually quite pissed off that so much of the pretty expensive food and drink marketed specifically at children so often has low-grade cheap (and shitey) ingredients in?

Most mothers go "ah well, moderation's the key" and often get bitchy and snippy at anyone who mentions the yard-long list of ingredients in so many soft drinks and other foodstuffs.

But I don't think that this is the issue. Yes, moderation's the key when it's FOOD made of , but a lot of this is ingredients you'd never have in your kitchen, put there to preserve food so it can live on a shelf for two years, improve the "mouth feel" (fgs), or make it "appealing" colours.

So, all you "moderation" mums - why doesn't it bother you that you're being marketed at and taken for lemons (with added E numbers, glucose fructose syrup and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil)?

One of the many things which wore me down a bit was seeing the utter joy on my 4yo's face the first time she went into a shop and chose herself a packet of sweets.

I felt mean for never having let her before.

And my 5yo begs for cheese strings in her lunchbox. I know they are yukky but she wants them harder than I want her not to have them, in the end.

I don't want to be a totally dominating mother imposing too much on them. Would rather they ate some crap of their choosing.

LOL BBS - does it explain the OP a bit better if I tell you I'm Hunkermunker?

Ah!

"fat lardy women dont let kids eat chocolate

cos they want it all for themselves"

left my dad iwht a bar of grenea dn blacks last night

the kdis at half of it
was uprised as the taste was wuite intense

"My parents never bought it, it certainly isn't a "treat", I just think it tastes like shit, makes me feel terrible and sluggish afterwards and contains stuff that isn't good for my body. It's a no brainer to me."

Great post MP

I'd let DS1 eat chocolate. He won't. He's had a chocolate finger biscuit and views all other with mistrust, much like poison.

I do try to make him eat chocolate, actually. I wonder if that's the key? Treating it like it's sprouts (which he also won't eat...!).

And PMSL that the tone of the OP was explained fully by me telling you I'm HM

now.
It's like a pat on the head
"oh, it's only HM off on one"

Ds wouldn't eat icing and always had to have it picked off cakes for him, until yesterday when he proudly announced "look mummy, I'm being brave, I'm eating icing!" and I am sort of sad to see constant exposure and peer pressure eroding his natural good sense of what foods are truly good for him

Frances, I'm not sure that was a natural good sense - I think it may be every child's natural built-in neophobia. There's a rule in their head saying "if I didn't eat this before I was one (or thereabouts) it might be poisonous, so best to leave it be".

Yes, NQC, that's why toddlers get fussy, isn't it?

I just don't get why people give really little children shit food.

BBS

Only read the OP but in short my answer is

Probably because I'm too stupid for things like that to even cross my mind (coupled with the fact that I have a million and more important things to think about)

Don't buy it. The marketing is only successful if you actually buy the crap they are peddling.
All things in moderation - apart from the heavily processed!

I just can't understand all this funny food.

You never had it when I were a lass. So it never occurs to me to put it in my trolley.

Although - last week I couldn't be arsed to cook (because we were going to watch a video) and they were doing a special offer on sharwoods ready meals. 2 for the price of 1. So I bought them, thinking "they're better than they used to be, they might be OK". And I was actually quite shocked by just how shit they still are. And I can't believe that so many people out there, have educated their palate to a level where they buy this shit regularly and don't notice how bad it tastes. In the end, I had to cook a proper bloody meal and miss the video, because none of us could eat the shite. WTF?

I'm not a lemon. But I dont watch every mouth ful.
I give fruit shoots on occasions aaaaaahhhhhhh shoot me oh and haribo sweets.
They also eat lots of fruit and veg and good homemade food and cakes.

Parp

I can't believe that so many people out there, have educated their palate to a level where they buy this shit regularly and don't notice how bad it tastes

Caligula I SO agree

It tastes AWFUL

LOL, Mascara.
Tip: put salad cream on lettuce to get your child to eat salad.

We used to live on ready meals, before we had DS1. Well, before DS1 started eating solids. It was generally the Sainsbury chill cook range. We would maybe cook properly once a week, in theory.

We don't eat this stuff regularly any more, but we did get some at some point in the last five years, and both DH and I found it all really gross. It really is a question of educating your palate, either way.

whats the problem with a mac d's
get a free toy in a happy meal

C'mon, doormat, fess up, you only buy the Happy Meal so that you get the play with the toy, too, don't you?

NQC I know what you mean, but ds missed getting that gene, I think. If we were in the wild he would be dead by now. His usual answer was "something I've never had before" if asked what he would like from the shop. The only thing he's tried and rejected on a regular basis is very sweet stuff - however he has finally acquired the taste for it (through determined effort on his part I think)

Yup, Frances, your child is a freak. That is weird.

DS1 is pretty good about new food now, at 5, but he still prefers the old favourites and is skeptical of new food.

peanut nah they are too sophisticated for me

LOL.
Glad to hear i'm not the only one!