Why would you give your child unhealthy foods?

[RBBMummy]

At easter my son tried some unhealthy foods for the first time I don't like it but i thought he had come to a good age for his first taste. He didn't really care for it and much preferred the healthy treats. Now im struggling to see why i would offer unhealthy foods ever again. But i would hate to see him become an adult and make bad food choices because he hadnt had any exposure to bad foods. Why would you give your child unhealthy foods? Ive been overthinking this for days

Because a healthy diet and a healthy mindset with food doesn't involve extreme restriction to just "healthy foods". I wasn't restricted as a child and was always healthy and as were my siblings, grown up we're all in "good shape", take an interest in good food and healthy eating, not overweight, my dh and his sister was very much restricted and now both have an incredibly unhealthy relationship with food. I think it's great for you to want your child to eat healthy foods but it's not healthy to restrict and why not have other stuff sometimes!

Life's too short to be denied treats now and again. Everything is fine in moderation and some foods are there purely to be enjoyed.

Oh um maybe its called something different in other places? Its fruit puree that had been dried making little strips of deliciousness. It kinda looks like leather but its just fruit. Therefore fruit leather

You realise fruit leather is basically just sugar, right?

Because I don't want them to think of certain foods as being bad or not allowed. Because I want them to have a healthy attitude towards food.
Because no food is unhealthy if eaten in moderation.

FTR my dc will eat any fruit, vegetable, grain, seed, nut, or legume in existence without being harassed into doing so. They also love cheeses, chocolate, meat (apart from the chewy, gristly stuff), sweets, crisps and anything else in offer.

In fact I'm quite proud of the fact that my dc can more or less moderate their own intake of sweet stuff - they have a bucket of small Chicky eggs each from their Easter hunt last week and have been eating 1 or 2 a day, without being told. They're not gorging themselves on them like I would, given half the chance (I grew up listening to my dad banging on about sugar and not getting fat and unattractive and not eating too much and I took to hiding my stash when I went to his house. On my wedding day he looked at me in disgust when I dared to eat a 2nd sandwich! Luckily we didn't live with him so his influence was limited to weekends only).

Thanks OP. I googled out of interest! It is just fruit, but very concentrated and more sugar than a digestive

Can I be that irritating poster who says ‘I can’t imagine fruit leather is very healthy... it will be full of sugar and get stuck to their teeth’?!
If you are going to be smug about healthy snacks they should presumably be unprocessed fruit and veg, protein rich and complex carbs...!

Because my mum was like you and now I have bulimia.

Fruit leather is horrible. It is fruit with all the fibre taken out of it and dried into horrible strips of sugar that is marketed as 'healthy' when its full of sugar. Your child should be eating real fruit. My DS eats sooo much fruit that I have to hide the fruit bowl. He wouldn't look at fruit leather
What is it with all the perfect parents on here tonight with their oh so perfect children? Have we time travelled back to the Victorian era?

I can see your point of view OP and have a similar thought process when my nieces visit - but I'm now wondering if that's because I know they get 'naughty' foods at home so I'm the 'balancer'.

I think there's moderation and a difference between treat size packs of sweets and the big family bags that I see two/three year olds choosing at the supermarket. Portion sizes of cake etc too

Fruit leather, are those yo yo fruit strip things fruit leather ?

Because it’s tasty? And on a hot summer day kids love an ice cream? And a slice of cake is way way yummier than any fruit leather?!
I offer home cooked food to both kids (6 and 1) and the older one is allowed treats. I found him snuggled on a sofa reading today and it was so miserable outside that I offered him some hot chocolate (I was making myself some tea) and he had a lovely 45 mins with warm hot chocolate and a good book.

Hey OP.

A Fruit Winder is 37% sugar.
A Custard Cream is 28% sugar.

Your moral high ground isn’t as high as you think it is...

What would make you offer a biscuit over the fruit?

Because having had an NG tube from birth, I was happy for him to try anything to get him to eat.
Because I like biscuits and cake and he likes sharing.
Because having not been able to eat for months following surgery after surgery I would have hunted down and killed Bambi himself if he would have eaten it. Instead he likes crisps amongst other healthier foods so that's what he gets.
Because fruit is wet and he doesn't like wet food.
Because I want him to enjoy a mixed variety of food and that means healthier and less healthy choices.
Because on a bus a biscuit is an easier snack then quinoa salad.

@upsideup yes thank you, i don't think people are actually reading the post. I think i'll just ignore them.

Yeah exactly, i don't want to force him to eat unhealthy food if he'd much rather have some raspberries. Im just trying to come up with appropriate times to offer it. I thought maybe every time we go and see a certain family member, but then i don't want him to associate them with unhealthy foods.

You're way overthinking this. And teaching your child that some foods are "unhealthy" is the route to a really fucked up relationship with food.
Food is energy. It's fuel.

You're a vegan, right?

I grew up in a house where unhealthy foods were seen as treats - McDonalds, Cadburys chocolate and sweets were all seen as 'exciting' and were given 'if you're good', like a reward. We were allowed them very rarely as my mum has food issues and was scared we were going to develop a taste of them.

Consequently for me and my sister, the minute we became old enough to go out alone at 11 to get the bus to high school, we would spend all our money on sweets and chocolate as it seemed more exciting than boring normal food our mum sent us in with. Both of us now have serious sugar addiction problems, my sister is a serious binge-eater and although is a healthy weight is extremely unhealthy as in she doesn't exercise, blood sugar is through the roof and has extreme mood swings. She also eats no fruit or vegetables at all. I struggled with bulimia for years and managed to stop the purging but am left with binging when I feel sad/empty/down as junk food still brings up feelings of happiness for me. As a result I'm a size 16-18 and constantly battling my weight, losing a stone then gaining it back again.

I don't blame my mum for raising us like that as I think she had our best interests at heart but the results haven't been great.

My little cousin who is allowed junk food regularly doesnt see it as a treat and just isn't interested. I looked after her today and said 'do you want to go to McDonald's for lunch?' and instead she asked if I'd make her some cheese, tomato and ham pasta.

Who do you think its forcing their child to eat unhealthy food against their will?

What was the awful food that he rejected anyway?

Assuming a fruit leather is like a fruit winder you may as well give your child a bag of haribos.

Because when you have three children under four, haven't slept in several years and need five minutes of peace.. it's easier than trying to convince them to eat a slice of fucking avocado!
My first ate everything and anything until he didn't. Same with dc2. Dc3 is currently in the delightful stage where they eat whatever they're given (and follows the older two round to eat what they drop)

You're being precious, it's delightful. Have a few more and you'll descend into the ungodly ranks of the rest of us.

I think fruit leather is one you can make yourself though so there's only natural sugars in it

How do you yourself define 'unhealthy' food, RBBMummy? You haven't given any examples. Is it food other than that you have listed?

And yes, dried fruit strips are hugely sweet and sugary. Very much rationed in my house!

Ok im not sure how i said this wrong or you misunderstood but there is no added sugar in fruit leather, its literally just fruit. Thats it. Like these

If you don’t see your mil very often,, then let her give him whatever she wants. If you see her more often, then talk about what you think is OK and what you think isn’t. But don’t make a big deal about it either way.