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

Too much sugar in alcohol.

Halfwit I just finished reading that thread

How do you control everything he eats at 4? Doesn’t he go to parties or nursery/ school? Doesn’t he have play dates?

Wow, the defensiveness on this thread is hilarious.

Well done OP, feed DC healthy, the odd less than healthy eg easter egg is fine. They might binge as teens, they might binge at parties but in the long term they will grow up healthy diabetes free adults.

Not making anything 'forbidden' might be key. My two godsons aren't allowed sugar and consequently they rip sweets away from other children and become obsessed with it.

Yoyo fruit leathers have fibre in them (see).
Not same as Haribo sweets imho.

I think op has demonstrated why pur children are screwed diet wise
Fruit leather is not a healthy alternative
Its full of sugar
I don't understand the point of it
Just give them the fruit and get the fibre and the vitamins and minerals too

If you don't want to give your cold unhealthy foods then that's fine, don't. I give my child unhealthy foods because she likes them. Not that hard to understand really is it.

*Child not cold

I have bad news for you op, those fruit leather's are actually just as unhealthy as a biscuit. Whole unprocessed fruit is great, dried processed fruit turned into a sweet is basically the same sugar content as a biscuit and about as much nutritional value plus dentists dislike them as they stick to their teeth so, like everything else, fine in moderation but you're going to have to whip off those judgy pants and join the rest of us commoners....... hilarious thread by the way, really brightened up my morning.

Oh gosh my phone just did it's usual trick and hid half the post from me so I see you've had this information already and appear to have received it well
I'll troll off and start my day then....

Fruit leather is terrible for their teeth. It sticks and get in between them and causes cavities. Same with dried fruit like raisins.

Chocolate on the other hand melts at body temperature and so doesn't stick to teeth so badly.

Every kid I know who was denied anything 'unhealthy' has gone on to have an unhealthy obsession with unhealthy food as soon as they can make their own choices.

You sound like a barrel of laughs...

This is a wind up. Or should that be a (fruit) winder up?

OP, it’s great that your child has a wide, varied and balanced diet.

No one deliberately thinks ‘I must fund an unhealthy food to feed my child’. Well, except you, recently . They choose from the food in offer and buy what they like and afford.

Others, when at other people's houses, go with the flow. If a slice of cake is on offer, they don’t make a fuss, it is just part of the food on offer. And in moderation a piece of cake, a couple of biscuits or a bit of chocolate is fine.

Just don’t make a big fuss about it being unhealthy or healthy. Your DS will not associate it with a relative any more than one relative serves curry, one salads, one beans on toast. It’s all part of the food palette.

You have answered your own question: you are over-thinking.

(And I avoided ‘fruit leather’ as basically dried sugar)

I gave my DD fruit wraps/leather instead of biscuits as treats because I thought they were “healthier” for her.

When she got her first filling at the age of 3, the dentist told me to knock off the processed fruit stuff.

I wasn't allowed unhealthy food and I binged at birthday parties just eating until I was sick and not joining in the games. Once I was earning money of my own I went crazy and piled on weight. Took me years to sort out my eating to be healthy again. I give my DS treat foods in moderation because I don't want that for him.

Because I want them to grow up with a healthy attitude towards food.

Because fruit is packed with sugar. Yes, so are biscuits and chocolate, but it doesn't pretend to be healthy. I've had experience of teaching kids who eat ridiculous amounts of fruit because they think they can and end up with rotten teeth.

Because a packet of biscuits which would last us almost a week is 45p and a bag of 6 apples which would last us two days is more than £1, and We are on a very, very tight budget.

Because fruit leather sounds fucking disgusting

This thread is gold.

OP - how can any self-respecting, well-read insufferably smug middle class mother not know about fried fruit.....?

• dried 😅

I once worked in a wholefood shop whose owner was charmingly clueless. A customer asked if wheatgerm contained vitamin B. The owner took offence and replied with withering dignity "Oh no, there's nothing added to our wheatgerm".

Rather like the sugar free fruit leathers..

Poor kid.

Fruit leather = home made fruity string type things isn't it?

And yes, dried fruit is still sugar and it is a nightmare for teeth. Most dentists would prefer a child to have chocolate than dried fruit, ime.

I HATE this whole good v bad food fad. Children don't need that kind of labelling of food. Just teach everything in moderation and about a balanced diet. Something like the Eatwell plate website for children would be better as at least it shows that there is still a place in a balanced diet for sweet foods and sugar, alongside the vegetables and salads.

Because most food would come under the unhealthy umbrella flavoured yoghurt, dark chocolate, sausages, mashed potatoes, baked beans, roast potatoes, who tells rice. One can go on and on. Just because something is unhealthy in itself doesn't mean it can't be part of a healthy diet.