Feel terrible about children having rice cakes when young

[chocolatelimesaredelicious]

Hello,

Not sure this is the right thread necessarily, but I just wanted to offload about a subject I'm really worried about.
My children are now 12, 10 and 7 (twins).
When they were young, baby rice cakes were the "trendy" healthy snack, suggested by health visitors and seen as a good substitute for biscuits.

I used to feed my children them quite often - we always had a bag of baby rice cakes on the go. I think they probably had about 8 a week. When they went to pre-school, they were often given big rice cakes as a snack with fruit-maybe once or twice a week or so.

Fast forward to 2020....last week, I came across an article saying that rice cakes have dangerous levels of arsenic in , and that children under 5 should not have them, particularly not infants as they raise the risk of getting certain cancers later in life. Looking around more, I saw that Sweden have banned rice cakes for under 6s.

I actually emailed the Professor in charge of this project, and he said that individual risk of getting cancer from rice/rice cakes was relatively low, and that also stopping after 5 years would have helped as cancer risks were calculated on a lifetime's worth of exposure.

This made me a feel a bit better at the time, but since then I have become increasingly worried about what I might have done all those years ago to jeopardise my children's health. And I keep on remembering all those rice cakes I fed my children...

Any tips on how to not be consumed by guilt about this?

Also..do spread the word not to feed infants rice cakes...

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thedailymeal.com/news/eat/yes-rice-cakes-contain-arsenic-here-s-why-shouldn-t-worry-you/020116%3famp
Always look for further information.

Do you suffer from anxiety a lot? I fed both of mine rice cakes. Doesn’t mean I will have given them cancer.

Thank you SBTLOVE but the article says that white rice cakes are ok-and unfortunately the ones I fed my babies were Organic whole grain baby rice cakes, which apparently have more arsenic.

If they were that dangerous they'd come with a warning

You’re seriously overthinking this OP. I’m guessing you do have health anxiety. That’s the issue you need to deal with.

Thank you for responses. I don't normally have health anxiety but when it comes to my children, I do get anxious...
And it seems there really is something behind the rice cakes/arsenic articles- the Professor in charge of them is trying to lower levels of arsenic in baby rice and products generally.
I know I can't change the past, but I can't help but worry...

Speaking as someone older than you I can tell you that the advice changes on just about anything and everything, it is hard to keep up.

When I had my first kids, early 70s the advice to lie babies on their back, no worries as they would turn their heads if they were sick. My sister had babies a few years later and the advice was put them on their tummies, safer if they were sick as they wouldn't choke. Roll on a few years and I start again (madness) and my sister came to see baby and told me off for having him on his back, told my I was old fashioned and should keep up to date. I had to tell her she was out of date as there had been the Anne Diamond campaign to put babies on their backs. So in about 15 years we had changed and changed back. Then there was giving them rusks to fill them up, then there was don't give them rusks as they will get fat and have health problems later.

If I dwelt on everything I did that is now the wrong thing to do I'd go totally insane. You did your best, I know it must be worrying but I think you probably have to eat a lot of rice cakes to get cancer and it is just one of the dangers that life throws at us.

Going back further my mother apparently gave us whisky to make us sleep, I'm not an alcoholic so that turn out OK but can you imagine doing that now. We were called Jameson babies! Apparently if you had a "good" baby you would be asked if it was a Jameson baby.

How mankind has survived so long is nothing short of a miracle.

Any tips on how to not be consumed by guilt about this?

You need to work on calculating your "what's done is done" frame of mind. You acted on the best advice at the time.

I doubt there is a baby rice cake cancer generation scandal in the making. We all did it. The kids are here, and well, and thriving.

I suspect you are displacing anxiety onto this issue. We're all more than usually anxious at the moment - do you have particular reason to be worrying about your children's health?

God I used to feel so sorry for the kids of the virtuous mothers shoving rice cakes at them just vile - awful taste and horrid strong weird smell.

That said I wouldn’t beat yourself up. Air pollution probably worse

My cousin had a ton of food allergies when he was born and was prescribed rice milk as a nutrient. He drank tons of it. He was a sickly little thing for a long time and there is debate (from medical professionals not just family) if the rice milk caused a lot of his upset ....but now he's a 6'2 rugby playing brute of a man. I wouldn't worry about the kids snacking on rice cakes, they'll be fine

I really appreciate all of you taking the time to reply.

Yes, I know that advice changes so regularly, and that one generations's recommendation is another one's no-no.
But I think the problem with rice cakes is that I fed them and ate them with abandon thinking they were just puffed rice and what could be wrong with that.
The Professor I contacted did say that the studies where arsenic has been linked to cancer were based on people drinking contaminated water-and the levels were high, and they drank it for decades. He did say the levels in rice cakes are nowhere near this.

Yes, life is anxiety-inducing at the moment, and I know I have become rather obsessed about this!

Thank you!

On the plus side, you brought up your babies during a time when there was no lead in paint or petrol so they've got a massive head start on those of us who were babies when our cots were painted with lead paint and we teethed on the bars (and walked to school in a lead-infused mist)!

The Professor I contacted did say that the studies where arsenic has been linked to cancer were based on people drinking contaminated water-and the levels were high, and they drank it for decades. He did say the levels in rice cakes are nowhere near this

There’s your answer. It’s fine.

I gave them to mine, they were considered healthy alternative to biscuits.

I also ate quite a lot of Organix rice cakes when my ds's were small (so did they) because I thought they were pretty tasty (especially the apple ones).

I have always eaten loads of Kallo rice cakes myself (though no longer...) but my anxiety is much more about the children because they were so young and susceptible.

Thanks guys-I appreciate all your comments. It is just good to have a conversation about this rather than sit worrying about it alone.

I give my baby rice cakes all the time!

The baby organix ones!

My 1 year old just chowed down on some mini rice cakes about 40 minutes ago. Brb off to self flagellate, will add it to the list after watching too much tv recently and still bf her to sleep.

Oh dear. I gave my child rice cakes too. It was the 1980s and I also fed her concentrated apple juice and orange juice, which apparently is also very bad. And our water was contaminated with run off from burning tyres so we drank bottled water - from lightweight bottles (you know, the chemicals migrate from the plastic to the water), and we were out in the pouring rain the day the fallout from Chernobyl reached the UK. I tried. I fucking tried. My best wasn't good enough. You did what you could, OP. Don't beat yourself up.

It's all right we are all stuffed anyway because of the microplastics.

It's true, advice and knowledge changes all the time. I grew up around creosote, bonfires with all sorts of paint and plastic on, no seat belts and lots of microwave meals. There are always unquantifiable risks in life, you can't control them all and there is sod all point in blaming yourself or dwelling on it. While you are busy being preoccupied you will miss bits of that beautiful life you want to live with your children ❤️

I'm 43. My mum only fed me every 4 hours from birth. I had formula. I slept in my own room, on my tummy. I was weaned at 3 months. I was smacked, and she cried me out. That was the advice then.
My 3.5 year old was breastfed on demand until 6 months ago, slept with me until nearly 2, on her back (unless my boob was in her mouth) She's not been smacked, I've only ever responded to her immediately.
Both doing our best. Both following guidelines.
Its honestly OK xx

OP - I had my children in the 70s / 80s and now I've found that I did everything 'wrong'.

My babies slept on their stomachs, they had soft boiled egg and mashed potato as a first weaning food, they had gripe water (apparently it used to contain gin at that time!). I'm sure if rice cakes had been around, they would have had them too.

My children are now adults and somehow despite their mother, they have grown up and do not smoke or drink to excess and neither has a filling. So please do not worry unduely.

OP I think it would help you to realise that your anxiety over this is irrational and misplaced. Others have set out the facts, that this is a ridiculously low level of risk that was not known about at the time. It sounds like you are experiencing quite significant anxiety, and perhaps this has become a focus? You are not experiencing anxiety BECAUSE of this, it is a place where you are focusing current anxiety.

Thank you to recent responders. Yes, I know rationally that we can only do our best and go with the advice at the time.
And I hope that rice/rice cakes won't ever be up there with obesity and smoking as cancer-causers BUT I just wish I hadn't fed the children rice cakes and raised their risk, even if only by a little.
And I wish I hadn't found them quite so addictive!

You were following the best advice at the time, as we all do. Don't worry about it. There is very little real risk.

(Reminds me of the 1970s rumour about nutmeg containing traces of chemicals close to LSD.

People actually swallowed tablespoons of grated nutmeg, or bought whole ones to grate and eat at home. Lots of vomiting but nil hallucinations reported.)

We (DCs and me) ate loads of rice cakes and the apple organic ones were the best! I refuse to worry about stuff like this. Mine are still teenagers and already the advice on how to bring them up has changed massively and I did so much ‘wrong’. They are fine and healthy. I’m not worrying.