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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

Over heard conversation in Asda today re: jars

466 replies

jmum6 · 12/04/2006 16:40

Was in Asda buying follow on milk when 2 women came looking at the baby food.

'Really can't be doing with cooking for him' says one woman.

'No' says the other 'what a waste of time.'

Didn't know whether to laugh or cry. :o

OP posts:
lockets · 13/04/2006 10:32

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Heathcliffscathy · 13/04/2006 10:32

jimjams of course hipp organic ones etc are better but bog standard 2 % chicken chicken hotpot ones are not great at all.

i totally disagree that 'anyone can do it', there are days when i can barely get out of bed let alone rustle up something with all food groups represented etc. but i think there is a difference between saying that and saying that there are people that (i think through ignorance) feed their kids mainly jars. i don't think their children will die or suffer hugely but i think that they probably aren't getting what they need during that crucial development time and are setting up a lifelong pattern of processed food eating.

Rhubarb · 13/04/2006 10:32

Personally I feed my kids nothing but processed food. MaccyD's rocks in our house, we even have breakfast there! I mean, why cook if you don't have to? Peeling potatoes and shit? You've gotta be kidding right! I've got better things to do like playing computer games or watching the telly. And the best thing about ready meals is that when the kids are a bit older, they can just pick out a meal themselves, shove it in the microwave and bingo! You don't even have to get up to give it to them!

marthamoo · 13/04/2006 10:33

No, you just provided the spark - I ran with it and fanned it to a commercial flame, olive. Besides, you won my Italian holiday...

PinkTulips · 13/04/2006 10:34

Grin rhubarb

Original poster
jmum6 · 13/04/2006 10:34

Believe it or not I have actually seen jars with chicken nuggets in. AND it was an organic one too!

OP posts:
Flossam · 13/04/2006 10:35

Ohh, I hate threads like this!!

Basically, we are a family who do eat shite. However, I try not to feed this sort of stuff (chips, crispy chicken blah blah blah) to my 18 month old. I believe jars to be highly preferable to this. I have always tried to give DS a wide variety of tastes, and he is a good eater. Will also second that to cook organically costs more than to buy organic jars.

Why do we eat shite? Because I was working shifts and my options for eating a decent meal was to either cook something beforehand and take it to work (tried this, nothing really ever came out 'nicely')., take a yucky ready meal to work or come home and eat at 9.30 in the evening with a meal DP is capable of cooking.

We have recently moved, and I am 'trying harder'. DS is having less jars, I am cooking more. But yesterday for example I was out of the house from 6 am to 8pm. Had to be up at 5.15. The evening before, in my attempt to cook a meal for when I got back last night, I got to sit down at twenty to ten. I can't keep this up. I am working full time now, we have just moved house and we have a million things to do here too tbh.

DS has always had a reasonably healthy breakfast. And whenever I do cook a 'family' meal (ie on the 1 or 2 nights a week both Dp and I are home together) I do keep some back for DS. Luckily atm he is with a fab C/m who is cooking him healthy meals.

The fact that there have been times when DS has had two jars a day. Not often but there have been times. I am not especially proud of it but at the same time I am doing the best I can for DS and giving as much of myself as I can. So nothing to be ashamed of.

To come here and make sweeping, generalising statements about those who may not be as fortunate as yourselves is pretty naff IMO.

oliveoil · 13/04/2006 10:35

Holiday was a duff, couldn't go, loooong story, did thread, harrumph.

marthamoo · 13/04/2006 10:36

Noooooo! Why not, olive - what a bummer.

AllieBongo · 13/04/2006 10:37

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Heathcliffscathy · 13/04/2006 10:37

flossom the comment wasn't about people that berate themselves for 'sometimes giving them two jars a day' it was about kids that are almost exclusively fed them

anyway, don't know why i'm defending it, maybe cause it sparked a debate and i like that as you know :o

PinkTulips · 13/04/2006 10:38

well said flossam, your certainly working harder than most to give your son a good life

Original poster
jmum6 · 13/04/2006 10:45

It's having a balance, homecooked food mostly with some jars is fine.

OP posts:
alexsmum · 13/04/2006 10:49

the chicken nuggets in a jar aren't like normal chicken nuggets, they're small balls of chicken-no breadcrumb or anything.
My 2 had LOADS of jars-only organic ones and they are the healthiest eaters of any children i know. They love their fruit and veg and don't eat crap at all really.
What a daft statement-giving kids jars is child abuse?You want to do some voluntary work for the nspcc or something and get an idea of what some kids lives are really like.

puff · 13/04/2006 10:52

I grow all my own veg and slaughter my own animals, prior to cooking them lovingly.

I also have my own windmill for grinding grains to make flour for all our homemade bread.

tangerinecath · 13/04/2006 10:56

Alliebongo they are hot filled and heat treated so that everything in them is killed off. The lid goes on before heating so nothing can get in. This can be why the cheesy ones smell so horrid - overcooked cheese - yuk!

pmsl @ puff

my dd had a mix of jars and home cooked food - jars when we were out and just occasionally Shock when I couldn't be arsed.

She's a great eater now.

alexsmum · 13/04/2006 10:57

now puff, you are what i would call a good mum.
what about the fish? does dh getout there and haul in a good catch every now and then to ensure the children get their fish oils?

Grin
puff · 13/04/2006 11:00

We built our own lake of course, stocked mainly with trout, so a little limited, but we make do.

Angeliz · 13/04/2006 11:01

Good Lord this is a long thread nowSmile

agree with your comment about abuse alexmum, (and i said so last night). I worked for years with abused kids and to even use the word abuse in relation to jars is just ridiculous. Undermines real abuse.

Have to say al the comments about 'well i can do it na na na na na' are coming across as pretty smug and pathetic.
Not everyone can!

Heathcliffscathy · 13/04/2006 11:02

oh no puff that won'y do at all. farmed fish is satan's work.

alexsmum · 13/04/2006 11:03

puffShock they are not 'farmed ' are they? because that is really unhealthy and if you are giving that to your child....well why did you bother having kids if you are going to feed them such shit?

puff · 13/04/2006 11:03

I know Sophable, we lowered our sights rather on that one.

notasheep · 13/04/2006 11:05

Are your chickens loose?Wink

Heathcliffscathy · 13/04/2006 11:08

get thee to a sustainable source of wild fish woman (actually, in all seriousness, not sure that exists anymore :( )

lazycow · 13/04/2006 11:11

Can't believe this has taken off so much - Well yes I can thinking about it.

I do sometimes use jars but rarely - however having people say that food equates to love is in my opinion as bad as child abuse if you like.

I know lots of people think junk food is responsible for obesity and I think some of that is true but many people also treat food as a way of showing love to others or themselves and this can easily tip over into obesity if you have the pre-disposition for it.

I do not equate preparing food for my son with love any more than bathing him or taking care of him. I know he needs nutrition and I do my best to provide it but to say that if I give him jars I do not love him is absolutely outrageous.