It drives me frakking insane. It feels likes everyone everywhere has a vendetta against my babes' little bellies and love to stuff them with sugar, HFC, and nasty preservatives I cannot even pronounce.
Okay, so maybe that's a bit exaggerated. Maybe. Possbily. Not likely.
When we go to playdates there is usually junk. When they visit family or friends. Junk. Strangers in the park feel compelled to inquire if they may have a "treat". Hell, we even go to storytime and they get free cookies. It's crazily frustrating!
My kids don't NOT eat junk. They do. Miss H got a bag of potato chips from Menards last week...she and baby B both ate chips with their dinner last night and she had a bite of a cookie with me like 2 minutes ago. In fact, we make "treats" on a semi-regular basis. I have a crazy sweet tooth myself.
But the stuff we make isn't loaded in sugar or with other ingredients I can't pronounce. I know every single thing that goes into them (and they are werid things according to J like raw honey and date...not "real" food, ha ha...).
I also buy her "treats." We have fruit leather on hand pretty much always. And she loooooves raw nuts, but I will occassionally buy her some yoghurt covered almonds. She drinks dark chocolate almond milk at least once a week. She eats plenty of junk. I mean, "treats."
Of course, you can't tell your child she cannot eat something when everyone else is. Well, you can. And on occassion ,I must. Like if the cookies they give at storytime have M&M's. Luckily she gets that colors make her belly hurt. But then I end up having to go get her a cookie from Starbucks. So yeah...she still gets one. Because you cannot deprive a 2 year old of cookies when every other person is chowing down on them unless you are prepared for the epic meltdown that is for sure gonna ensue, and of course, you'll have like 20 moms looking at you like you're a crazy psycho who won't give her that delicious, albeit toxic, cookie. (You think the word "toxic" is me exaggerating...maybe I am. But probably I am not.)
I'm not really too crazy about what my kids eat, even though I'm sure it may not seem like that to some. I've been allowing Miss H to eat cookies since she was about 11 months old. So the same age baby B is now (but he's not had any yet...). I feel pretty strongly that if I am eating something and she's around, she can have it, too. (So I may or may not only eat ice cream at night...)Pretty much if we are outside the home and someone else offers it to her, she can have it (allergies aside, of course.). I'm not so anal and uptight that I'd say no. But it doesn't mean that it doesn't drive me insane. Because no one needs this much crap running through their bodies.
And of course, when I do happen to offer her a more healthy option (which she often agrees to, woo hoo!), I'm accused of only giving her "healthy treats" which is an oxymoron in itself.
But what is wrong with that anyway?
Why as a society do we feel the need to pump our kids, and more importantly OTHER people's children, full of sugar?
While of course we do not share the same food philosophies, I cannot imagine constantly feeling like you just wanna scream because people do not respect your parenting choices, especially family and friend who are aware. Stay strong and keep doing what you feel is right for you and your family, it's all any of us can do :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't know what it is about the grandparents, but my mom is ALWAYS pushing treats on my kids! Her one thing is to always have animal crackers around (like the yucky kind with hfcs) and give Noel treats every so often. Also tic tacs which isn't quite so bad haha.
ReplyDeleteBut I really think she gets pleasure out of them eating sweets. And ME eating sweets "Oh, it won't hurt you a bit!" (HA!)
She has lately been sending me home with these awful animal crackers which I don't ever give my kids in my own home!