Kids set up for failure?

i was on my commute to work this morning at around 8am, and i looked up to see a woman push her small child onto the train. the little girl was probably about 2 years old.

in one hand, she was clutching a ziploc bag full of fruity pebbles. in the other hand, a tootsie pop. at 8am.

really lady? that's what you give your kid for breakfast? REALLY?

i was waiting for her to pull out a can of mountain dew with a nipple on it and hand it to her to wash it all down. i stared in horror for a few seconds and then went back to my book. just couldn't help thinking how that poor little kid doesn't stand a chance of developing healthy eating habits.

yesterday, a woman sat next to me with a small toddler on her lap and handed him a large bag of funyuns, which he proceeded to chow down on for a good 20 minutes.

don't get me wrong, i'm not the type to say a kid should never ever have fruity pebbles, lolly pops or junky snacks...but that just blew my mind. are people really still that clueless when it comes to nutrition? why, when there are so many healthy options to feed your kid, would you choose such nutritionally worthless snacks? i mean the lady this morning had obviously brought the cereal from home so it wasn't a case of being on the run and having no options.

has anybody else experienced things like this? i'm not a parent but i certainly hope that when i am, i am able to better watch out for my kids health. i know kids can be picky and fussy, but is there ever any reason to give a two year old a bag of sugar and a lolly pop for breakfast? 

Yay America.  :-/

Well my kid had a pop tart for breakfast this morning!  Although I served a bowl of fruit with it to make it a little more nutritionally balanced.  He is very good about selecting healthy snacks and food options.  Sometimes though, he just wants a pop tart.  Come to think of it, me too!

1) Don't be mean to fruity pebbles!!! Those are good!!

2) Sugar and snacks are not what make kids fat....eating too much is what makes kids fat.

Lots of people don't even eat breakfast (I rarely did as a kid).

Soooo judgemental for something like a kid having a lolly pop...really? really? thats what sets you over the edge and sets off the "bad parent alert"?? a lolly pop????

I doubt the parents are feeding their kids much differently than they feed themselves.  Yes, a lot of people are clueless about nutrition, or at least act like it.  I know I'm guilty of it sometimes.  If people assumed I ate crappy all the time based on the times I splurge or make bad choices, I am sure they would be as horrified as you were.  Hopefully fruity pebbles and a lolipop isn't representative of everything the kid eats, but I wouldn't really be that surprised if it was.

Original Post by loriklorik:

Soooo judgemental for something like a kid having a lolly pop...really? really? thats what sets you over the edge and sets off the "bad parent alert"?? a lolly pop????

 I wouldn't eat a lollipop for breakfast, so I certainly wouldn't let a kid have one.

It's disgusting, but yes this is normal for far too many parents. My SO raised his kids this way. They are almost 9 & 12 and have the worst diet of any children I have ever seen anywhere.

One night we went to a friends house to play cards. It was covered dish. One of the mother's made a chocolate fondue with fruits and marshmellows. The girl ate only marshmellows dipped in chocolate all night. On the way home she complained about being hungry. I told her she should have eaten something when she had the chance. But SO of course said he'd fix her something when we got home. The boy hadn't eaten much either. I had purchased two cinnamon rolls with icing for Sunday after breakfast as a treat. She saw them and asked her dad for one. So that's what she ate for dinner after eating chocolate covered marshmellows all night.

I came in the kitchen as the girl was 1/2 way through the roll. I looked and said those were a treat for tomorrow after breakfast. SO said, but she wanted one. I said all she ate tonight was chocolate covered marshmellows and then you let her eat an iced sweet roll. I also told everyone that I would never again buy a treat like that again. And I haven't. And I won't.

Original Post by moonikins:

It's disgusting, but yes this is normal for far too many parents. My SO raised his kids this way. They are almost 9 & 12 and have the worst diet of any children I have ever seen anywhere.

One night we went to a friends house to play cards. It was covered dish. One of the mother's made a chocolate fondue with fruits and marshmellows. The girl ate only marshmellows dipped in chocolate all night. On the way home she complained about being hungry. I told her she should have eaten something when she had the chance. But SO of course said he'd fix her something when we got home. The boy hadn't eaten much either. I had purchased two cinnamon rolls with icing for Sunday after breakfast as a treat. She saw them and asked her dad for one. So that's what she ate for dinner after eating chocolate covered marshmellows all night.

I came in the kitchen as the girl was 1/2 way through the roll. I looked and said those were a treat for tomorrow after breakfast. SO said, but she wanted one. I said all she ate tonight was chocolate covered marshmellows and then you let her eat an iced sweet roll. I also told everyone that I would never again buy a treat like that again. And I haven't. And I won't.

 just curious, how well does your SO eat?

Original Post by purespark:

Original Post by loriklorik:

Soooo judgemental for something like a kid having a lolly pop...really? really? thats what sets you over the edge and sets off the "bad parent alert"?? a lolly pop????

 I wouldn't eat a lollipop for breakfast, so I certainly wouldn't let a kid have one.

But would you eat one later in the day?  I'm not sure I really understand why some foods are not ok for the morning but would be fine later in the day. 

I don't think giving kids a bag of cereal on the go is that unreasonable. The woman may have many challenges that we can't even imagine. One of them being that cereal costs her so little. Same with a bag of funyuns. Wouldn't give a tootsie pop to a kid, especially in the morning and boarding a train, however.

It's probably a bit of an overreaction to assume that these kids are doomed to obesity because they've got some less than ideal snack foods in their diet. Remember you're probably seeing them on the way to daycare or some such. Quick snack foods could be the result of a busy mom's harried lifestyle.

Kids have got to eat.  Don't be so judgemental.  You have no idea how the kids eats the rest of the day and frankly it's none of your business.

Original Post by loriklorik:

Soooo judgemental for something like a kid having a lolly pop...really? really? thats what sets you over the edge and sets off the "bad parent alert"?? a lolly pop????

lorik, you obviously didn't read my entire post, shocking. i am NOT against a kid having a lolly pop. i AM against someone feeding a child too young to make their own food choices a bag of sugar cereal and a lolly pop at 8am.

i have no problem with a kid having treats. i think kids denied junk food entirely end up just as poorly adjusted as kids given it for every meal (even though at least they'd be healthier).

 if a kid who normally eats a healthy breakfast and is old enough to make the choice that he really wants a poptart, that is fine with me.

if the kid had JUST the fruity pebbles, or JUST the lolly, i would have chalked it up to probably being a one time thing. it was the fact that she had both that made me think it's unlikely that little girl has a clue what healthy food tastes like.

Original Post by hotfuss:

Original Post by purespark:

Original Post by loriklorik:

Soooo judgemental for something like a kid having a lolly pop...really? really? thats what sets you over the edge and sets off the "bad parent alert"?? a lolly pop????

 I wouldn't eat a lollipop for breakfast, so I certainly wouldn't let a kid have one.

But would you eat one later in the day?  I'm not sure I really understand why some foods are not ok for the morning but would be fine later in the day. 

 Eating alot of sugary junk for breakfast can set yourself up for sugar cravings for the rest of the day.  It's the first meal of the day, and any nutritionist will tell you that it should be balanced.  If not, your body ends up craving that sugar for the entire day, making you hungry before your next meal.  It's all about the insuline levels in your body.  a lollipop is about the worst thing you could possibly have for breakfast.

Original Post by kathygator:

I don't think giving kids a bag of cereal on the go is that unreasonable. The woman may have many challenges that we can't even imagine. One of them being that cereal costs her so little. Same with a bag of funyuns. Wouldn't give a tootsie pop to a kid, especially in the morning and boarding a train, however.

It's probably a bit of an overreaction to assume that these kids are doomed to obesity because they've got some less than ideal snack foods in their diet. Remember you're probably seeing them on the way to daycare or some such. Quick snack foods could be the result of a busy mom's harried lifestyle.

fruity pebbles aren't cheap at all as far as cereals go. a small box of those is like $4.

and i never said anything about the kid's being doomed to obesity. i didn't mention obesity in my post at all. neither child was overweight, nor were the parents. i just don't think kids too young to make their own choices should be taught eating habits like that.

and Tom, i realize it isn't any of my business. it's not like i said something to the woman.   

you're not the only one phased by this sort of thing, jules.  my immediate thought is how (if this is commonplace), this will affect the child's eating habits as they get older.

the people i know now who weren't fed vegetables from a young age...still don't eat many vegetables today...

Original Post by hotfuss:

Original Post by moonikins:

It's disgusting, but yes this is normal for far too many parents. My SO raised his kids this way. They are almost 9 & 12 and have the worst diet of any children I have ever seen anywhere.

One night we went to a friends house to play cards. It was covered dish. One of the mother's made a chocolate fondue with fruits and marshmellows. The girl ate only marshmellows dipped in chocolate all night. On the way home she complained about being hungry. I told her she should have eaten something when she had the chance. But SO of course said he'd fix her something when we got home. The boy hadn't eaten much either. I had purchased two cinnamon rolls with icing for Sunday after breakfast as a treat. She saw them and asked her dad for one. So that's what she ate for dinner after eating chocolate covered marshmellows all night.

I came in the kitchen as the girl was 1/2 way through the roll. I looked and said those were a treat for tomorrow after breakfast. SO said, but she wanted one. I said all she ate tonight was chocolate covered marshmellows and then you let her eat an iced sweet roll. I also told everyone that I would never again buy a treat like that again. And I haven't. And I won't.

 just curious, how well does your SO eat?

 His diet isn't the best, but it is fairly decent. He won't eat many veggies except onions peppers and mushrooms. He doesn't eat a lot of junk either and doesn't overindulge in sugar.

He is rebelling against having to eat whatever was put in front of him as a kid. So he lets his kids choose whatever they want, regardless of the appropriateness of the choice. His answer is, well that's what he/she wanted. He will even cook two separate dinners if the kids can't agree on what they want. It is ridiculous.

I don't think parents should force their children to eat everything on their plates. I don't think a child should be forced to eat something they truly don't like, but there has to be common sense and a set of rules. If my son didn't eat his dinner, then his snack was warmed up dinner or nothing. I did not make things that I knew he hated and there were options. Such as stuffed green peppers. He didn't like the pepper, so he could just eat the stuffing and leave the pepper on his plate. I also offered bedtime snacks that might make up for a light or non-existant dinner if that situation occurred. Like peanut butter on celery or apples, cheese slices on crakers, raisins.

Original Post by kathygator:

I don't think giving kids a bag of cereal on the go is that unreasonable. The woman may have many challenges that we can't even imagine. One of them being that cereal costs her so little. Same with a bag of funyuns.

 also, the woman was carrying a designer bag, and dressed as if she were on her way to an office job, so i doubt it was a case of not being able to afford better.     

While waiting for my kid at the clinic the other day there were two young kids, both girls, both around three years old.  Both moms had brought snacks and juice for the kids.  One mom also had a coke.  The little girl with that mom ignored her own juice and kept drinking the mom's coke.  She had hot cheetos in her snack bag which made her want more coke. The other little girl had a chex snack mix.  Not a hugely superior snack, but at least no artificial colouring, maybe not as much sodium, and maybe more fibre... 

Not much to do when you're waiting for someone in a clinic, so I had time to think about parents feed their kids and how it can either help or hinder.  Never a good idea to let kids drink soda :/  In fact I've seen moms filling baby bottles with soda.  What??  That totally sucks.  What also sucks is that fruity pebbles are marketed to kids!  Kids want to eat fruity pebbles.  My kid always want fruit loops when he was little.  Once I bought them and he ended up not eating them!  They tasted like crap compared to the whole grain stuff he was usually given :)

Original Post by kathygator:

I don't think giving kids a bag of cereal on the go is that unreasonable. The woman may have many challenges that we can't even imagine. One of them being that cereal costs her so little. Same with a bag of funyuns. Wouldn't give a tootsie pop to a kid, especially in the morning and boarding a train, however.

It's probably a bit of an overreaction to assume that these kids are doomed to obesity because they've got some less than ideal snack foods in their diet. Remember you're probably seeing them on the way to daycare or some such. Quick snack foods could be the result of a busy mom's harried lifestyle.

I'd say from my experience that these kids are probably doomed to weight and health issues and that they are probably fed this way all the time.

There really is no real reason to ever buy sugary cereal and pack it as a snack. There are many cheap and more nutritious alternatives. I only packed cheerios (or the generic equivalent) type of cereal for these kind of quick snacks. Why? Because I wasn't going to spend money on boxes of fluffy sugar. If this woman is buying boxes of fluffy sugar, she isn't spending her money wisely and she isn't thinking about nutrition.

Original Post by peaches0405:

Original Post by hotfuss:

Original Post by purespark:

Original Post by loriklorik:

Soooo judgemental for something like a kid having a lolly pop...really? really? thats what sets you over the edge and sets off the "bad parent alert"?? a lolly pop????

 I wouldn't eat a lollipop for breakfast, so I certainly wouldn't let a kid have one.

But would you eat one later in the day?  I'm not sure I really understand why some foods are not ok for the morning but would be fine later in the day. 

 Eating alot of sugary junk for breakfast can set yourself up for sugar cravings for the rest of the day.  It's the first meal of the day, and any nutritionist will tell you that it should be balanced.  If not, your body ends up craving that sugar for the entire day, making you hungry before your next meal.  It's all about the insuline levels in your body.  a lollipop is about the worst thing you could possibly have for breakfast.

Thanks, didn't know that about insuline levels and cravings. Seems ironic that a lot of people eat more sugar in the morning(cereal, poptarts, muffins, etc) than any other time then. 

I agree that kids need balanced diets, but sometimes parents need to pick and choose their battles.  When I was little, every time we would go to the bank, they would give us a lolipop.  We knew this and expected it when we went to the bank.  If my mom had to go at 8am and decided we couldn't have it, just because it was early she would have to deal with the pain of us whining and complaining and it would probably be easier to let us have it then and remind us that we already had a treat when we asked for something in the afternoon.  I doubt that 1 8am lollipop doomed us. 

whether or not the kid the OP described was just having a special treat or if it was a common occurance isn't known.

Original Post by figurethefat:

While waiting for my kid at the clinic the other day there were two young kids, both girls, both around three years old.  Both moms had brought snacks and juice for the kids.  One mom also had a coke.  The little girl with that mom ignored her own juice and kept drinking the mom's coke.  She had hot cheetos in her snack bag which made her want more coke. The other little girl had a chex snack mix.  Not a hugely superior snack, but at least no artificial colouring, maybe not as much sodium, and maybe more fibre... 

Not much to do when you're waiting for someone in a clinic, so I had time to think about parents feed their kids and how it can either help or hinder.  Never a good idea to let kids drink soda :/  In fact I've seen moms filling baby bottles with soda.  What??  That totally sucks.  What also sucks is that fruity pebbles are marketed to kids!  Kids want to eat fruity pebbles.  My kid always want fruit loops when he was little.  Once I bought them and he ended up not eating them!  They tasted like crap compared to the whole grain stuff he was usually given :)

 this sounds more like something to raise an eyebrow at than the original post.