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? 

Some adults honestly don't know any better. 

My husband is European in school from a very young age they were taught all about healthy eating, nutrition, and exercise.  Very different from the education I received a few mentions about the three food groups and a reminder to brush my teeth everyday.  They don't have the commercials we do on TV either.  My little nieces and nephews happily eat a dark rye seeded bread (a staple in Denmark) with liver pate, and fresh tomato slices - how many toddlers in North America would even touch that kind of food.

When I was a kid my parents were very relaxed about food, they bought wholesome food and I could just take what I wanted.  Not knowing any better I often ate cheese and mayonaise sandwiches on thick slices of fresh french bread, I would easily drink 4 glasses of milk with dinner and my brother and I often mixed our own hot chocolate in the biggest glasses we could find (beer mugs pretty much).  I was a fat kid not because I got a lot of candy but because I had no idea about nutrition and niether did my parents.  My parents both ate whatever they wanted as well but because they both worked fairly labour intensive jobs they were a normal weight, unlike my brother and I who sat all day at school and then planted infront of the TV/video games in the evening.

I can honestly say I knew nothing about nutrition and healthy eating besides what I saw on TV before I joined calorie count when I was 27 and I think that is a horrible thing and the whole idea of nutrition portion sizes healthy eating is a subject severley needed in our school systems.

Worse then kids on the train with a bag of cereal, have you been to Denny's lately? 400lb mothers feeding their toddlers gigantic icecream sundaes for breakfast/lunch and dinner while they shovel in a couple thousand calories of lumber jack slams and a large soda.

Generic versions of fruity pebbles are a lot less -  but ok 4.00 divided by what 10 - 20 servings? .20-.40  a serving. Cheap.

Maybe the child detests the taste of Cheerios. Maybe the mother didn't have time to pick up some Kashi. Who knows? Maybe she's dressed nicely with a designer bag because she finally got a lead on a good job and she's on the way to the interview? Maybe she stepped over the lolly and left it because she didn't want the child to start fussing for it, even though it was train-rolled?

The point is, making assumptions about people or their parenting skills based on a couple of sub-healthy snacks on a random 20 minute train ride is not really fair.

Life is unfair.

While it's certainly not a wise choice to give a child that kind of junk in the morning, I think your prediction about the child's future behavior is presumptuous. 

The first thing that came to my mind is that you don't know if this happens every morning.  In our house, Saturdays are "poptart mornings"  (accompanied with fruit and milk) - but if say, any person came over,  saw this on one particular morning, and assumed that I never gave them oatmeal, scrambled eggs, or yogurt, they would be incorrect.

I'll also point out that many people, myself included, who go through their entire childhood and adolescence with little supervision as to what they eat have been able to eventually educate themselves and make changes.  So "doesn't stand a chance" is overstating it a little.

Original Post by kathygator:

Generic versions of fruity pebbles are a lot less -  but ok 4.00 divided by what 10 - 20 servings? .20-.40  a serving. Cheap.

Maybe the child detests the taste of Cheerios. Maybe the mother didn't have time to pick up some Kashi. Who knows? Maybe she's dressed nicely with a designer bag because she finally got a lead on a good job and she's on the way to the interview? Maybe she stepped over the lolly and left it because she didn't want the child to start fussing for it, even though it was train-rolled?

The point is, making assumptions about people or their parenting skills based on a couple of sub-healthy snacks on a random 20 minute train ride is not really fair.

 

 

 

 

Maybe: She didn't notice the lolly fell? My daughter has lost all sorts of things I never noticed hit the ground. Shoes/socks/bows/toys/blankets/sippy cups/Etc.

One time: She threw my mothers purse into one of those huge round things full of junk on clearance at wal-mart. She was only 14months and it was in her way.

 I was recently in search of a light up disney princess shoe. :) I had to buy her a new pair of shoes while we were out. I have no idea if that shoe even made it to our car...from our house. Lol!

Dude, people, lay off of strangers.  You have absolutely no idea what was happening in their lives that morning.  It could be the candy was a treat for getting through the night without a wet diaper (not the best reward, but you use what works when you are desperate!).  The pebbles may have been left over from a special occasion, not a normal breakfast item.

I certainly hope that when people see my kids in a less than stellar moment they don't assume that every day is like that!!!!

Original Post by puh8suwrux:

 It could be the candy was a treat for getting through the night without a wet diaper (not the best reward, but you use what works when you are desperate!). 

I certainly hope that when people see my kids in a less than stellar moment they don't assume that every day is like that!!!!

True. :)  They may have been celebrating x number of consecutive days of pooping and peeing in the potty with a tootsie pop!

Original Post by moonikins:

Life is unfair.

Yes but what does that have to do with how we choose to view one another?

Everyone is assuming the lollipop was for the kid.  But what if the lollipop was the mother's?

More importantly - how come I don't have any funyuns in front of me right now??? I love funyuns!!!

Everyone's so quick to jump all over the OP for being 'judgmental,' but I don't see how it's so wrong to be concerned that a mom is letting her kid bathe her teeth in sugar early in the morning.  Wow.

Original Post by hotfuss:

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. 

 Okay this just sounds ridiculous to me.  Oooh the pain of whining and complaining! HORRIBLE! When having a kid you've pretty much committed to a minimum of 18 years of whining and complaining. 

Am in no way suggesting Jules is being judegmental.

Original Post by madamq:

Everyone is assuming the lollipop was for the kid.  But what if the lollipop was the mother's?

 

 It's not obviously the woman had brought the cereal from home either,imo. She may have just picked her daughter up from an overnight at grandparents. My mother has always filled my daughter a snack size zip-lock baggy,etc. My uncle will do the same when she's leaving his house. I'm not uncommon for me to be handed stuff as I've headed out the door. In a case of being on the run... I've just always taken it. Most of the time it's healthy stuff like I would prepare at home. They'll cut up apples/carrots/avocado/tomatoes/ or give her grapes,etc.

However: Sometimes it's questionable within reason like fruity pebbles. Or worse: General Mills Cookie Crisp Cereal.

  Lol! On occasion my mother has voiced an " It's all I had..." Understandable/Rare.

Original Post by kathygator:

Am in no way suggesting Jules is being judegmental.

 Was more referring to lorik's post, and the one that says lay off strangers.

btw, I love Funyuns too, and at this very moment am eating Sour Cream & Onion Lays.  So... I certainly am not once to throw stones

I just think a lot of our responses are reading too much into this, and making an awful lot of excuses.  Does it matter if grandma gave the kid the lollipop, or a bank teller?  Nope.  All this is about is that Jules was shocked by the kid with the double fistful of sugar at 8 AM, and worries about what kind of example that sets.

Original Post by purespark:

Everyone's so quick to jump all over the OP for being 'judgmental,' but I don't see how it's so wrong to be concerned that a mom is letting her kid bathe her teeth in sugar early in the morning.  Wow.

That's questionable too. My daughter's bag for daily on the go stuff has everything possibly needed. Including a toothbrush/mini tube of sponge bob toothpaste. Lol!

Edit: That's probably not common for a lot of parents. :( I dunno.

I think Mountain Dew is a totally appropriate breakfast drink for a kid, you're supposed to eat a green thing every day and this is a great way to get it out of the way in the morning.  The fruity pebbles are a great way to take a bite out of those 2-5 servings of fruits and lollipop is obviously just desert, there is nothing wrong with eating desert especially right after such a healthy meal.

Original Post by floggingsully:

I think Mountain Dew is a totally appropriate breakfast drink for a kid, you're supposed to eat a green thing every day and this is a great way to get it out of the way in the morning.  The fruity pebbles are a great way to take a bite out of those 2-5 servings of fruits and lollipop is obviously just desert, there is nothing wrong with eating desert especially right after such a healthy meal.

Keyword: Eat

Original Post by madamq:

Everyone is assuming the lollipop was for the kid.  But what if the lollipop was the mother's?

 

 well...the lollipop was in the toddlers hand, and she was eating it, so i'm going to assume it was hers.

and the mother knew she dropped it. i saw her look at it when i hear it hit the floor, and then deliberately step over it as she exited the train.