You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

[Caroline Forbes]

The fact that now all these products are coming out for parents to give their kids because the kids aren't getting proper nutrition from their diet. Grow a set and make your kit sit there until they eat all their vegetables for god sake.

[Angels baby101]

I think I got lucky in the deal but i agree with you make them eat. My son eats Brocolli, Cauliflower, Greenbeans, Corn, Greens, Carrots.. Although i still give him something kind of like pediasure only its from gerber for toddlers expecially. Just to give him an extra boost. But I do definately agree with you people should make their kids sit at the table and eat their veggies, just sometimes its not that easy..... Some kids will litterally make themselves sick if you make them eat something they dont like, but thats when you try to find the veggies they do like

[Caroline Forbes]

Well, the commercials that I'm talking about feature, say, 10 year olds with a parent standing next to a food pyramid saying "My daughter won't eat this or this or this". I understand it's difficult (I've spent a lot of time trying to get my nieces and nephews to eat their meals) BUT at the same time, just feeding them some artificial crap is a cop out.

I'm not saying giving kids vitamins or supplements as you said with your son is wrong. I'm just saying it's unhealthy to say, "I don't have to make my kids eat real food cause they can just drink this sports drink instead." What happens when they become adults and have horrible nutritional habits?

It does amaze me with even my sisters' kids - when we were growing up we sat at the dinner table until we finished. They don't make their own kids do that and I've not really encountered anyone who does that nowadays.

[Jill Monroe]

it IS rather insane to see the way kids TODAY are handled when it comes to their diet (not to mention parenting in general).

I dont think that forcing a child to eat "everything on the plate" is the answer (because that can lead to weight issues) but making sure they know that they HAVE to eat what is set before them within reason and that its not an option is something all together different.

i do rememer that growing up it was understood that I HAD to eat what was on the dinner table. There were only a small handfull of things I successfully rebelled against eating: Mushrooms (i got very nauseated from the smell of them being cooked), scrambled eggs (which i now eat occasionally), fish (made me ill to the point of vomiting) and liver. My parents also didnt allow pop or koolaid in the house. only juice and water was mandatory...what shocks me is how many people (some of my own peers) were not REQUIRED to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. For ME that was routine and I drink tons of water now as well. The idea that you can survive on pop and sugary drinks is just ridiculous...that ALONE is why some people are so damn fat and malnurished now!

I was one of those those children who ENJOYED vegetables though. I love broccoli, cauliflower, tomatos, green peppers , corn, greens (especially collards) etc. I also enjoy many kinds of fruit and those things are still in my diet today.

[J.Gumb]

I dont think that forcing a child to eat "everything on the plate" is the answer (because that can lead to weight issues)
Indeed.. not sure how young I was, maybe 6 or 7 but I was really skinny and never ate much, however, because I never received any praise the one day I ate everything on the plate I was told what a 'good boy I was' so from then on I was eating everything that was given to me, (just for some positive reinforcement) and the more you eat the more you want to eat, etc etc. So, I was obese in High School, which was quite fun and it only got worse from there..

Then I almost killed myself (literally) between taking speed and only eating a salad a day for a few months.. in that span I went from a size 3X (or bigger depending on the cut) to a size medium (or bigger depending on the cut) but a world of problems resulted from that..

and not to be all blamey, because not their fault (and that is so last year!) but I honestly believe all of the problems stemmed from "be sure to clean off your plate"

[J.Gumb]

Grow a set and make your kit sit there until they eat all their vegetables for god sake.
But how much of that is A- the parents dont know themselves, B- the parents are too busy to ensure that happens or C- would rather have them pop a pill that make them eat properly.

But Buff.. er, Vil.. it's more than just that, it's also the systematic acceptance of formula as a replacement to breast milk. Breast milk is a real dinner and formula is just MacDonalds.

So, while I agree with you, I think it goes much deeper.

[Caroline Forbes]

I'm not advocating the clean your plate idea. But the way these commercials are presenting things is, "I hate having to fight with my child to eat their vegetables, so I'll give them this drink with god knows what in it instead, because it's easier."

[Jill Monroe]

I'm not advocating the clean your plate idea. But the way these commercials are presenting things is, "I hate having to fight with my child to eat their vegetables, so I'll give them this drink with god knows what in it instead, because it's easier."

yeah i agree. it seems lazy and silly. just like the idea of thinking "sports water" substitutes drinking good ol fashion h20. even DOCTORS caution people against that but still i know a few people MY age who have been doing it for a while.

[Caroline Forbes]

When I used to see a nutritionist, she told me that only professional athletes really need to drink sports drinks.

[Richard Martin]

As a parent, I will say this.

In a typical day your child gets home at 3-3:30PM. He/she will be in bed by 9:30 at the latest.

So you have 6 hours on average to do it all.

Your child gets not exercise or social netwroking at scholl since PE, recess and talking to each other have bit the dust in a effort to teach to the standardized tests.

So you put them in things, like football or ballet or wrestling or baseball or more. So subtract 3 hours per day EVERY day on average. That leaves 3.5 hours.

They have homework EVERY DAY in kindergarten and it challenging compared to what we had. If you do it all and right, subtract another 1.5 hours, usually more but we will go conservative. Down to 2.

Kids are dirty. They need to wash and get ready for bed before they go. There is another half hour.

You now have 1.5 hours at the most, a lot of which it would be nice if you actually PARENTED. You know...discussed drugs and sex and animals and school and their friends and sports and grandma died and how much you love them or whatever makes them know you care about them. You feel shitty about this, but you maybe spend .75 hours a day on that. You wish it were more.

You now have .75 hours left (45 minutes). You can spend it making your id hate you by eating crap they hate evry day, or you can find out what they like that is good for them (fruits and whole grains work for us with some veggies), supplement the rest and understand that their palates will mature as they do and that eating brussels sprouts is overrated.

i understand the point made here. But if you parent 2 weeks, all of what is involved, and you will do like most parents...thank God above that they pack nutrients in everything kids eat and drink that they can.

And I am a lucky one. My son is healthy, strong, tall and eats good shit all the time. He has a four pack (sometimes!) and he drinks water like a fish. But if he didn't I would have to do the best I can. There aren't enough hours in the day and my wife is stay-at-home right now with our boy at a local school (2 blocks). I pity parents who both work and don't get their kid until 5 or 6.

[Angels baby101]

Eh my sons pediatrition just put him on Pediasure because he doesn't eat like he should but with him being the age he is at I just cant force it down his throat. He takes it out and throws it on the floor half the time, but Pediasure isn't all its cracked up to be. It gave him diarea for one and for two he hates it... they say its kid approved but he wont touch it at all lol.

[Jill Monroe]

yeah that's different. you actually were consulting your pediatrician and it was a supplemental thing. I think Vil is referring to parents who just shove those drinks in their kids hands because their A) too lazy to TRY to provide a balanced meal or B) dont seem to realize THEY should be teaching their child how to eat properly at an early age.

but like i was saying...i know people MY age who do that mess with sports drinks and such and think its a substitute for drinking water or eating more healthy. and some of them were not raised like that either. it boggles my mind.