Mothers like you and I are a rarity, I think. My kids were raised without TV for the most part, and they were raised rurally where we grew our own garden, processed the foods which came from it, raised our own small animals for meat, picked fruit from trees etc..
Any sweets that they consumed were for the most part, cookies or pies that I made for them, and I made them to be as healthy as I could. Healthy doesn’t mean tasteless, either.
I limited the amount of junk foods they could consume.
Diet is a habit. People enjoy and eat heartily, what they are accustomed to eating. My kids were accustomed to garden grown veggies, tree fresh/pesticide free fruits, nuts and berries. They loved a roast with potatoes and broccoli, gravy made from the roast, home made bisquits and a side salad, with a mixed fruit salad for desert.
Conversely, my sister’s kids were used to pizza and hotdogs, burgers and fries, boxed mac n cheese, stove top lasagna from the box etc. So, when they came to my house for Sunday dinner, they hardly ate at all! Over the years, they became more accustomed to our style of dinners, so by the time they were middle aged adults, they knew what a healthy diet was.
My kids were trained/raised on good food and that’s what they provided for their kids, too. To this day, all of them love healthy foods.
One year when they were little, I decided to drive home the point of eating good food before indulging in sweets. It was Christmas I think, and I didn’t insist on a good breakfast before diving into the candy in their stockings. I just let them have at it. It wasn’t long however before they all complained about feeling sick, and needing a decent meal lol!
As I said, I LIMITED the junk food, but you’ve GOT to allow a little for the head’s sake. Therefore, the junk didn’t settle well. From then on, when ever the school had parties loaded with junk foods, my kids made sure they filled up on a good lunch before eating the sweets. It was soo funny when they came home proudly announcing how they made sure to eat a good lunch so that they wouldn’t feel sick on junk foods.
Back in those days, their school made wonderful lunches and the kids could eat as much as they wanted. I don’t believe in limiting natural fats such as what comes on meats and eggs and dairy. I think kids need those extra calories if they’re active, and mine were. Kids who don’t like fats will cut it off the meat themselves.
Today, that same school won’t allow the kids to have a butter knife, and they have to eat with spoons. They can’t even butter their dinner roll, or have any salt/seasoning for their foods. They aren’t allowed seconds and portions are carefully controlled. The food still tastes very good, but it’s still a step down from what they used to produce.
Growing up, I was always amazed by what the other kids threw away. Our school made fantastic food, but I can’t believe what went into the trash cans.
Kids are kids meaning they are unique individuals from a variety of home styles and you are NOT going to please them all. But, there ARE some things that a large amount of the kids are going to like such as pizza and burgers. Those can be made to be healthy which doesn’t mean they have to be ‘weird’ or tasteless.
Portion control for children is stupid. They will eat as much or as little as they are comfortable with. Some kids are chow hounds, some kids aren’t. I knew one school which only allowed one tablespoon of food per year of age. That was IT! My 7 month old would eat a full cup and a half of food easily, and was a slender child! Others would eat half that and be rolly pollys.
One size doesn’t fit all. But I do believe the govt is training these kids for near starvation rations.
I grew up on a ranch, and my husband and I lived in a rural setting most of the time. I think rural living is healthy living, because you do learn to eat the healthy, fresh food-it still happens out here...
A couple of fun examples. When I went to middle school we would make fun of the pizza they served, and would often pour the grease off the top of the pizza. My favorite dish to make for Pot Luck dinners is a traditional Jewish dish called Kugel, I tend to get one of two reactions: "What is that?" and "I want some".
What wonderful post. I wish I’d been your neighbor when we raised our really well-nourished kids. I didn’t get a lot of support, but stuck with it. Of course my son managed to come home now and then with junk food wrappers in his pockets. I didn’t make an issue of it.
I missed that first time I read your post….I'm trying to think of a reason the gubmint might do that….food shortages ahead?
Yep.. they are giving the kids that play sports the same amount that kids that don’t play. And they don’t allow them to buy extra portions.
Some schools won’t even allow lunches brought from home.
I just read earlier today an article on the starvation diet study they did 70 years ago in MN, it was very interesting.