An article regarding experts advising not to discuss dieting in front of kids.
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In addition to this, they should also not discuss their eating preferences in front of children as well, as this can bias that of their children. Preferences could include things like what one doesnât enjoy eating or food prejudices/beliefs.
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And not impose their highly restrictive fad diets on children.
Their dietary requirements are different to an adult. Putting them on Extreme Keto (no carbs etc) or Paleo (meat broths, no farmed fruits, veg, legumes) or strict vegetarian etc can lead to malnutrition and an unhealthy attitude to food.
Happens in our family & friends. Kids squirreling away food at friends places without parents knowledge leaving them feeling guilty about the deception. Confusion as parents swing from one diet to another and have the big blow-out on junk food & softdrinks in between. One day fat and sugar are the enemy, the next sugar is OK if eaten with high fat. Kids get chided for eating something they didnât know contained bad ingredients or prohibited processes.
It amuses me that when something becomes âpoisonâ eg sugar, the pantry gets emptied and passed on the grandparents (presumably we are either expendable or immune?)
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Facts are so passe. In the post-truth era if accepting such fads is what causes the problem it follows that if you donât believe in it then it cannot hurt you.
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One of the groups we have had some association with, food was the topic du jour. When we had get togethers, you never prepared food to share with other people or their kids because every one of them was allergic or avoided or abstained from eating at least one, or more, category of food.
The parents used to huddle up and discuss how to prepare various foods, such as cakes without eggs, and wheat flour, and sugar, and⊠(water seemed to be OK for everyone). They all came with their containers of âspecialâ food for their kids & themselves.
We were the only ones who seemed to have anything close to a ânormalâ diet. It was crazy on steroids!
Thereâs going to be a lot of kids growing up who donât know how to eat healthily and normally due to the restrictive diets their parents inflicted on them.
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We have had similar experiences and also think that sometimes we are the only ones who have a normal, unrestricted diet. Our child has been brought up to eat everything and even foods we donât particularly favour, we still cook regularly and consume so that it broadens our own and childâs tastes.
Stepping onto my soapbox ⊠even in our business, we often get special requests such as âdonât eat carbsâ, donât eat glutenâ, 'am a pescatarian (we had to look this one up)/vegan/vegetarian/fruitarian, âon a keto dietâ, âonly eat whole foodsâ, âdonât eat sugarâ, âdrink only skim milk but wonât eat any other dairy productsâ and the list goes on. We often ask if it is a dietary preference or an allergy. about 90% seem to be a restrictive dietary choice with about 10% having a intolerance/allergy. There seems to be an expectation that once the dietary preferences are known that anyone preparing foods for them will meet their preferences. It much be a minefield for those in the food industry as it is impossible to cater for every dietary fad which exists today. Children growing up with fad diet household unfortunately are none the wiser and think that such is the norm.
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If businesses could distinguish the 10% with an actual allergy, they could probably just serve the rest normal food and they probably would not notice any difference.
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Except for friends of ours who are on the Alkaline diet, who only drink bi-carb infused water to counteract all the nasty acids in their bodies that cause negative emotions, sickness, imbalances. And friends who insist on carbon activated, UV treated & micro-filtered non-chlorinated water (they bring their own in their contraption) to be sipped, not quaffed.
We are on an abnormal diet compared to our friends. We have adopted the National Health Guidelines - reduce processed foods; 5 serves of veg, 2 of fruit, protein from fish, meat, eggs, lentils etc, carbs, whole grains, healthy fats/oils, dairy, water; treats occasionally. Lots of variety. No guilt if a visitor brings cake or we had 1 or 3 serves of fruit today.
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They must have a lot of that nasty acid water in the USA. I guess there must be bi-carb in chemtrails as well as tranquilliser. The planes that normally spread it have been grounded due to COVID which has lead to much civil unrest, not to mention uncivil rest, as the population is not getting dosed properly.
Gosh that is a lot of trouble to go to to get decent water. Mine comes out of a plastic tank, it isnât filtered, treated, chlorinated or fiddled with in any way. The contraption that gets it to the tap is called a pump. People take large containers of it home and then have a quandary whether to keep it in the fridge to drink or splurge and wash their hair in it. I do both and even wash clothes in it.
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Speaking as a lay person; drinking bicaronated water is not going to fix their core issues.
Do they have it sitting on a âspecialâ purple drink coaster to activated the water molecules too? Iâm sure there are more things they could do to enhance the quality of their water if they really, really tried.
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I think the problem is exacerbated by parentsâ poor communication. They have been convinced by Facebook posts, party plan presentations, magazines, Doctor Google and other sources and assessed that against what (little?) they know and formed an opinion. That may be only passed on as âeat this itâs good for youâ or âNo! thatâs poisoning your bodyâ or âthatâll make you FATâ.
The child isnât privy to the reasoning behind the decision. They donât get a full explanation of what is in(ex)cluded in restrictive diets - just what are Carbs anyway?? And get into trouble when they bring home a bag of oranges off grandpaâs tree, and admit to eating one. They are confused when they canât have Palm Oil or Sugar, but somehow Palm Sugar is OK?
I think the best approach is to offer a wide variety of fresh fruit & veg, protein, carbs, dairy, healthy fats/oils in small amounts, as little processed foods as practicable and have treats (chocolate, chips, lollies, biscuits, ice creams etc) occasionally. As they can understand, explain what food does for health & well-being, where it comes from, whatâs in it. If adults want to restrict their own diet, for weight loss or perceived health outcomes, then thatâs their call.
Let children learn to listen to their bodies and nutrition; they will have to feed themselves when they leave home.
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