In recent news a so-called revelation was headlined in the tabloid newspapers in England "E numbers are harmful to children." It’s hard not get angry at this headline not just because it’s true, but the common sense evidence that something is badly wrong with the foods we have allowed our children to eat has been around for some time.
Just look at the growing number of children with all kinds of maladies from attention deficit, increases in the numbers of children suffering from a food allergy just because many parents continue to allow and in some cases champion junk food over a healthier plate of real food.
Ill-informed parents believe if it is low in sugar then it is good for their kids,
But if they took the time to read the labels they would realize low in sugar usually means high in artificial sweeteners like Nutra-sweet or Acesulfame K which is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and has in American lab tests been linked to cancer.
Parents give many poorly thought through reasons as to why their precious children are allowed to eat such poor quality, chemically laden, high in salt and fat food.
“My son is a fussy eater”….or “they are teenagers and they are just going through a phase”… “It’s peer pressure from their school friends..what can I do?”
No one is born a fussy eater…it is purely born out of conditioning by the family members around the child from a very early age. Some parent’s pass on their own food dislikes to their child, which again narrows the choices. Kids can quickly learn to negotiate at the dinner table what they will and wont eat.
My own 5year old daughter drinks fruit juices, water or occasional milk or weak cup of tea. She is not allowed drinks with artificial sweeteners or fizzy pop.
She eats a balanced diet of meat, fish, vegetables and fruit because her mom and I cooked her real food. No frozen dinners and trips to Micky D’s are very rare..usually when she visits her auntie. I don’t allow her pudding until she has eaten all of her dinner.
As parents Yvette and I have held firm against the many pressures out there that allow children bad food choices. Making this happen isn’t always easy or convenient but it’s the right thing to do. After working a 12-hour day cooking in a hot kitchen it’s not easy to come home and begin doing some food preparation, but what I feed my daughter is more important than the brand of trainers she wears.
Even good restaurants have sometimes caved in and bought a bag of chicken nuggets to accommodate their customer’s wishes…but how can parents in good conscience sit down to wonderful food whilst allowing their children to eat such harmful rubbish?
I don’t know how some directors of food companies can sleep at night knowing how harmful their products are and yet still they are sold and promoted at young children.
2008-05-02 @ 10:05