Clear the way... Kiddie foods

Kiddie foods

In the early years of bringing up children, I fell prey to the advertising of "kiddie" foods- artificially flavored & colored, processed "fun" shaped forms which often provide little to no nutritional value.  Wanting to do what was best for our preschool-age daughter who was a picky eater and "falling off the growth chart", I desperately followed the well-intentioned advice of friends, loved ones and medical professionals to "give her anything she'll eat".  That I did.  Not just her, but all 3 of the kids at the time.  Jimmy didn't mind so much (see picture). 

Jimmy discovers how to "unlock" Oreos (1994)

After enduring an overnight stay in the hospital for growth hormone testing, it turns out my daughter's body was simply getting realigned with her genetic code to grow at the 5th percentile instead of the 50th.  Reflecting back I wonder, if it weren't for that precipitating event would I have still succumbed to all the "kiddie" junk food?  There sure is a lot of pressure to do so.  It's the American way.

I read a superb article in the living section of the Oregonian the other day, "French parents don't make life all about children".  In her two books, author Pamela Druckerman discusses some of the differences she has noticed from living in both the French and the American culture.

1. Starting from a very young age, French kids mostly eat the same foods as their parents. There are no "kid" foods.

2. French parents teach kids how to wait and entertain themselves simply by making them wait and entertain themselves. 

Excellent points!  Our kids grow up learning to use food as a way to pass the time, to entertain themselves, to eat just for fun, and maybe even to help their "boo-boo" feel better.

Last weekend, a soccer dad was reading the label of his 2 year old nephew's kiddie food package (I think it was Pirate's Booty).  Kudos to him for examining a food label.  "Well", he declared, "there's nothing really bad in it, but nor is there anything good in it."  Precisely.  I couldn't have summed it up better.

I put food into 3 categories:

   1. negative (potentially harmful to one's health)
   2. neutral (nothing bad, nothing good)
   3. valuable (unprocessed, whole foods- chocked with natural nutrients)

The foods that I want in my home are the ones that have something good in them - the valuable stuff that my mind and body thrive beautifully on.

Over the years I have gradually stopped buying the kiddie foods.  When they're not in the house, they're simply not there to eat, plain as that.  Same goes for any of the fat, sugar, and salt-laden foods (I'll save the addicting potato chip story for my next post). 

We still have one lingering item from the pre-school "give her whatever she'll eat" approach.  That is Ovaltine, the chocolate mix for milk.  At this point I'm just buying it out of sheer habit. The kids add it to their milk for a quick breakfast or snack because it's there and they've always done it.  I decided I'm done buying it.  No need for it.  It's nothing but sugar and some chemicals.  Oh, but wait-  the label claims it has "10 vitamins and...". No, I'm not falling for that advertising gimmick anymore.  When it runs out, it's gone.  I could throw it out, but I'll just let it run out.  The next time I use my preprinted Winco grocery list, Ovaltine will be intentionally absent.  I'm closing the door to an unhealthy choice, which opens the door to make the healthy choice the easy choice.  One step towards making room for goodness.