Restricting Children's Diets

I think restricting a child's diet will likely develop an unhealthy attitude about food. We desire what we can't have. So to forbid foods (assuming there are no allergies or medical reasons to do so) will only make those foods more tempting, thus creating a food obsession that could led to binging, yo-yo dieting and other eating disorders. This is why most people in America are fat. American's are obsessed with dieting. Dieting only leads to obesity and eating disorders. Read the book "The Overfed Head."

My Uncle's second wife limited her daughter's food drastically and what it basically did was create a monster. Her daughter would go out to other peoples houses and overeat, even sometimes to the point of throwing up. I think if you raise them from day 1 with options of fruits and veggies as snacks and limit what you have as far as junk food around the house then they will grow up used to those foods. I think restricting them completely and punishing them is not only too harsh but simply setting them up for failure later in life when they have the options to choose what they want. They will do it out of spite. Just like the teen that dates the kid you don't like because he has his nose and chin pierced and you ranted and raved. Don't make an issue out of it and it doesn't become one.

Honestly as long as when they are home they remember your rules and eat healty meals and snacks, then when they are out with there friends it shouldent matter what they eat as long as it is not something that happens all the time. I believe that kids do deserve the right to decide for them selves and you never know they may surprise you and actually be responsible with there eating habbits.

I believe that at infancy, is when we start conditioning their taste buds, and training how to eat. Not buying junk food all the time, frozen tv dinners, and fast foods for meals when they are young children. The house must be filled with good natural foods always. As a child is out of the parents grasps, school or with friends, there is nothing that can be done. You cannot punish a child for eating the wrong foods. But, I believe that they will not go over board, if they were inforced early of proper eating habits and healthy foods.

what to eqat is a constant discussion in my house. My son hates green vegertables and pulses. He is seven now and in two months will be eight year old. What I have done is I have made him make a food menu. each day we prepare food of his choice in lunch but dinner is our call and whatever is prepared has to be eaten by everyone. Even fast food we make at home and I hide pulses in mashed potatoes used for cutlets add lots of fresh cut vegetables to pizzas and bergers. tillnow this way is working but as he grows up who knows

I have 2 friends, one of them is a vegetarian and the other is a vegan, however they have a baby together adn they feed her meat. They want her to take the desicion herself when she is ready for it. I also have a friend who were brought up like a vegetarian and she has never even tasted meat. I asked her about this and she said that going to parties when she was young was hard cozx it was not very usual for a person to be vegatarian then and many times she brought her own food with her... I think that noone should be forced upon, i think that it is up to each and everyone to decide for themselves

My grandson and I had a discussion regarding what foods are good for you and what are not. He spent the weekend at his cousins house and when I questioned him on what he had for breakfast he told me he had Doritos because he couldn't find anything else. The kids at this house are pretty much left to their own when it comes to breakfast. We talked about what we would eat at our house and what was good for him to eat. He does have a good sense of what is better for him, but when left to make that decision on his own, he fails at making the right choices.

Well, my daughter is currently only 13 months old but I don't plan to give her any refined sugar (candies, cookies, any sweets) until she is at least 3. We also don't eat diary (she is allergic) and we don't eat much meat- so she is on a nearly vegan diet as well. If she chooses to eat meat or sugar later she of course will not be punished, but I won't have those things in my house except on VERY special occasions so she'll have to eat them outside of our home. I also don't believe she'll have such a strong desire for such foods since she won't have grown up eating them since pretty much birth. I expect that she will still love to eat sugary junk food, but I doubt she will over indulge in it because she won't be used to the taste since we will only have it at home on very special occasions such as her birthday.

We as a family are eating more healthy. We make the right choices for breakfast and dinner- as well as healthy snacks. My daughter packs her lunch at least twice a week- very healthy- always a small snack though- I'm not cutting junk food completley out. I think that will teach her wrong and when she is around the junk food she will eat alot (If we cut it out completely). I feel that it is ok if she eats junky once in a while (at a friends house, party, etc). I think we can teach our children to be healthy eaters just like we teach our children everything else-- My daughter is 10-- we make our food choices together..

I think that if my child knew it was naughty to eat sugary foods but still did it and couldn't give me a good reason then I would punish them. If they had a good arugement for why they had decided to eat meat, I would be very unhappy that they made that decision but oculdn't punish them for it.

I think more than the Children, its the whole Junk food business that has to be blamed. Diseases like Obesity, Cancer are all have been found to be related to Junk food and Cold drinks. The corporates are here to make money. The government is here to get revenue. We the people are stuck in between. So its our responsibility to teach our children what is good and what is bad. The thumb rule is that anything in excess is bad.

The parents should provid ea good benefitial strengthful food to the students. Then only they can live a healthy life in the future. So I think we have to maintain children's diet properly.