Junk Food

LaureenHouse's story

May 05, 2008

I try to learn different parenting skills from watching other parents and how their children react or behave. I found something that really worked. My Cousin didn't let her Children have junk food until they were 2. She believed that kids grow so much in the first couple of years, why introduce something that doesn't have nutritional value. Besides, who can't learn to love chocolate?!
So, when my husband and I had our son, now 8 1/2, we thought we would try the same thing. Our families thought we were awful, no candy, no ice cream, no chips?! There wasn't much support. In fact, the Grandmothers and one Aunt (who did daycare for us for a short period of time) were tough to deal with. But, we stood firm.
We took it one step further than my cousin, if our son couldn't eat it, then we wouldn't eat it in front of him. We benefited from the experience as well.
My son, now loves a variety of food. His older cousins, the ones that didn't believe in what we were doing, not so much.
My husband took my son to a work BBQ at 3, right before they were leaving, they brought out the desserts. One of his co-workers asked my son if he would like to take home some treats. He was given the snack bag and he filled it with celery, carrots and black olives.
He now enjoys foods that some adults wouldn't even consider; mussels, clam chowder, Ceasar salad, steak,pork, lamb,shrimp, lobster, salmon, white fish, chicken, feta cheese, blue cheese dressing, calamari (tentacles too), olives, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, summer squash, pumpkin, brussel sprouts, asparagus, LOVES broccoli, and more. When he went to Austria with a friend he tried the Venier Snitchel (spelling).
When people ask what he will eat if he is having a meal with them, I tell them anything. If he says he doesn't like it, tell him he does. He never has any problem eating.
Okay, there are some things he won't eat. Hot dogs,fren in the last 2 years just started liking chicken fingers. Go figure.