Family Fast Food: What Do You Think?
By: Jen Mueller,
SparkPeople Blogger
6/21/2011 6:00 AM
: 67 comments
: 10,677 Views
For the most part, my husband appreciates my efforts to give my children a healthy, balanced diet. He thinks it's great that I cook a wide variety of foods for them and make sure that vegetables are a part of every meal. But we do differ in our thinking when it comes to fast food.
I know that most fast food restaurants have healthier options available and that it's okay to eat at these restaurants now and then if you are pressed for time- or even if you just want to. Personally, I'm not a fan of fast food, which is why I don't give it to my children. I respect that other parents choose differently, so I hope that others can respect my point of view in return.
My husband considers fast food to be a treat, and thinks every kid should get a Happy Meal now and then. I don't feel like my kids are missing out on anything by not eating this type of food, and don't really consider it to be a "treat". The only treat they might be missing out on is the free prize in the bottom of the bag, but I think they will be just fine without it. I know that someday they'll probably be stopping at drive-thrus with their friends like I did when I was young. But for the most part, they just won't be getting that kind of food from me. We have treats in our house, and I want my kids to enjoy the foods they eat. But I'd much rather see them get excited about the good food we find at this week's Farmer's Market, instead of jumping up and down every time we drive past the Golden Arches.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, found that children's time spent at fast food restaurants was actually impacted more by their fathers than mothers. So if a father ate a lot of fast food meals, their children likely did as well. This is surprising, given that so many children spend more time with their mothers.
This was part of a 15-month study which looked at parents' use of time and how that impacted meal choices. In general, the less time parents had, the more likely the family was to eat fast food, which can also have an impact on obesity levels and overall health. It reinforces the idea that no matter how much time you have available, it's important to offer healthy foods and set a good example for the rest of the family.
Interested in more resources for healthy family eating? Check out The 10 Commandments of Healthy Eating for Parents, and A Parent's Guide to Nutrition for Kids.
What do you think?
I know that most fast food restaurants have healthier options available and that it's okay to eat at these restaurants now and then if you are pressed for time- or even if you just want to. Personally, I'm not a fan of fast food, which is why I don't give it to my children. I respect that other parents choose differently, so I hope that others can respect my point of view in return.
My husband considers fast food to be a treat, and thinks every kid should get a Happy Meal now and then. I don't feel like my kids are missing out on anything by not eating this type of food, and don't really consider it to be a "treat". The only treat they might be missing out on is the free prize in the bottom of the bag, but I think they will be just fine without it. I know that someday they'll probably be stopping at drive-thrus with their friends like I did when I was young. But for the most part, they just won't be getting that kind of food from me. We have treats in our house, and I want my kids to enjoy the foods they eat. But I'd much rather see them get excited about the good food we find at this week's Farmer's Market, instead of jumping up and down every time we drive past the Golden Arches.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, found that children's time spent at fast food restaurants was actually impacted more by their fathers than mothers. So if a father ate a lot of fast food meals, their children likely did as well. This is surprising, given that so many children spend more time with their mothers.
This was part of a 15-month study which looked at parents' use of time and how that impacted meal choices. In general, the less time parents had, the more likely the family was to eat fast food, which can also have an impact on obesity levels and overall health. It reinforces the idea that no matter how much time you have available, it's important to offer healthy foods and set a good example for the rest of the family.
Interested in more resources for healthy family eating? Check out The 10 Commandments of Healthy Eating for Parents, and A Parent's Guide to Nutrition for Kids.
What do you think?
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Comments
What did I do as soon as I moved out and went to college? I gorged on fast food. I ended up with a hefty fast food addiction and an extra 30 pounds.
I'm a big believer in "everything in moderation". - 7/5/2011 5:31:25 PM
If the kids eat healthy food with you most of the time, a couple Happy Meals with dad once in a while isn't going to derail your good nutrition efforts.
- 6/24/2011 10:03:53 AM
if we went into McDonalds and ordered a basic meal like that we wouldn't all be big as houses. it's the super sizes and the mega sandwiches that've changed the way we think of a meal. in the fifties or sixties almost no one ate the way we do now. - 6/23/2011 9:49:31 PM
The way the industry treats animals is also unacceptable to me. - 6/22/2011 5:26:21 PM
Believing that Dad will go home for a balanced, nutritious lunch in between sons baseball game and daughters softball game is like believing the sun and moon will rise in the west.
Most dads cook only when forced, and the choice between fast food and cooking it themselves is not consistent with 'man thinking'.
Besides, most guys think a Triple Bacon Cheese Terminator and a coke ARE balanced nutrition (Burger and bacon = protein; lettuce, tomatoes and onion = vegetables; cheese = dairy and bun equals carbs & grain. Extra ketchup even adds a fruit - tomatoes are weird. A 16 ounce beverage is two servings of water, especially if it's diet).
The result of an hour or two of high intensity exercise and a little fast food (1/3 is obviously less than 2/3), results in a high metabolism and the burning of very high numbers of calories and slender kids. That amount of exercise is supplemented by a moderate intensity exercise while practicing with Dad or Mom at home.
I had trouble getting the girls I coached to eat enough to continue to gain weight as they got older and taller.
At 5'3" and 105 pounds of muscle, all of the girls were slender and attractive young ladies. The occasional girl who started the season "overweight" ended by being more proud of themselves than they ever thought possible. - 6/22/2011 2:15:09 PM
Making it a forbidden pleasure doesn't seem to deter overindulgence.
Allowing it to be a special reward doesn't seem to deter overindulgence.
Exposure in small quantities with adequatre information and without a big to-do does seem to lead away from overindulgence.
My bottom line: there is a certain amount of common sense involved in this parenting business. If you want something like alchohol or food a big thing in a childs life, then make a big fuss about it. Otherwise, they'll pass it by as often as not. - 6/21/2011 6:09:16 PM
- 6/21/2011 3:34:21 PM
I do on the whole try not to tell my kids that ANY food is off-limits. I buy Oreo cookies or ding dongs from time to time, but I stress that 2 cookies are a serving, and OK for your body after a day of healthy eating. I've known too many people (myself included) who grew up being told certain foods were "bad" or taboo, only to gorge on them every chance they got. Moderation is key. - 6/21/2011 1:44:14 PM
I do think that if it had been a moderate part of my diet - even as "treat" status, I would not have craved it so much when I finally had unlimited access. Having it now and then would have made it "normal" without being something indulgent and out of reach. - 6/21/2011 9:48:53 AM
Also Diabetes Type 1 or any of the other types one does not get it from not eating right. Nothing you did or did not do causes it. - 6/21/2011 9:31:53 AM
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