I want my kids to have the best chance in life by giving them the healthiest diet I can provide. Furthermore whatever this diet it is I also want them to like it. I know that kids need to eat the right stuff to grow up slender, smart and emotionally well off. However sometimes children have other ideas. Sometimes they want to eat food that is unhealthy for them because:
-They have seen an advertisement on television for a food they find absolutely irresistible.
-Their peers at school put pressure on them to eat in the cafeteria or pay for lunch because it is more “adult-like”
– it’s just not cool to carry a brown bagged lunch.-Some foods are considered uncool (especially cut up vegetables) because the kids seem them as symbols that you are poor.
-They are already so addicted to sugar and carbohydrates they simply have no taste for healthy things. Some of these bad eating habits are in your control and others aren’t. It is hard to hand your child a salmon and lettuce sandwich when their head is filled with visions of sizzling Big Macs slathered with white sauce or exploding microwave Pizza Pops. This kind of eating you can discourage even if your child is protesting the whole time. Here are some examples of situations where you may not be able to control what your child or adolescent is eating.
-You are at a restaurant and healthy foods are just not available on a menu.-Your kid is subject to a lot of peer pressure from friends (this is especially true of adolescents in high school who will choose that fat laden chocolate milk shake or glass of Coca Cola with 14 tablespoons of sugar in it rather than an orange at lunch
-Your child is having dinner or lunch at the neighbours and you have no idea what’s being served, how it is made or how healthy it is.
I am not suggesting that you be a control freak and try and correct the above situations. I am merely pointing out what you can’t change.
However you do have more control over your kids eating habits at home. Keep in mind that people don’t like change and the more that you try to make these healthy foods a regular item on your menu the more likely you are to be called a control freak by your kids or husband. I bring up the matter of being a control freak because your neighbours, mother or husband may accuse you of it as you subtly try to sneak in more fruits, vegetables, grains and healthy grilled foods into their diet and somehow make it seem like a bad thing. This is because women, in particular tend to be very neurotic..
Even I sometimes wonder whether all of this neurotic obsessing with food is simply an extension of women obsessing over their own dietary intake. Sometimes women control their kids when they can’t control themselves. God knows I don’t want to be one of those but I do want them to eat in a healthy way.
Just like there are “blonde moments” and “senior moments” I suffer from “mom moments.” A mom moment can be defined as kind of a moment of mental fatigue caused by too much stress caused by caring for children that in turn can cause you to do something really stupid. Here is a run-down of my stupidest mom moments that I have experienced in the last few weeks since I have had my fourth child. Mom Moment #1 – I went to the store and bought groceries. I brought the groceries out in the shopping cart and parked the shopping cart in the adjacent parking lot. As I was buckling the kids in another car pulled up and wanted to use the parking place. I was kind and moved my shopping cart out of the way. Then I got in the car and drove away leaving about $150 worth of groceries free for the taking in the parking lot. Luckily one of the store managers was around so by the time I remembered I was able to recover all of my groceries. Mom Moment #2 – I am a bit long sighted so to read medicine bottles I take my glasses off and shove them up on my head to read the fine print. The other day after feeding my twins their daily dose of vitamins I spent hours looking for my classes, swearing and accusing every one in the family (including the dog and cat) of hiding them until I realized they were on top of my head. Mom Moment #3 – While trying to dress my daughter up in her outfit for pre-school the twins starting acting up. After I took care of them I quickly put on her coat and shoes, because we were in a big hurry. Once we got to school I realized she was the only girl there wearing only a tee-shirt and tights and no skirt. Mom Moment #4 – After a long evening of attending to colicky babies and a little girl having nightmares I discovered I had put my blow-dryer away in the kitchen drawer and my hand blender away in the bathroom vanity drawers. Mom Moment #5 – One day I was so sleep deprived that I forgot the names of my sister’s kids and kept calling them the name of my own kids instead. This of course made me look incredibly thoughtless. Mom Moment #6 — The phone rang the other day and instead of saying “Hello, how are you?” I said “How are woo?” After so many days of talking only to people less than six years old, I forgot how to speak English. Mom Moment #7 – When my husband tapped me on the shoulder the other night inquiring gently if there was any sexual activity to be had I got mixed up and called him the name of my pediatrician. Thank goodness he is not the suspicious type. One day I will get more than three hours of sleep in a row and all this nonsense will stop.
I was reading up on astrology the other day and I thought it might be cute to try and apply a few of the character traits that are assigned to the zodiac signs to babies. If you have –
n Aries Baby – This baby is full of hot air. It farts and burps a lot and can be very bossy when it comes to getting what it wants when it wants. Don’t expect this infant to stay in a car seat.
A Taurus Baby – This is the kind of baby that compresses its lips and turns its head away when you try to feed it. This stubborn child will also suddenly head butt you for no reason.
A Gemini Baby – This baby has a split personality – sweet as pie one minute and a screaming demon from hell the next. This information sponge will pick up on every word you say, including the dirty words.
A Cancer Baby – This type of baby is ruled by the water element so it cries and cries and pees and pees. It is the happiest when it is nursing, which is usually until it is three years old.
A Leo Baby – This baby must be the center of attention or it screams repeatedly. He or she is quieted through lots of affection petting but the minute you stop, you will hear about it.
A Virgo Baby – This is one of those very quiet and soulful babies that will not tolerated much noise, talking or the presence of other children. He or she can also be a very picky eater.
A Libra Baby – This baby just can’t decide what it wants. Also it delights in watching you run around picking up the toys it throws at you. This child is also afraid of the dark.
A Scorpio Baby – A Scorpio baby will not let you out of its sight for one second. It is the most jealous kind of baby that you can have and if you pay attention to your husband, child or a pet it will scream and scream.
A Sagittarius Baby – A Sagittarius baby is an escape artist so expect to see an empty crib or playpen in the middle of the night. These babies crawl fast and a hard to catch.
A Capricorn Baby – This type of baby likes to hoard things so don’t be surprised if you find a stash of cookies under the couch. This child loves all food, including dog food.
An Aquarius Baby – This type of child can be very creative especially when it comes to playing the contents of his or her diaper or getting into things that it is not supposed to.
A Pisces Baby – This soulful child will pull your hair so that it can pull your face closer so it can gaze deeper into your eyes. This sweet little thing is a control freak that loves to splash you in the bath.
We have all been horrified by the latest toxic pet food scare and just even thinking about it has got me thinking about baby food recalls. Just for your interest I decided to compile a list of the most recent baby food recalls just in case you happen to have a jar of the offending baby food sitting on your shelf.
February 16th 1997 – This recall was for Earth’s Best Organic 2 Apple Peach Barley Wholesome Breakfast Baby Food. This batch of baby food was infected with Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism, a life-threatening illness. The affected baby food was sold in single jars and 4-jar variety packs. It is part of the Earth’s Best 2nd Vegetables, Fruits and Blends line, which is made for babies over 6 months old. If you think you might have a jar of this contact Hain Celestial Group at 800-434-4246 for more information.
September 16th 2006 – This recall was for Similac Advance and Similac Alimentum Advance Baby Formula. This was a huge recall where about 3,00,000 bottles of Similac Alimentum and Similac Advance baby formula were recalled because the bottles were manufactured without a special plastic layering that keeps oxygen out of it. The problem with this is that when oxygen contacts this type of formula it reduces the Vitamin C in it. Vitamin C deficiency occurs rapidly in babies.
Once again if you have kept this on the shelf you might want to look at the lot numbers. The two brands affected are Similac Advance with Iron - stock code 55961, lot numbers 40177RH or 40172RH. The use-by se-by date is Nov. 1, 2007.
Similac Alimentum Advance - stock code 57512, lot number 401895V. The use-by date is May 1, 2007.March 16th, 2006. This recall was indirectly related to babies, toddlers and children. This was a recall of Walgreens Iron Supplements because thousands of bottles were issued without childproof packaging. Unfortunately these iron supplements look at taste like candy and an overdose could cause liver damage, coma and death in children. If you have a bottle of this still and have questions you can call Inverness who makes the product at 888-698-5032.
Feb 15th 2005. This recall was also for Similac Baby formula, specifically Similac Advance with Iron. This time the problem was that the 12.0 oz. cans were not made correctly and a manufacturing malfunction created a product where there was plastic debris at the bottom of the can. This of course was a serious choking hazard.
In the next blog I will try and keep you informed about the latest baby products recalls so that we can keep our dear ones safe and sound. Remember too that if you ever suspect that anything is wrong with a food product meant for children contact the manufacturer and the FDA immediately! These things are almost always caught by the public and not the maker of the product or any kind of quality control practitioners. When it comes to quality control – you are it!
