Homesick Home, saying she missed Tokyo, recently posted about an article in the NY Times, "Memo to Nannies: No Juice Boxes." Apparently, in the world of being able to afford nannies, food has become a hot-button issue. The article cites mothers who require the nanny to cook from-scratch meals, fill out eating logs (?!), use only organic products, etc. Horror of horrors! one mother found that the nanny was sneaking candies to the children on their trips to the store.
I am afraid I would stink as a nanny.
I confess: I, personally, am quite willing to allow the dotter to have a treat now and then.
I hear the gasps from the assembled audience. "Boo!" "Hiss!" "BAD mommy!"
I have fed my child hotdogs. Breakfast is often solved by breaking open a package of ramen noodles. Chocolate-chip cookies are allowed in small doses, especially when home-made. I am even striving to nurture a liking for dark chocolate candies...when I get a box of truffles from Mr. OmegaMom, I have been known to share them with the Dotter. We even--shoot us now!--get fast food and pizza on a semi-regular basis.
OmegaDad would fail miserably as a nanny, and be chased by an angry mob of yuppie moms throwing stones at him, if he weren't just tarred, feathered, and placed in the village square as an object lesson to others.
I will confess it would be much easier for me to deal with a nanny (hired help) who didn't follow my nutrition desires than it is to deal with OmegaDad.
Where I am not uptight about junk food, OmegaDad is in love with it. He never met a junk food he didn't like. So, rather than laying down the law with the nanny, I have to constantly badger and "remind" OmegaDad that Bug Juice and Pringles purchased at the convenience store on the way home from school is a Bad Idea.
But the obsessiveness portrayed in the article is beyond me. What you make forbidden, in my experience, becomes oh-so-desirable. Raise a child on only organic whole-wheat, and when that child becomes a college student, watch out! It will be Hostess Ho-Hos for dinner every night!
In general, our approach is to provide fruits and veggies on a regular basis, curtail the eating of junk an hour to an hour-and-a-half prior to dinner time, and have a balanced dinner every night. This leads to whining, but, hey, that's life, kiddo.
Sticker score card: No star yesterday. Not bloody likely. A star this morning. Woohoo!
4 Comments:
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At 10/01/2006 11:28:00 AM,
Granny J said… -
At 10/01/2006 09:29:00 PM,
said…Oh I almost spit out my drink on the keyboard reading the line about the nanny sneaking the candies. Dd is a total candyholic-she is like a junkie when it comes to candy. She has been counting the days to Halloween for the past 5 months. And we blame her beloved foster mama for getting her hooked.
When I was trying to pry her loose from her foster mother-foster mother reached into a bag and pulled out a piece of hard candy and stuck it in dd's mouth to console her. Ack! It wasn't even a lollipop on a safety stick-it was a loose piece of hard candy in the mouth of a crying 12 month old. Can you say "choking hazard"?!
We know her foster mother loved her dearly but we laugh about the sweet tooth. CCAA matched us well though because I have a major sweet tooth too. So some nights after she goes to bed I head up to the CVS 2 blocks away to get my fix of Twizzlers or gummy bears and then have to hide the wrappers deep in the trash so she doesn't notice them in the AM-because she WILL notice!
I do find if it's not in the house she's pretty good about not bugging us for it. But just the other day she asked why we never get fruit snacks anymore.
Tonight dh grilled filet mignon and all she wanted was a few steak fries. She refused the 4 green beans (one for each year) I put on her plate but then made an artistic presentation lining them up around the edge of her plate.
We were impressed. -
At 10/02/2006 12:57:00 PM,
Jennifer said…Having been raised in a household with many food issues, from my father's restriction on many foods to my mother's giving us food for comfort, it's no wonder I have a weight problem. I refuse to do the same to my daughter, and sometimes I catch myself acting like my dad did, and I have to stop myself.
it's just destructive and can lead to problems in the longrun for a child. no food is "off limits" in our household. Everything in moderation. -
At 10/03/2006 10:00:00 PM,
Miss Cellania said…
A million years ago, when I was in grade school Mom always put lettuce in my sandwiches, plus carrot sticks and/or celery sticks. I always pulled out the lettuce & threw out the veggie sticks. This same Mom is now nearly 103, loves KFC chicken, never met a fruit she wouldn't eat in preference to veggies (raw being OK).
My approach is to keep most junk food out of the pantry, thus eliminating the temptation except for "cardboard cookies". These are the cheapest sandwich cookies you can find at the market & 1) satisfy a quick junk food desire but 2) do not encourage binge eating!