Over the years, I've been getting "well-meaning" advises whenever the topic touches on junk food. I don't give Tara junk food. For the first 3 years of her life, she only gets an average of 2 sweets, one pototo crisp and maybe a few sticks of chocolate sticks a year. Ice cream is only max. 3 spoons in her 2nd year and processed food like sausages, french fries and ham are absolutely no-no to me.
I have people questioning my reasons for controlling her intake of these food. I told them it's not healthy and doesn't contribute to Tara's growth, so why would I want to feed stuff with nothing but tons of colouring, salt and sugar? I told them when she grows up, she will get her hands on these on her own so I just want to keep the first few years of her life healthy. Instead of all these junk, I gave her healthier versions of biscuits and fruits whenever she felt peckish.
I won't say Tara won't ask for these junk completely. But she knows that she can't take a lot of those so she's contented whenever I gave her only one or two pieces to nibble on. Sometimes she can even tell me she don't want these junk cos it's not healthy. And I'm glad that I don't have to handle her demands for junk food when we go out.
Okay, I'm a junkie too and I do love junk food. So it's very contradicting for me to be such a control freak over Tara. But if I can keep her first few years healthy, why not? I know the day I give her pocket money, is the day the world of junk food will open up to her. But since now I can still control what she eat, I will of course do so. And it's true that these junk food are nothing but health hazards, so why would I want to feed them to my precious baby?
What irked me most is the constant debates that I have to go through whenever topic on this comes up. I don't know why I have to justify and defend my actions time and time again. I don't understand why it seems like a must that kids take such stuff. I don't even know why people tell me it's a kid's privilege. I think they didn't read the nutrition table on the side of the package, neither did they know about the studies done on the effect of children taking junk food.
And one important fact that these people do not notice is, it's MY kid they are talking about. So it's MY decisions on what she puts in her mouth for now.
I asked a colleague last night why I should give Tara junk food. She told me it will make her happy. I guess she said that because she has never seen Tara enjoying her bowl of fresh fruits. She don't look unhappy to me. And she finishes her bowl of fruits with relish. A healthy bowl of fruits as compared to a lollipop. You tell me. Which is better?
Okay, before anyone thinks that my kid hasn't tasted any of those junk before. She has okay? She knows the taste of the Calbee Barbecue Potato Chips, the Cornetto ice-cream cones and whatoever that other parents are feeding their children. But there's still a limit to everything and I will never overload her with these unhealthy stuff. I will still choose a plate of spaghetti to a hamburger, a piece of butter cookie over a pototo chip or a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice over a can of coke. To me, there's a healthier choice to every food and for the best interest of my baby, I will still make the better choice. Unless circumstances arises okay?
I will try my best not to give my two cents worth when someone else feed their own kid junk, so please, stop telling me why I should give mine junk.
Unless someone can tell me the healthy benefits of these junk food, then I might change my mind. So, the next time, before you offer any chocolate sticks or sweets to my kid, please consider the feelings of a well-meaning parent (me lar!) okay? And try not to fault me for keeping my kid healthy.
Whoa, been meaning to blog on this topic for ages! Glad it's out of my system now.
