Confessions

After reading this post on our local news website, I feel like I must hide in a darkened room as I say this: I feed my child chicken nuggets. My kids get cookies or pudding for dessert 2-3 times a week. I have been known to mix a boxed mac and cheese for lunch. I think that popsicles are a great afternoon snack these days.

Why oh why do other moms do this? The truth is that I suppose that if this other mother (whom I have never met) and I were in the same room together, we would get along on a lot of issues. We would probably agree that junk food could be limited in our society today (DUH!). But lets not throw the baby out with the bath water shall we!

Do we need this junk food to live. No, of course not! But it's a nicety. A "some of the time " food that is just a special something. It is sometimes the little things in life, and why should we give those up just because there is the potential for abuse.

My kids are far from overweight. In fact, we have more of a low BMI problem than a high one. I attribute it to two things: high levels of physical activity and genes. It probably doesn't hurt that they do eat fruits and veggies as well. But they are not limited to only these things for snacks. For starters, I am already spending $35 a week on fresh produce, and it is gone 2 days before the week is out. Besides, I grew up on the occasional soda. It was a treat when my mom slipped a fruit roll up in my lunch box. And, as a child, I did cheer upon seeing our van arrive under those golden arches!

We survived. I believe my kids will survive. Far from being child abuse, we believe we are doing our children a favor. We our teaching them an important life skill: "In all things, moderation".