I'm sure there have been threads about this before. Sorry.

It's so sad when parents are too lazy to make dinner for their kids. Or breakfast, apparently. I have 2 sisters who, every evening, their mom says at pickup, "Do you want Panda Express or KFC?" (insert any other two fast food places as well)

Every once in awhile they will come in the morning with a sausage mcmuffin!! This week it was TWO DAYS IN A ROW!!! (This isn't a gripe about arriving with food, as they are on the last bite, and I don't have policies against it.) But I just find it so sad. Fortunately the parents and grandparents are all thin and seemingly healthy, so maybe they won't pass on a weight problem, but it's still not good in terms of sodium and fat, etc. Not to mention the lack of proper balanced nutrition they are NOT getting from fast food. Jeez, people, make a quick sandwich at home if you can't cook. Something! Just don't rely on fast food to feed your children!

Also, making stuff at home is cheaper anyway. I just don't get it.

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My DS worked at Burger King most of his high school years. I could NEVER EVER get the smell and "sticky grime" out/off his clothing no matter what I used to wash them with. Imagine what that stuff does to your body? (*insert vomit emoticon here*)

My DH was diagnosed with Type I diabetes about 5 years ago. We made the conscious decision to stop eating any and all fast food (anywhere with a drive through) and I think one time, we were in a hurry and went against our better judgement and went through a drive through. We were both sick for two days afterwards and I don't care what anyone says, but we are convinced it ws our bodies reacting to the toxic crap we had put in it after not having it for so long.

Fast food is the worst thing that has happened to this country since welfare.

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I believe it was the high fat content. The food was too rich, and your body wasn't used to it. It has happened to me as well. (I'm type 2) Causes the trots real bad if I eat a fatty meal.

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I suppose you are right because we basically eat a really low fat, complex carb, low sugar diet now and I have noticed lots of changes, mentally and physically since we stopped eating McD's and Bk and other fast foods.

My DH will get bad "bathroom" issues any time he eats anything that isn't in our usual diet....

I always tell everyone that DH getting diabetes was/is a blessing in disguise since we changed a lot of things because of it.

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Everyday, my sweet little dcb comes in and tells me what he had for breakfast that day.

It is usually doughnuts from Krispy Kreme and chocolate milk.

And they wonder why he is 4 wearing size 24 month clothes.

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Or 24 months wearing size 4!!! LOL

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I have a DCG that is little for her age (20 mos) . She was 5 weeks early and has always been in the 10-15% for her age. Mom is still in the mode of letting her consume anything she wants to have her put on weight, even though doctor has said she is fine and needs to have a balanced diet. Mom always brings her to care and she has eaten donut holes and hashbrowns from the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru in the car. Just an added note mom and dad are about 300lbs. They eat out about 3-6 nights a week and when they do eat at home, she makes the daughter her own meals that she knows she will eat. She doesnt eat alot here and mom always says she eats a TON at home.

Its really sad, because mom is not maliciously neglecting her. But in fact her health is being neglected.

We make sure parents are equiped with proper carseat knowledge before they leave the hospital, why are we not teaching parents proper eating habits?

It reminds me of how many parents over the years I have heard that they were totally offended by a doctor telling them their child was overweight. Why are we placing all the teaching and blame on the doctors to educate parents on the detriment they are placing on their kids. Dont ask me who should be responsible but I think we need to focus more on educating parents.

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I totally agree, it's really sad. . I had a 2 yo once who could rattle off a complete fast food order down to the " no onion" !

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So I reread my first message and I dont want people to get the idea that I am too self righteous I'd also like to point out that on occasion I do go to fast food restaurants but it is not a staple of our food intake.

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We had quisedillas one time with rice and beans. One of my dcks said "Oh, good we are having Taco Bell." I didn't know what to say because I had personally just finished making everything myself, but child only knew that kind of food came from Taco Bell.

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Ok, I have issues with fast food places. My city is actually in the top 25 fattest cities. Seriously, some people here are quite large. We don't use public transportation nor walk much because my city is sprawled out. Fast food places line every corner.

I'm fortunate that the families in my care do not seem to be fast food crazy. (My uncle does buy my cousin a donut or a chicken leg every day on the way to my house though. My cousin is picky, and she's not overweight and is very active.)

I have friends whose 4month old weighed more than my dd when she was 18months. I try to avoid fast food as much as possible. Dh and I hate McDonalds, and we've only taken dd there one time in her life and that was on vacation. Dh and I have learned that we're not young anymore, and fast food now hurts our stomachs and gives us heartburn. I try to make homemade meals as much as possible. My dd does love Wendys, and I think fast food is okay in moderation. When we do eat out, we mostly eat at Huhot (a Mongolian grill) or Subway.

Dh sent me a link about DisneyWorld last week. They had a healthy eating exhibit that came under criticism because the villains were portrayed as overweight people who ate junk food and watched too much tv. Epcot came under scrutiny for that and closed the exhibit for retooling.

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when I first came to america the thing that shock me the most was how many fast food restaurants there are and how many overweight people there are..

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That grease, oil, fat etc. does it! I notice it too when we stop back. Same with the clothing! Years ago my DH worked in a fast food place and I couldn't stand to be near him when he came home.

And I will NEVER understand why/how they can justify allowing some states to pay for fast food with food stamps! Total nonsense! Welfare is to give a leg up, fine don't bring them down with saturated fat. I also think junk food should not be permitted on food stamps. I know WAY too many toddler living on cheese puffs or cheese doodles what ever they are called.

OK vent over sorry.

To the OP I'm with you! It's called lazy (aka they are too tired) Too many parents have graced my door with a happy meal at pick up! Very sad. I understand busy schedules but give the kid apples or carrot sticks until you can whip something up.

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I worked at Walmart and then Dillons (Kroger) in college. It frustrated me to no end to see people buy junk food with food stamps. I was a customer service manager and got chewed out by a family bc they couldn't buy fried chicken from the deli.

Yeah, like I said in a previous post-- one of fattest cities. I was disgusted and wanted to leave a buffet restaurant about 8 months ago. Two very large people ate several plates of food and had brought their laptops with them for the free wifi. Before we got there, it appeared that they had already been there for awhile.

I don't always eat the healthiest, but I've come fairly far. My mom didn't cook, so we grew up on processed foods. I have learned to cook so that my dd doesn't do the same. Parents need to be educated. I don't know if it's how we were raised, but 4 of the 5 kids in my family have started to struggle with our weight as we've reached our 20s. My brother hit almost 300 lbs before he lost 100+ because he couldnt believe how large he was. He told me that it takes a lot of food to maintain 300 lbs. he would gorge on Burger King before eating with us as a family so that he didn't appear to need to eat as much.

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We had a dcg for four years who was premature and had a lot of health issues and allergies. She was always tiny - she wore baby clothes until her 3rd birthday. She only ate chicken nuggets, spaghettios, french fries, crackers, etc...and some fruits. Never any vegetables, no grains - only white starch, no water - only juice. Her mom said the doctor (and the dr. actually faxed us a vague note) said allow to eat whatever she wanted so she'd gain weight...but we since we only served what she liked occasionally, she didn't eat much. Her mom asked if she could just send chicken nuggets every day so she'd eat. Umm, no.

When I saw her in November, she'd gained so much weight, I actually felt bad. Had we starved her? But then I thought she probably eats crap day in and day out now that she's at home and her mom packs her lunches for school.

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Did you see that the USDA has bought tons of pink slime to put in school lunches. I am disgusted.

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sadly its here in ontario too. I have kids who know more about take out than my own children. I watched a show, I think on20/20 long time ago how processed food affected childrens cholesterol. Sure the child was skinny, but it was the insides that were rotting. Now, my own children are not skinny (except 2) but the other 2 are a bit bigger, not overwieght but bigger in size, but they are healthy. We eat out on sat. because of schedualing, and because we have 65 dollars a week to spend on fast food, well it doesn't go far with 4 kids. I cook every day, they eat whatever I cook and pack lunches everyday, so I know they get healthy not processed junk.

Lets look at what some of my dck's eat, one eats lunchables everyday for school lunch, barf, even my kids will tell you barf. He eats no fruit or veggies. Another, eats pogo dogs every single day before he comes here, barf again. I have children who have no idea what fruit is, and this is not joke, I can't tell you how many never eat apples and are amazed when I serve it with their lunch.

and I blame it on parents, not the dr's or the school, its the parents fault. I can cook dinner every day, and its ready for 5pm (most of my kids are gone and home by 5pm or they have another parent home already) so there isn't a reason for take out. I am running out the door some nights for activities and I still manage to cook a meal, none of my families have activities, and they have more time than I do and way less kids than I do. Its called lazy. More and more people are too lazy to do anything, its easier to drive thru a window and pick it up.

I can tell which kids will not do well in school because of this too. Its a proven fact, that children with poor diets don't do well in school, have a hard time functioning, paying attention, listen. I see it here too. The ones that come in the afternoon, are so wacked that its crazy, then you hear what they ate and then you know why.

sorry this is a sore subject with me, even thou we like to go out and eat (my kids hate micki d's but love subway) doesn't mean you have to abuse it. Whats scary is, go to the mall and see those kids when they are 16, with their bellies hanging over their pants, imagine what they look like at 24 or 32, they aint going to change.

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It's so sad that we have lost the part of our humanity where we have associated healthy food, exercise, and sleep to having healthy, well behaved, and fun to be around kids. I'm SO SO SO glad I've been able to keep a business going for years where I get parents and kids that intrinsically understand that you have to have these three core elements in child rearing to have great kids.

I don't have poor eaters. I don't have badly behaved kids. My kids sleep like rocks every day at nap. I can't imagine doing this job with kids that are filled with junk food, get junk sleep, and spend the majority of their waking hours with a screen in their face.

My kids are adorable and so sweet. They love their healthy home made food. They like a little treat now and then but they will tear into a plate of broccoli or asparagus just like they will eat a brownie. They KNOW what a TREAT is. They know that the food they eat makes them feel good. They know they need to rest. They know to be kind to their friends and mind their adults.

It's not THAT hard. It's not a huge feat to give kids a good healthy lifestyle. It's not as easy as plying them with junk, letting them have their way all the time, and being afraid of their unhappiness. It's more work but it's NOT that hard to do the right thing. Parents who don't care don't realize the damage they are doing. As easy as it is to get info on how to properly feed your kid you would think it would be something parents would spend some time figuring out. With next to zero generational teaching, it's up to the parents to learn the right way and learn to COOK.

I won't keep kids who live off of treats. I just couldn't manage them.

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So one day I made homemade french fries (steak fries); they were yummy!
One of my dck (who eats Mc D's at least once a week) looked at the fries, and told me that he didn't like them...

So I asked him is he eats fries at McD's, and he said yes. So I asked him why he didn't want to eat my french fries, and he replied saying that was because McD's has the "good ones"...

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I'm the OP and just had to update. Today is the older sister's birthday. Mom comes this morning to drop off younger sister - age 3 - and says something about how full her belly is because they just went out for breakfast for older sister's birthday. As she's leaving, she reminds 3 yr old that they are going to Red Robin (big burgers and bottomless steak fries) for dinner.

I honestly don't think they EVER eat at home. It's no exaggeration that 4 out of 5 evenings, she asks the girls where they want to go for dinner. I know it's unhealthy and all that, but my shock of the whole thing is more about how LAZY she must be!! And how much MONEY this family is wasting by not making their food at home.

Oh, and the school age girl buys lunch at school EVERY day without fail. She has NEVER taken a lunch. We all know that school lunches, unfortunately, are one of the biggest offenders in terms of nutrition. You would think, as a school, that they'd be conscious of it, but they just serve what is cheapest to buy.

I just shake my head. Not much I can do about it besides serve a good lunch to the 3 yr old, and good snacks to both the girls. Oy.

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No kidding!

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I think fast food should be a treat, a once in a while treat, NOT a staple in your household. Growing up my brother and I would have McD's every Friday night while we hung out with our dad. Every other meal was healthy and balanced, McD's was a special "hang out with Dad" thing. I should point out that it wasn't a divorce thing where our dad would only feed us junk, it was more of a special night where our stay at home mom got a night off while we went to dad's store and hung out with him.

Anyway! Now that I have my own kids, we do go to McD's, but maybe once a month or every two weeks. It's really not that often, so I don't see the harm in that. But I do get the problem of the OP...eating that stuff every day, ugh. It makes my stomach churn just thinking about it!

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Oh, don't get me wrong. I have taken my daycare kids to McDonald's. But only rarely. Like once a summer. We have gone in there to play and only got beverages.

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I know exactly what you meant! I was just sharing my experience and my own thoughts about it. I can't imagine taking my kids to a fast food restaurant every day! The food is horrible and we could never afford to eat out every day anyway!

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Yes, this exactly. It isn't even so much about the bad nutrition, as it is about the laziness and foolish spending.

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it annoys me when i see my sil give her girl a drink of dr. pepper, but when im desperate ive been known to give my own little ones a bit too so i cant say much

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