Why do people feed children meals that are known to be bad for them?

21 comments

1. Cos kids like them.

2. How do you get your kids to always eat healthy food?

3. It’s not the ‘go to’ for most. There’s nothing wrong with chicken nuggets and chips as part of a varied diet.

4. 1. Because they eat them
   2. Because they are usually relatively cheap – certainly for food the child is likely to eat
   3. Because they are easy to prepare

   Also, no meal is “bad” in and of itself. Chicken nuggets, chips and beans have protein, carbs, vitamins: and it’s even better if you can sub-out the beans for peas or sweetcorn. It’s only bad if it’s the only sort of food you eat, or if it’s eaten in huge portions.

5. I would like to know OP if you have children yourself when you’re asking this question.

   If you don’t have children, then, you just don’t understand.

   If you do have children, then pray tell how one can have the time and energy to constantly cook freshly made super healthy meals AND get them to eat it so it’s not all wasted effort.

6. Chicken nuggets and chips can absolutely be included in a balanced diet.

   You might need to rephrase your question to:

   Why do some parents only feed their kids “unhealthy” food? And the answer is either:

   Because that’s all they’ll eat and it’s not worth the fight or because that’s what the parents eat and they’re “fine”.

   Personally I worry about my kids diet. We try our best and give them veg daily, they just don’t eat it most of the time. Fruit on the other hand, they can’t get enough of that.

7. Because i am scrolling through my social media and writing posts on reddit after work and i don’t have time to prepare meal cooked from fresh produce, also they are way too expensive and i need my Netflix subscription.

8. Well, why do people feed themselves meals that are known to be bad for them? It’s a bit of a treat sometimes, change things up a bit. Especially at parties when you’re catering for dozens with unknown tastes and don’t want difficulties.

9. I ate chicken nuggets and chips as a kid a few times and can confirm I am now actually dead. OP is right

10. My daughter loves them, however, she knows it’s not regularly on the menu (tbh, I use the air fryer and it’s a faff and a half). Her go to is currently stir fry, stir fry veggies (if I don’t chop them myself she likes the pack with a ton of cabbage in), bean sprouts, egg noodles and prawns. Sauce is whatever, from soy to oyster or katsu curry. Current favourite (not every time) is teriyaki though! Pretty sure if there were nuggets on offer she’d probably have them all the time though, she doesn’t like chips much though (or potato product in general).

11. Because they’re too lazy to cook proper meals and chicken shops are everywhere. Once the kids get a taste for that yummy fried salt & fat there’s no going back.

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13. Low income families (as Mine was) often can only afford the basic stuff like this. It is not the fault of these people that all they can afford is the cheap stuff, which does happen to be more unhealthy quite often.

    If I ever have kids though, I’ll teach them what I know now… cook your meals fresh and from scratch if possible and try to avoid frozen/microwave meals

14. Chicken nuggets aren’t bad for you. Fat isn’t bad for you Potato isn’t bad for you. Over eating is bad for you. Kids meals are often portioned with caloric counts easily obtainable.

    Saturated fats are bad for you, Yes.

    But Mcdonalds uses monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, that are actually good for you. They change oil and have strict rules about doing so. Most people don’t eat enough of these types of fat. Unsaturated fats help to lower cholesterol and also provide you with the essential fatty acids that your body needs.

    A kids body gets Essential fatty acids, Protein, Fibre and Vitamins if you get a juice with your Mcdonalds and monitor caloric intake and don’t feed the kids tons of this stuff, They’ll actually be eating semi healthy diets.

15. Because they are not unhealthy when given as part of a balanced diet. My mum was frankly a bit mental when it came to processed food so I didn’t have Mcdonalds until the age of 15 when I was able to buy it myself. I then worked near a Maccies at my first job and ate it everyday for 2 years.

    Obviously those are both extremes so I try to take a more balanced view with my own children. Mine will have the occasional Mcdonalds but will also eat things not necessarily associated with a children’s diet like spinach, Stilton and watercress soup, Liver ice cream with a sweetcorn soup and Gambas Pil Pil.

    The only thing they won’t try is escargot and I won’t eat that either. Basically a “unhealthy” treat occasionally isn’t unhealthy. It’s only considered a bad diet if their diet as a whole is either deficient in macros or has too high a percentage of things like fat, salt or suger.

16. Because it’s delicious.

17. I agree with others who say that chicken nuggets and chips are not that bad from a nutritional point of view, particularly if you are cooking the oven baked version at home, rather than buying them from a takeaway.

    They are also very convenient and easy to cook. I like to use chicken nuggets for days when I make something too spicy that my son won’t like, and then we all have the same side veggies and carb.

    In terms of unhealthy meals generally, the situation is complicated. A lot of people are poorly educated about nutrition still. They were badly fed as children themselves, and their idea of what a well balanced meal is, is completely wrong.

    Or, they haven’t been taught how to run a pantry and kitchen, so they find frozen food more convenient, or rely on takeaways.

18. It is a shame as it doesn’t exactly open up a child’s palate but they are quick, easy and they eat them. It obviously shouldn’t be every day but they aren’t *that* bad. If they are reasonable quality and baked then there isn’t much difference to supposedly healthy meals if you were to check the calories, also top up with decent veg.

19. Getting them to have a healthy relationship with food is the ideal goal.

    That means they will try and eat a variety of foods, but also not be terrified of a chicken nugget.

    Depending on the child, that’s not always easy….

20. Okay OP.

    Next question. Looking at your profile… why do you drink alcohol? Surely you know water is a better choice?

    Why would you choose to drink something that has adverse affects on your body?

21. It isn’t the go-to unless you can’t cook. But occasionally eating processed crap like that won’t hurt them.