Telling your kids not to waste food makes them fat










13 thoughts on “Telling your kids not to waste food makes them fat

  1. I’m sooo with you on this. I’ve read that there are more overweight people in the world now than malnourished ones – and I can believe that. What do you gain by stuffing your face with food you don’t need? What does it help the hungry kiddies in Somalia if you’re dying from diabetes?

    As for not playing with food: what could be more fun than yummy, round baby peas?! My toddler loves those. She loves playing with her oats. She loves making trains from her cheese cubes.

    If we lived 200 years ago, I’d probably have said otherwise, but if you tell your kids not to play with food today, you’re in my (maybe not so) humble opinion, an idiot.

  2. I think it’s foolish to judge other parents for observing 10 seconds of that parent’s behavior. That kid could have a very nasty habit of asking for something then deciding they don’t want it.

    One could easily say about your behavior “look at that wasteful woman, throwing out perfectly good cotton candy, she could have saved it for later when the kid decided they wanted something else.”

    Must be nice living in that glass house of yours.

  3. I understand what you’re saying, but this is hard for families on a tight budget. As a single mom, I can only afford to spend so much per week on groceries–I can’t keep a limitless supply of “extras” in the house, and I also can’t afford to prepare my kids a nice, nutritious meal, then have them toss it in the compost bin so they can eat a bowl of Lucky Charms 🙁 I would never, ever berate them, but I also can’t have them throwing out perfectly good food. Perhaps there is a middle ground somewhere?

    • Hi Aggie,

      There are many great suggestions about budget in the book I read Preventing Childhood Eating Disorders. I do let my kids eat cereal for dinner if they don’t like what I made. Usually they opt for the Special K with strawberries. I recycle lots of food into leftovers. I personally love left overs, one pizza can last 3 days in my house. But read the book, lots of ideas for how to adapt to your life style and for kids with allergies, I have a daughter allergic to eggs.


  4. I don’t throw out my candy floss. I usually keep it for days lol. Seriously its like McDonalds chips. Have you ever left McDonalds chips on a table for a few months? The stuff never goes off! (It’s like supernatural food! Immortal chips! Which leads me to question of what is in it and should I eat it?)
    Anyway, I agree. I can see how shaming a child into not wasting their food can make them fat. I mean eating way too much food tends to lead to gaining a bit of weight. Is this seriously news to some parents? I hope not! I hate wasting food to, that’s why I have embraced the leftovers system! I keep buying food that serves 4 people. But seriously? Just for myself and my cat? We don’t need that much! That’s why God invented refrigerators!
    The leftovers system is great! And if that doesn’t work, buy a pig 🙂

  5. I struggle a bit with this, when my child asks for something, i prepare it and then she changes her mind! It feels like I wasted my time and energy, not just the food. I know they’re too young at 5 to think through what it means when they change their mind but it’s infuriating!

    Conversely, I am always happy when they want to throw out treat leftovers.

    • Hi Tamara,

      Yes, totally get this. You are not a short order cook. I make one thing for my kids, if they don’t like it they can go to their foodshelves and get something they want (cereal, gogurt, bagel etc)


  6. I both agree and disagree. Throwing out a huge bag of cotton candy at DisneyLand, not a waste. Choosing to serve yourself a huge dishful of food that could not possibly fit into your tummy is a waste. (I’m thinking of an at home stituation, although I think it holds for buffet restaurant situations as well.) It is a waste of all the energy that went into producing the food, bringing it to market, earning the money to buy the food and bring it home, and the effort to put it on the table. Should a person be shamed into eating it? Absolutely not. But there is a lesson to be learned about waste there. Only put on your plate what your stomach can hold.

  7. Bravo! and in the words of Geneen Roth “you’re either throwing it out, or throwing it in – either way it’s a waste”

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