2009.07.30
Feeding the lil' chappies
My Great Uncle Bill used to call my sister and me "the little chappies." He also called our legs "white snakes," because we are both redheads. Ah, the memories.
But I'm off course. What I really want to talk about is how you feed YOUR little chappies when you take them out to dinner. I'm referring to my Front Burner column, which ran in yesterday's newspaper and detailed a study of restaurant children's menus by a team of Virginia Tech researchers. I've heard from a lot of parents since the story ran, so apparently it struck a nerve.
If you haven't seen my column, click here and have a look. And then, please share your thoughts on whether restaurant kids' meals offer appropriate choices or should be healthier.
I'll reiterate what I emailed to you yesterday - that restaurants ought to offer kid-sized portions of the regular menu items. My son is only 1, but we want to encourage Sam to have a healthy appetite for a variety of foods. In that regard, I am sure that my husband and I are like a lot of parents. So far, he loves grilled chicken and lots of veggies (even raw spinach with a tad bit of dressing!). I hate seeing the only kids options being fried and/or soaked with butter.
Sam is of the age that I could feed him part of my entree, but that wouldn't do for a 5 year old, who also probably shouldn't eat the adult portion. It would make sense that a restaurant could take a chicken breast, for example, and cut it in half to create meals for 2 kids. Hopefully there's not health code rule against that! Then just offer the same sides but in smaller portions for 1/2 the price!
I'm interested to see what other parents do at restaurants, as my husband and I are still figuring things out!
Comment by Lori — July 30, 2009 @ 2:47 pm
Lori - I agree, that makes a lot more sense than the current kids menus. And isn't that effectively what a resturant already does when they offer separate lunch & dinner versions of a meal, or a senior portion?
Comment by Andy — July 30, 2009 @ 4:02 pm
Andy, that's a great point that I hadn't even thought of!
Comment by Lori — July 30, 2009 @ 5:04 pm
We do several things with Carson, who is 6. Sometimes we order a regular meal for him and take 1/2 of it home, or whatever he doesn't eat. He usually eats it for lunch the next day when it is just me and him at home. Alot of places we go, there is a "low carb or AHA" menu, and lots of times we get him something from that. I like the the low carb doesn't have a bunch of greasy breading on it.
We love Ham's here in Greensboro, they let us substitue anything we want on Carson's meals. Usually he will get chicken or a burger, but he always wants their fresh veggies, which is celery and carrots. They also have a fruit cup and 99% of the time he gets that.
We also sometimes just give him some of our meat and order him sides. Like mashed potatoes or green beans or even a small side salad - he loves that. I haven't had a restaurant tell me they couldn't give me an extra plate to put all his food on like a regular meal.
We are lucky like Lori - Carson is a veggie boy and will eat pretty much any of them you put in front of him, but don't put dressing on it or he won't eat it.
Comment by Amber — July 30, 2009 @ 7:58 pm
I agree with Lori's idea 100%! How are kids going to learn to eat good, healthful food when those choices are not available for them at restaurants?
I will say that Fatz in Dublin has very good choices on their kids' menu... even a small portion of salmon, which my nephew gobbled up the last time we went there! We have also ordered off the appetizer menu at Texas Roadhouse for him, because he loves shrimp and with a salad, that's a great meal for him.
Comment by IdolFan — July 31, 2009 @ 8:47 am
Lori and Amber, you guys are lucky. Sam and Carson sound like they are very good boys. I wonder how much of a child's eating habits have to do with what their parents expose them to.
I spent a few nights at the dinner table alone long after everyone else had gotten up because I refused to eat that stuff. And once Mom caught on to my tricks, our dog Molly was not allowed in the room with me. hahahaa!
Not to sound like a fuddy-duddy or a John Rosemond clone, but my hubs and his folks and I were just talking the other day about when we were kids, we were never prepared a special meal. We always had to eat at least some of what our parents were eating. Even as an infant, my mom just cooked dinner and then put whatever she thought I could eat in a food processor and made baby food out of it. As a result, I think my sister and I were pretty good eaters as children.
However, don't even think about putting liver in front of me...
Comment by Lindsey Nair — July 31, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Lori you are exactly right. Only in this country is it assumed that kids should eat a steady diet of mac and cheese, nuggets, and grilled cheese. Start feeding your children a variety of different foods from the get go and you'll end up with healthy non-picky eaters.
Comment by Kristen — July 31, 2009 @ 10:49 am
Kristen, that's exactly what we want to do and it would be great if more restaurants cooperated.
My husband and I had an early dinner today at the Isaac's and I checked out their kid's menu. You can get half a sandwich (chicken shawarma or chicken gyro), a mini kabob, or an appetizer and each comes with a small side, which include lots of healthy choices. I was really impressed!
We usually try to give Sam what we are eating, though that doesn't always work. We always give him a taste of our food and that's how I discovered he would eat spinach, though he wasn't much on baked ziti.
Comment by Lori — August 1, 2009 @ 9:40 pm
I do think a lot of what the parents eat has a say in what the little ones will eat. I usually make Carson try a bite of new things, and usually he likes it, but there are a few things he will not eat. He has always liked texture - he doesn't like pudding at all and we are just now getting him to try ice cream every now and then. Just makes it easier for me not to have it in my house if he isn't asking for it. He would much rather have veggies or fruit.
I am with you Lindsey - we didnt have special meals either. I do have a picky sister whose salad growing up consisted of lettuce and celery, maybe a bit of green pepper in there. I remember Mom telling me to try things and if I didnt like them, I wasnt forced to eat them, I just didnt get to have a menu at home to pick what I wanted. You ate pretty much what everyone else had.
Comment by Amber — August 2, 2009 @ 5:18 pm