Apparently one of our big supermarkets, Sainsbury’s, has not served chips (French fries) to children in their cafes for the past 18 months. Kids have 5 options: Nuggets, fish fingers, sausage or veggie sausage, bolognese or macaroni and cheese. They can have these with half a jacket potato, sweet potato fries, or veg sticks. Each meal also comes with juice and a piece of fruit.
Sainsbury’s are obviously trying to do their bit to combat childhood obesity. However, some parents are now up in arms complaining that the supermarket should not tell them what food they can give their children. When a mother pointed out that chips are on the adults’ menu, she was told that children are not given chips at Sainsbury’s. Mothers are also complaining that hypocritically, the supermarket will happily sell them frozen chips to cook for their children at home.
If this is the opinion of the parents, no wonder children are becoming fatter. Maybe some parents need educating on what to feed their children? Whatever happened to casseroles made of lean meat, fresh vegetables and stock? What happened to grilled or baked fish without batter? Instead fast and cheap junk food is taken out of the freezer and put in the microwave to collect around our children’s arteries and bring them to a possible premature death in their fifties or sixties.
These parents are offended in being ‘dictated’ to by Sainsbury’s. They are of the opinion that nobody is going to tell them what to do, even though the supermarket is trying its best to ensure their child does not eventually end up in the cardiac ward. Ignorance rules, and they will buy chips for themselves, put some on their kids’ plates, and smile with the knowledge that they have defeated the ban. They grew up on chips themselves… it was alright for them, and so it’ll be alright for their children.
Gawd help us.
dgkaye said:
Totally with you Stevie! And sheesh, not every restaurant sells every kind of food. If they’re so desperate for fries, go to McDonalds, lol 🙂
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Stevie Turner said:
McDonald’s seem to have taken over the world…
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dgkaye said:
😦
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tidalscribe said:
Nuggets – I just have to hear that word to be incensed – surely they are worse than chips – at least you know what is in chips – potato. Yes what did happen to healthy stews? When my youngest was little he came home from his friend’s house and said to me in astonishment ‘Did you know you can make chips at home?’
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Stevie Turner said:
Just what is a nugget exactly? The sweepings from the abattoir floor? Nuggets and turkey twizzlers. Eeuch!
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Phil Huston said:
While I commend the use of paper straws, “healthy” diets, etc. I often wonder what someplpace like New York expects to gain by banning supersized soft drinks. Or how schools that offer only healthy fast food, only to lose the vendors in a year for lack of business while students make the trek to the corner forested in salt, fat and grease establishments. I have a friend who carries a Yeti cup full of diet Coke everywhere they go. Coke is bad enough. Aspartame, in pyschedelic doses?
And chips. I am a carb junkie. The first time I gave up carbs for my heart? It wasn;t ten days before I was ready to mug small children exiting McDonalds for their Happy Meal fries. I considered robbing a McDonalds, demanding they fill a Hefty trash bag with all the available french fries and dropping every basket they had. I decided the police would arrive before the fries came up. Because you know how interminable the wait becomes when your cheeseburger sits, soaking the bag with grease, while you wait 2 minutes for that freshly dropped basket’s contents to go golden brown…
So. No chips for kiddies, eh? All the more for ME. That is, next time I fall off the chip wagon…
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Stevie Turner said:
Lol! I think conditioning by parents plays a part too. I was taught as a child what foods are healthy and good for the body, and which ones are not. The trouble is that fast food outlets make the food so tasty that kids cannot resist, and they don’t bother thinking about their future health because as they know… nothing nasty will ever happen to them.. Their friends are probably hanging around outside anyway, so it’s also a meeting place.
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Clive said:
I agree that Sainsbury is taking a worthy step in doing this but, as a parent, I would rather have been trusted to give my children a balanced diet, with occasional treats like chips. If they become a daily standard then that’s where the problem begins. Maybe there should be dieticians who give tutorials in schools to parents as well as their kids? One thing, though: if this has been happening for 18 months why has it only become ‘news’ now?
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Stevie Turner said:
Who knows? Maybe because no parents have complained up until now. A lot of the problem is ignorance on the part of the parents. They were brought up on chips, and therefore it’s okay if their mothers served them up…
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Clive said:
I follow a guy galled ‘Man Behaving Dadly’ on Facebook and he was very vocal about it the other day so I guess he may be at least partly to blame! You’re right, though, it’s ignorance: if you don’t ever try to educate your children’s palates towards healthier food they will just eat easily prepared junk.
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Stevie Turner said:
Very true. I see this with my grandchildren. All they want to eat is junk, and I’ve been told in not so many words not to advise them any more about healthy eating.
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suzan khoja said:
Educating and forcing are 2 different things. These people should make it once a week for chips because cheese cause fat too. Sausage is made of minced meat that has a little fat to make it juicier. I strongly disagree with serving all junk but no chips. It’s like forcing kids to change. Reduce the number of chips if that’s what you want, make it once a week but stopping them from eating it is stupidity in all. Chips contain carbohydrates and fats that are essential for some children. I was very thin and my doctor told my family that my blood is thin too. I can’t make enough red blood cells and was told to eat more carbohydrates and fats. Everything can be eaten but in the limit. Not too much and not too little. I am sorry but I disagree with this. I could have died without carbs and fat. 🙂✌
Everyone has their own opinion. I hope you don’t mind me putting up mine. ✌
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Stevie Turner said:
Not at all. Yes, we need fats, but good fats like avocado and oily fish and not deep fried chips. Okay chips in moderation say once a week, but there’s a difference in the good fats compared to the bad fats that collect inside our arteries.
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suzan khoja said:
I agree with what you say. But forcing is not a way through this. I saw a video where a child was forced out of a swing and the next day she egoistically went back, sat on it and started swinging while her mother was talking to someone. Her hand slipped and she hit her head on the rock not far away from the swing. She was taken to OPD.
What I mean to imply by this is that, instead of forcing they have to slowly and gradually explain the kids about the problems faced by junk. They can think of controlling them, but the children are humans, not robots. It can lead to a rebellion and parents do know that their child needs the freedom to eat whatever they want. When they grow up, they will understand what’s good and bad for their health. This is their time to enjoy not worry about the future. I am sorry if you felt bad or hurt by my disagreement towards your article but what’s wrong in my view is wrong and I don’t stop myself from saying it. 🙂✌
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Stevie Turner said:
I don’t feel hurt at all, and you’re perfectly right in that we cannot control our children too much, but can only advise regarding good/bad foods. Ultimately it’s up to the individual what they eat.
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suzan khoja said:
I am glad you aren’t hurt. That’s what I was trying to explain. Parents understand that but not Sainsbury, they need to stop forcing their decisions on kids. It really should be their choice. Thank you so much for understanding my point, Stevie. I am extremely sorry but I didn’t mean to hurt you in any way. Hope we are cool with this. 🙂✌
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Stevie Turner said:
I suppose kids don’t really understand what’s good food and what isn’t. All they know is that the food that is bad for you tastes better than the food that is healthy. It’s a shame, but manufacturers add sugar and bad fats to junk foods to get kids addicted early.
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suzan khoja said:
Yeah, they don’t understand but they will when they grow up until that I think they should just rejoice. You are absolutely right, the manufacturers don’t care about kid because they need only money. I support you on this. 🙂✌
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Darlene said:
What is it with the Britsih obsession with “chips”? We were in a restaurant and saw a rather large man order a pizza with “chips” on the side. Hubby and I were appalled. Bravo to Sainsbury’s for trying to educate the population.
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Stevie Turner said:
Chips, chips and more chips. That’s mostly what’s on kids’ menus in restaurants these days. Yes, hats off to Sainsbury’s!
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robertawrites235681907 said:
I think this is rather sad, Stevie. People trying to outwit the restaurant instead of embracing the positive change.
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Stevie Turner said:
Because they don’t know any better, probably. If they knew they were setting up their kids for heart disease in the future, then they might change their minds hopefully?
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robertawrites235681907 said:
I hope so, Stevie.
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