A while ago, this topic about how to prevent kids from eating unhealthy food like candy came up in a conversation with two other couples. I don't think Sito and I had talked about this before that but we both disagreed with totally depriving kids of such things.
When I was a kid, the only time I could have candy or sweet drinks was when my paternal grandmother bought Doraemon for me or when I was at Grams' provision shop.
And boy, when I was at the provision shop, did I eat and drink and play with abandon!! Crackers of all sorts in those metre-tall containers, chocolate, sweets, packet drinks, sodas in glass bottles, icicle pops, Super Elastic Bubble Plastic! I wouldn't miss that fortnightly treat for anything!
Then when I was finally able to go out on my own with CY, we would go to KFC after going to the library, again every fortnightly I think, and I would order a large soda on top of yummy fried chicken and fries or mashed potato. The cup looked like a freaking tub!
My bad eating habits continued to adulthood. Sometimes I simply cannot stop myself from eating chocolate or ice cream or nuts, and it can be very scary.. Yes, I'm very lacking in self-discipline in this area... I help myself by choosing dark chocolate so I consume less sugar and buying mostly raw almonds and cashews to avoid excessive oil and salt. Ice cream is trickier... I need Sito to be around to remind me to stop *.*
Sure, it is not good to indulge kids in sweets. But it's not good to deprive them totally too. Otherwise, they would be like me, no sense of self-control once no one can control them! Instead, we should help children make the right choices and eat everything in moderation.
In general, I'm against over-controlling kids. Because I was a very controlled kid. Or perhaps I was too stupid to be defiant. My later display of defiance by overeating is just detrimental to health. Man, I really hated all that controlling when I was a kid! Not just candy, but also whether I could go out, what time I must come home etc.. Yes, I hold a lot of grudges. Yet another reason to not control kids without reason!
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