Being a parent is a little bit like being Spiderman. With great power comes great responsibility.
You’re laughing; but it’s true. Babies come into this world as, well, empty vessels. It’s up to us as parents to mold them and shape them into toddlers, then kids, then teens, then adults. We choose how they sleep, how they ride in a car, what they eat, who they play with, even what they play with.
see…great responsibility. unfortunately for us, our superpowers all too often get overlooked. oh, and it would be nice if we could scale walls, too.
the good thing for us moms, though, is that we aren’t alone. I rely heavily on my family and friends to keep me up to date with news from the parenting world. It was a good friend who first told me that crib bumpers were a complete no-no (who knew? why on earth would they sell complete crib sets?) I had friends call and email me right away when Fisher Price recalled its Dora and Elmo toys.
and it was my friend Jen, Founder of urbanmoms.ca, who emailed me this week with this article from the Globe and Mail after chatting with some people at Sun-Rype. Through urbanmoms.ca’s work with Sun-Rype and their recommendation by the Go2Girlz we know that natural ingredients and healthy snacks are a priority for moms so Jen suggested this would make a great Hot Topic.
In a nutshell, this article brings compelling evidence to the table that sodium benzoate, a common additive used in many carbonated drinks, and food colouring, a common additive used in many candies and other kid-magnet-y foods, are both linked to hyperactivity in children.
Personally, the idea that additives are probably not the best thing you can put in your child is not news to me. It’s likely not really news to you either. But, many of us focus on keeping our kids away from the sugar and the artificial sweeteners. I know I do. I actually never even thought about food colouring.
But how, as a parent, can i shelter my children from all of these harmful additives?
When they are home, and in my complete care, i can guide their eating and drinking. I can make sure that they stay away from the pop and the sugared-down juice and drink 100% fruit juices.
But how can i control what they eat and drink when they are outside of my care? When they are at school, and at friends’ houses, and at birthday parties. How can i teach my children to make better choices? And can i teach them these things without scaring them? Can you explain concepts like hyperactivity and childhood obesity to a 6-year-old? Would she even understand when i tell her that she should drink juice, but she must drink the right kind of juice?
What do you think about all of this? What lengths do you go to to ensure that you are guiding your children in a healthy way? Do you pick your battles – i.e., allow them some foods but not others?
we could drive ourselves crazy worrying about additives and we can harm our children by not knowing what we feed them.i try to buy as wholesome and fresh and sugarless,additive free as possible.but i worry about artificial crap and genetically modified crap and where was the food sourced from…its not enough to keep you up at night …oh yeah it does keep me up at night.
You are so right, Kath. I find that so many companies attempt (and often succeed) in manipulating consumers with half-truths. Consumers are getting smarter but we can’t possibly know it all. However, once I find out that a brand has been tricky I boycot. Thanks for the scoop on the Fruit Loops. I will never buy ’em.
Great topic, Ali. Like most others commenting, I wasn’t SHOCKED by the news, but I thought it was interesting to see the link is being made scientifically now, not just anecdotally by thousands of parents & teachers. I’ve heard that red food dyes can cause behaviour changes in kids, but I didn’t know about sodium benzoate. Once you start looking, you see it in EVERYTHING though!
As for picking battles, yes, I do that. I’d go crazy if I didn’t. I’m glad that food companies are listening to consumer concerns, but I hate how some of them do it. Perfect example: my mom had Froot Loops cereal as a treat for the kids when we visited recently. Okay, whatevs, it’s a special occasion so I don’t mind. But we noticed it was 50% less sugar…hey, great, right? Ah, yeah. Not so much. Way down in the bottom corner of the box we see the “sweetened with splenda” logo. Thanks, but I’d rather have them eat “real” sugar! The worry I have is that this box has HUGE lettering with 50% LESS SUGAR! all over it, and the warning that it contains an artificial sweetener is much less prominent. Are all parents as diligent as we are in reading what we put into our kids? Or will some harried families feel just great about feeding this to their kids as a “healthier” alternative without realizing what they are doing?
Argh!
I wasn’t shocked by this news either as it just seems to make sense. However, I was surprised at the extent of the impact these additives can have on children. As everyone seems to agree, the more natural the better.
This trend is spawning a whole new priority for food companies. They are launching products and product extensions that respond to the consumer pressure for healthy options and the elimination of unnecessary additives. Pressure from their consumer (that’s us!) through shared knowledge motivates change. Thanks for spreading the word, Ali, and empowering us consumers to make companies accountable!
Model, model, model. If your children see you making healthy food choices, they will too.
Do the majority of your shopping around the perimeter of the grocery store – fresh produce, fresh bread, fresh meats if you eat them.
It’s not easy, but it is worth it.
Sometimes a processed food snack is just so much easier. But it doesn’t have to be. Keep cut up vegetables in your refrigerator (carrots, celery, cucumber, peppers) for your kids to grab for a snack. Have lots of fruit, and perhaps fruit dips if your kids like them.
Even things like yogurt, nowadays has chemicals. But you don’t need to buy the extra sweet “baby” or “toddler” yogurt. Buy plain yogurt, mix with some flavoured applesauce and you have a wholesome snack.
It takes a bit of planning, and, as your kids get older, a lot of patience. And, of course, you have to be willing to let them have the occasional special occasion splurge!
I think there is so much nutrition information available these days (on packaging, in cookbooks, from study after study) that I would be surprised if this news was new information to anyone.
I believe in the “everything in moderation” mantra. Meals at home and school lunches are always made from fresh, whole ingredients. We have very few packaged or processed foods, beyond things like crackers, cereal and ketchup. My guys understand the difference between healthy choices and “treats” – a drink of pop, a fast-food burger, some candy are all treats that are offered only sometimes.
I think the best thing you can do for your kids is to model good eating habits and make the link to good health.
Not news to me .. I have a friend who’s 7 yr old sun has a sensory disorder. She has also found out he is allergic too .. food dye (who would know you could be allergic to this?). It is in alot of what we might give our kids, including gatorade. I am not a fanatic about no sugar in my house, but I am very aware of the effects of sugar and nutrition on kids in school. I do make sure that his school lunch is packed with nutricious stuff (fruit, yogurts etc), little sugar and usually milk instead of juice. I do believe that this has a huge effect on our kids behaviour at school. Another big one is making sure kids get enough iron, this apparently is highly deficient in kids that have ADHD. So, does lack of iron cause ADHD, no I don’t think so. But, I am sure that giving food high in iron is going to help with concentration, just like it would for us. So an egg for breakfast is a good idea too. Do you remember Jelly Tots? Nowadays, all the candy has food dye, but I just bought these out west at a British shop no less, and noticed that they are free of artificial color and ingredients. So – a better option for a candy treat I guess. But I just have to find them here in Montreal lol.
I never like any of this artificial stuff. I HATED when they were serving my monkey GREEN apple juice on “green day” at her camp this summer. “Oh it’s just a little food colouring,” teach told me — for what, though? SHE doesn’t care what colour it is? I just think that, in general, the more whole foods, the better. And, whatever they eat when their with grandma or at someone else’s house is just that, “whatever.” Because everything in moderation.
I really don’t think this “study” is huge news at all. Just more confirmation that whole foods are best.