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afrakes wrote: katiesquilts - you raise an interesting point. Areas where people can't buy proper, nutritious foods are called "food deserts," and they're a very real problem! However, instead of accepting it as is, I have seen and read about communities implementing community food gardens. Through grants, communities can plant enough fruits and vegetables to feed their families for months and, with a little hard work, years. This goes back to the old saying, "Catch a fish for a man and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat all his life." It's a great skill for children, and a great opportunity to provide growing bodies with the proper fuel.

I've heard about and seen some community gardens, but I always think that there's no way they can provide equally for an entire community. Also, I can imagine people trashing the gardens if they aren't secured at night... There's just an endless cycle of problems, isn't there?

katiesquilts wrote:

afrakes wrote: katiesquilts - you raise an interesting point. Areas where people can't buy proper, nutritious foods are called "food deserts," and they're a very real problem! However, instead of accepting it as is, I have seen and read about communities implementing community food gardens. Through grants, communities can plant enough fruits and vegetables to feed their families for months and, with a little hard work, years. This goes back to the old saying, "Catch a fish for a man and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat all his life." It's a great skill for children, and a great opportunity to provide growing bodies with the proper fuel.

I've heard about and seen some community gardens, but I always think that there's no way they can provide equally for an entire community. Also, I can imagine people trashing the gardens if they aren't secured at night... There's just an endless cycle of problems, isn't there?

Yes, there are always inevitable stumbling blocks, but I think it's a step in the right direction. In my experience, community gardens have given many neighborhoods a sense of accomplishment and pride in their work, and little "trashing" has occurred. While trashing will probably inevitably occur, it's not to say convenience stores don't get robbed too! There's sadly no perfect solution.

I feel like banning would cause more of a problem. I mean look at what happens when people turn 21. They go out and binge drink because they weren't allowed to drink before. I feel like the same think would happen if we banned children from eating sugary or unhealthy foods. I think it's better to teach kids to be disciplined in how they consume these types of foods. Teach them that it is okay to enjoy them once in a while, just not all of the time.

'Banning' would be going a bit over the top, wouldn't it?

I mean, many children love fried and sugary foods. Banning them would remove some of the 'fun' in their childhood. In many schools, lots of fried, oily and sugary food are sold and I do remember some of my friends going hyper from drinking too much sugary drinks that they bought at school. Drinking too much sugar would certainly do no good to children, but getting rid of them completely isn't a very good option as well. Keeping everything moderate is probably the best idea. (not saying that you should drink the same number of cans of soda as the amount of food you eat)

I don't usually let my son have soda, and I definitely limit his intake of sugar. We recently registered him for kindergarten (tear) and they told us that they have a "treat day" on Fridays where they will allow the children to purchase soda or candy. I'm not too sure how I feel about this. It's obviously good motivation for the children to behave well, since they are only allowed to do this if they have been on their best behavior all week, but I do wish they had something a little less in sugar offered.

I don't think it's necessary to ban all sugary or unhealthy foods for children but certain steps must be taken to make sure children are eating healthier. For example, places like schools and daycares should not provide children with sugary/unhealthy foods. While I understand the occasional candy, it is another matter to serve unhealthy foods for lunch at the cafeteria. People must also be educated.

Why should the government get involved? How exactly would they help? They want us to eat unhealthy foods. After having my son, I went crazy trying to keep anything non-organic, non-GMO out of his mouth. Which was actually a good thing because he inherited a lot of my sensitivities. As a parent, it is our responsibility to make sure that our children are eating correctly. We should take an active stand against things that could harm our children. Sugar (especially processed sugar), is addictive. Soda is addictive. Processed foods are addictive. If you don't believe me, try not eating anything processed or prepackaged for three weeks.
Even though I was raised with home cooked meals nearly every night of my childhood, what little processed food I did have caused me to struggle as an adult. I had to choose not to eat those foods and educate myself on what they really did to my body (not what everyone knows they do, but what most don't know). It makes me wonder, How can a child make such healthy choices?
What are "healthy" eating choices?
I ate "healthily" for years, but I was hypoglycemic. If I didn't have something with sugar in it nearby, then I would get weak, shaky, irritable, panicky and nearly pass out. I hated my mood swings that came with my "health issue". I had to keep soda and candy bars on hand just in case I "went low". It was really messing with my life. I lived my life around my hypoglycemia. If I got upset, I would freak and rush to the nearest store for a soda. If I got overheated, soda. I was told I would have to live like this for the rest of my life, but if I didn't figure out a way to control it, it could flip and become diabetes. My sister has diabetes and it runs her life. I didn't want that, so I started researching. I found out I didn't have a "health issue", I had a sugar dependency. I switched to a fully raw diet and "cured" my "health issue". Going raw taught me a lot about my previous "healthy" eating habits. I changed my son's diet as well and was amazed at the change in his behavior. It took commitment and a lot of time but it was worth it. It also taught me that telling a child not to eat a certain way is not nearly enough. We have show them how to eat, educate them to make truly healthy choices.
They are constantly being bombarded with unhealthy eating choices, advertising campaigns that are targeting them, pressuring them to eat a certain way. Instead of trusting the government to make the changes we need for a healthier future for our children and their's, we should be the ones making the changes.
Remove processed foods from our schools, educate ourselves and then our children on the dangers of eating unhealthily, and demand that certain advertising be censored.

Banning sugar? Hmmm. There is so much poison mixed in with the processed foods that have sugar in it, the product should be banned. You know, like Twinkies, Doritos, and most definitely coke. Sugar cane, if not processed, is a healthy food if eaten in moderate amounts. Sugar is only one of the issues with the food children consume. Our problem not only is the sugar, but also the unnecessary poisonous additives laced in with the now genetically modified food. The food is so processed that any nutrients that it may have had has been totally annihilated. Ban the products. Ban the propaganda. Teach healthy choices. An added thought; if Americans ate honey the way they ate sugar the result would be similar.

Sugary and unhealthy food are so common these days that it would be almost impossible to ban them. Also, there's that rebellious nature in some children - if something is banned, they need to have it. I wonder if that's a possible cause of addiction. Something was banned till a particular age and when someone crosses that age limit, they feel a sense of freedom and they feel the need to try it?

Well, banning does sound good, but I don't think it will have very good consequences. Some children are unable to 'function' without their helping of sugary foods from the canteen. In one of the books from Diary of A Wimpy Kid, I remember that there was an entry where the school banned a brand of sugary drink and some of the kids were unable to pay attention in class as they did not have their 'supply of sugar'. In the end, some kids even 'smuggled' the drink to school. Yes, it is just a story, but perhaps that could potentially happen. (the part about kids being unable to pay attention in class) Maybe banning is exaggerating it a little too much. Indeed, like others have mentioned, education is definitely one of the solutions. Schools could reduce sugary drinks sold in school but the government shouldn't ban sugary drinks and unhealthy foods completely.

I don't think it should be banned but I do think it should be regulated. I think we should treat sugary foods as treats and should be given to kids as a treat for doing something right or good. I think that unhealthy food should be eaten in moderation with parents or guardians enforcing their kids to eat healthier foods.

It's sad that so many human parents haven't the instincts to feed their children on healthy food, as other animals do. Refined sugar is addictive and destructive of health: why bother having children if you're just going to poison them?

I am all for healthy eating, avoiding sugar (especially for kids) and junk food. I grew up in the 70s, when such notions were alien to us. Heck, I grew up in a country where due to lack of things at the supermarket my mom used to give us slices of bread with sugar on them to help us satisfy our craving. Sure we loved them back in the day, but now ... my teeth, my stomach and overall health are not all too pleased.

In as much as children like sweet and sugary foods, which I consider to be unhealthy, banning them outright may not be the right thing to do, but parents and grown ups would do these children some good if they educate them on how to consume sugary foods in moderation and clean their teeth immediately after chewing sugary snacks like candies and sweets. Parents should also warn children that sugary or unhealthy foods could make them fall sick and even become obese.Moderation is the answer and not total ban, after all they are children, they will grow UP some day to identify GOOD and BAD.

I think that putting a ban on unhealthy food, whilst with good intentions, is too much of an aggressive approach. People will feel like their freedom of choice is being taken away from them. What our government does where I'm from is to heavily tax fast food joints and sugar producers. This causes consumers to bear the brunt of the cost (ie. through more expensive items) and it discourages consumption. I'm not all for that method either because producers lose out this way and it could lead to cost-push inflation.