Food, glorious food

What is it with the powers that be that they all want to dictate to us what our children should or should not eat.

First Jamie Oliver re-organises school meals and expects everyone to eat everything.  More power to his elbow, but children will not change their dietary needs just like that. Now the government wants to set up inspection of packed lunches. Why can parents not decide what they want their children to eat?

I always insisted that my children ate or at least tried  eating a little of everything.  They were not happy but did try various foods.  My daughter always said, and still says that I spoilt her Christmas dinners as I always insisted on the one token sprout. 

What is it about sprouts? One can sauté them with onion and garlic, shred and fry them or boil them and then add a little peanut butter- delicious.

My grand children started by eating everything and enjoying curries, olives, and all sorts of foreign meals but suddenly look at their plate and refuse to eat anything coloured like tomatoes, salad, greens and other vegetables. We leave them be and suddenly their taste buds awaken again and they will try a little of things they are wary of.

When I was teaching, we encouraged children to eat everything but parents often complained that we made them eat things they did not want , so we had to allow them their own choice. Better they had something to eat that was healthy than nothing at all.  We did however discourage chocolate, biscuits and crisps in lunch boxes. If parents allow them to be fussy at home and just eat junk food, we have no right to insist on dictating to them. It is the parents we have to educate and perhaps we should do more in teaching food value, healthy living and go back to having cookery lessons for all in the senior schools.  We should also teach good parenting as part of the National Syllabus.

Now that we are in such a serious recession and money is short, parents want their children to eat something rather than waste their money on something they will not eat.  Perhaps I am old fashioned, but parents must have the right to bring up their children as best they can.


 We do not want Big Brother watching every move we make.