junk food marketing and kids

jcc64 wrote: A glimmer of hope....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070614/hl_nm/...GQ3DL4j3g8E1vAI

gr33n3y3z replied: about time

my2girls replied: Its nice and all but the bottom line is parents NOT children pay the food bill.
I tell my kids NO when they ask for junk food ( donuts from Krispy Kreme , Coco Puffs , soda) and sometimes I say yes. On weekends we might indulge.
Eating fast food is a privilege not a right, we save it for birthdays, anniversaries or an accomplishment. If they want junk food we make lower fat/calorie versions of that food ourselves.
If parents STOPPED buying the junk food products then the companies might STOP making them instead of marketing them a different way.

Cece00 replied: I have to agree. I think its great, but bottom line, its the PARENTS who buy the junk. You, as a parent, control what your child eats until a certain age. And even then, you control the large majority of what they eat until they are adults.

I buy my kids a little bit of 'junk food' when I shop, but I do not buy every little thing they want, and we have much more healthy food in the house than junk food, simply because I dont want my kids eating it.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Yep. Us too.

I'm more concerned about what's in the food versus the advertising of the food. Although it would be nice if the commercials weren't so appealing to my children so I don't hear "CAN I HAVE THAT???" a trillion times.

redchief replied: That's a start. Now we have to get after Coke, Pepsi, Little Debbie's, MickyD's, et al for the same things.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...not my swiss cake rolls!!!!

luvbug00 replied: here's my issue. the healthy stuff is too expencive that's why we don't buy much ceral or anything at all. we live off fruits and veggies and although i'd love for mya to grab a bowl of futie o's or whatever the healthy alternitive to the suggary junk is like $4 a box and i simply can't afford it.

grapfruit replied:
You know what, you're absolutely correct. I cringe when I place the "healthy" alternatives in the cart. It's usually twice the price of the fatting, calorie filled crap.

stella6979 replied:
Same here. I try my best to fill the cart with all the "good" stuff, but boy oh boy, does it add up.

my2girls replied: If you can afford a $2.00-$4.00 Happy Meal that last one meal ,you can afford a $4.00 box of healthy cereal that will last a week.
Walmart sells the "healthy" cereals at half the cost that grocery stores sell them for.
I can buy Kashi Go Lean at Walmart for $2.79 where at a regular grocery store it is $4.29 or more.
You just need to shop around , buy fruits and veggies that are IN SEASON ( when they are not in season they cost more) , go to a farmers market (if you have one , they are usually less expensive especially the last 1/2 hour the market is open) , shop Walmart/$ stores/Target for healthy brand food items (they can sell food items cheap there because they know you will buy other items besides food ) and always check the discount bins at your grocery store because the "healthy" foods are usually in there , they need to move those items because people think they are too expensive and they sit on the shelf ready to expire soon.

DansMom replied: That's great news---I'm glad there will be some limits on advertising junk foods.

Cece00 replied:
I have to disagree. If you are determined, and have the time to look, you absolutely can buy healthy foods for less than junk foods.

I spend about $150 every 2 weeks on food- just groceries & the farmers market...and then on top of that we occasionally have fast food. So I spend about $300 a month for 3 children and 2 adults to eat...and sometimes, some of that $300 includes toilet paper, etc. I would say I spend no more than $400 a month TOTAL on food & supplies (diapers, paper towels, cleaning supplies)

So it is completely possible to have healthy foods for a reasonable price.

You could also grow your own fruits & veggies, leaving you more $$ to buy healthy foods.