UPDATED! Can You Set The New York Times and Psychology Today Straight about Free-Range Parenting?

I see your gripe with the article, but just want to say… I have a 1 year old and I LOVE these pouches. They DO help with some free range principles because I can more easily let him feed himself, and it’s easier for him to decide when he’s done. Eventually I’ll have to stop being lazy and let him go all chaos with a spoon, but for now it lets me give him just a little bit more independence then feeding him myself.

I use some pouches like that! It’s not a free range thing, though. It’s a busy-mom-trying-to-do-all-the-parenting-in-a-few-hours thing. If I can save a half hour by having the kids eat in the car, why not do it? If I insisted on having a sit-down meal every night, we would have to eliminate some valuable activities. I think sit-down meals are great, but I don’t think they have to be every night.

I wonder if the label, Free Range Parenting, is being used as a market tool to sell their product.

I can’t imagine feeding my kids this kind of c##p.

How does the child ever transition and learn to move away from the nursing stage…..or perhaps it’s preparation for a life of dependance on the government.

Lenore – now that the Free-Range idea is catching on nationally, these are good examples of the expected backlash and misinterpretations that will occur. Don’t get discouraged, but definitely continue to battle on! As someone who has followed every word you have written since that first subway incident, I’m proud that you have gained this level of popularity.

By the way my 7 year old made his first solo walk through the neighborhood today – returning from a friend’s house on his own instead of making me drive to get him. I remember reading your blog when he was a toddler and becoming emboldened to impact his life this way. I’ve slowly and diligently given him more freedom and responsibility until we were both comfortable with it.

Keep it up!

Ew.
I love mealtime with my 13 month old. She fascinates me, with her overwhelming desire to use the fork, the way she plays with her food before bringing it to her mouth, studying the textures, the face she makes when she thought it was potato but turned out to be fish. Honestly, the hour we set aside for supper is one of the best parts of my day.
Slurping dinner out of a pouch in the car? Gross.
Let’s hope that we aren’t faced with that indignity in our old age.

I’ve seen those things in the stores. I thought they were for babies who are eating baby food. My youngest is almost 2 and he’s been feeding himself since 9 months old and has been using a fork and spoon since he was like 13 months. I can’t imagine the point.

Then again, my kids aren’t involved in every activity under the sun. If they were we’d be living in the car and that wouldn’t be much of a life. When we’re out they either wait until we get home no matter how “starving” they are. Or we go out to eat at a sit down restaurant (not fast food).

I’m more confused about “free-range” being used to describe these products and a type of parenting that leaves the kids in charge (I have read about child-lead parenting which just baffles me). It’s bad advertising for the movement and just adds to the misconception that we don’t care about anything and let our kids run wild which so isn’t true.

We tried the pouches. When my almost three year old was younger he kept trying to find the straw to stick in them. Now he just doesn’t want them. My one year old makes just as much mess as if I gave her pudding and a spoon and let her go to town. Whole food, solid food is much less work so we give her the carrots instead of the carrot pouches and when she does have messy things like oatmeal or soup or anything spoonable I just hose her down when we’re done. We are getting closer to her getting more in her mouth than her ears so I must be doing something right.

As to the use of “free range” I see it like free range chicken. To some it means that the chicken lives free on a pasture and to others it means there is a small door to a small patio that chicken and it’s thousands of roomates can “access”. To your followers free range means letting kids have the independence they are capable of handling in a world that isn’t as scary as some believe and to others it means not being chained to the table or solid food.

I just saw today’s paper and logged on to alert Lenore, in case she hadn’t seen it. The use of the term free range parenting in this context is utterly ridiculous.

I remember doing food on the go lots. Not because of anything to do with the free range philosophy, but because a) I was (and am) totally disorganised and b) toddler low-blood sugar level meltdowns are no fun at any time.

Our ‘travel’ food was mostly fresh or home-made though. I’m way less strict on the ‘no processed foods’ now my child knows what’s out there and has an opinion of her own. But that is not the topic of this post.

Haven’t these people buying pouches heard of bananas? They come prepacked in a disposable and biodegradable covering and are highly nutritious.

I agree with MyBloodyOpinion who suggested that “free-range” is being co-opted as a marketing tool. It is what I suspected immediately upon reading about this. In one sense it’s a positive, as more and more people are being switched on to the idea of FRPing, but it’s frustrating nonetheless.

I really think these pouches are also about less mess. Plenty of people pack fruit, snacks even meals to take on nights they have sports/clubs etc but I’ve found many parents do not like mess, do not like their kid to feed themself etc (because yikes it IS messy) with these things the kid slurps it down, not too much mess (talking babies and toddlers here)

also I think it appeals to parents who worry. I cant tell you how many other parents I know that worry their kid is not getting the right nutrients and are buying suppliments, baby food with all the extra nutrients, still giving four year olds formula with the nutrients/iron etc. I have a family member lamenting their 3 year old is picky and just doesnt eat enough, so they still buy her these type of babyfood bolognese to feed her. She ate two huge mega ones, shes eating all this stuff all the time!. I laughed and said you know how much my kids eat? all four kids eat out of those tiny ikea bowls for dinner (homemade food though) Kids actually dont NEED that much food. So I also think parents will like to think their kid is going to get all the wonderful goodness they need to be ‘healthy’ which is good in some cases but not necessary for all

that said I used the pouches for on the go no heating required when I had a one year old and they were great! After two years of age or more I dont think they are necessary.

I read in the book Vegetable, Animal Miracle by Barbara kingsolver that the more we remove ourself from the food chain (home cooking, growing gardens etc) the more willing we are to eat very processed and often times not good tasting and not healthy food. Very interesting I think.

I sent the author of the article an email and a link to this blog.

I’m glad that these food pouches haven’t made it to Germany yet. The packaging probably wouldn’t pass muster with the German Waste Law, which requires manufacturers to reduce waste at the source. These pouches probably aren’t recyclable either because they are dirty inside. We need products that generate less waste, not more. Fruits like bananas and oranges come in “packaging” that is biodegradable and used for compost. While there are processed foods in Germany, the majority of the food sold here is real. On a more personal note, I’d rather eat and serve my family the wonderful fresh summer fruits than some Frankenfood in a pouch.

The people who are marketing these products are totally misusing the term “free range parenting.” Eating a convenience food because of being driven from one planned, adult-directed activity to the next is the opposite of free range. That is more lazy parenting than free range. There have been studies that show that kids who sit down for at least one family meal a day have better grades and are less likely to get into trouble with smoking, drugs, or teen pregnancy than those who don’t have family meals. I work odd shifts during the week, but still find the time to have at least one meal a day where the whole family is together.

But little pouches do serve a purpose……….if you are a long-distance runner or bike racer. Energy gels in little packets have been around for many years and are a great quick source of energy on long training runs or bike rides or races. They are small and easy to for a runner or cyclist to carry and eat on the go and also easy to digest while exercising. But how many of the people in the age group that these “food” pouches are aimed at are marathon runners or cycling in the Tour de France? I would bet that the answer is “zero.”

For the record, the product I’ve been buying is Materne go-go apple squeeze. Not sure how it compares with the Plum thing they are talking about. Supposedly it’s a very popular snack among French kids.

Oh, Lenore, the indignity of it all! To have the meaningful, honourable, heart-centred effort of the FRK movement you birthed being used in the most mercenary, least contextually appropriate way imaginable…

And in closing: the Earth needs another mass-produced, over-packaged single-serving snack food like it needs a collision with a gaseous planet ten times its size. Enough already!

I agree with Donna. (Yes, Donna, I mean it, I do.) Not to judge anyone personally for what they’re doing, but yes, if you are running from activity-to-activity to such that you consistently need something like that, the actual “need,” I would say, is to cutdown on the number of activities.

That said: SKL You made me laugh with your post. I agree somewhat. I think the point some were making (and it’s what I believe–I know, here with go with LRH’s beliefs again, ha ha) is that we shouldn’t feel compelled to be CONSTANTLY go-go-go one activity to the other, but we ought to connect around the dinner table and just have relaxed time without rushing everywhere all the time. I believe that too, but as you said, 1 day a week–big stinking deal. I mean, 6 out of 7 isn’t bad. And you hate to cook? Oh my goodness, you’re just such an AWFUL mother (I’m being sarcastic).

It’s like I tell my mother, who at times can be SO judgmental not just of me as a parent, but of other people (in terms of thinking if you don’t eat-drink-marinate your kids 24/7 and “helicopter” them then you’re unfit etc)–I myself like to cook. Seriously, I like to cook, most of the time anyway, and I take pleasure in preparing a full meal for our kids. It’s not at all unusual for me to cook eggs, sausage, toast, biscuits in the morning and come night-time have a meal of chicken with rice & mixed vegetables (it’s a “convenience dinner” in a bag, but still), mashed potatoes, field peas, corn-on-the-cob, and even collards, all as one meal. I do that ALL the time, but I am not going to judge/criticize someone who just gives their kids cereal in the morning & goes out to eat at night as being a “lazy parent” or what have you, just as I don’t like being judged as lazy because I like to get the car seat that’s easiest to buckle (not the safest, I figure they’re all safe enough) and like to get our kids velcro shoes rather than tying shoes because I hate re-tying shoes 30 times a day.

I like convenience, so sue me. I’m not going to judge someone who wants convenience with cooking anymore than I appreciate anyone judging me for wanting convenient and easy-to-use car seats and shoes etc.

LRH

I see Free Range in this sense being used in the feeding animals sense. Free range chicken and cows wander around a field eating as they go, whenever they want, so why not get kids to do the same thing?

I can see something like this product being useful in some situations. They’d be great for small children and travelling for example, if you could get them past airport security – easy to use, healthy, no refrigeration, no mess. And I could see keeping one in your purse for when you’re running behind schedule, or caught somewhere, and you have a cranky child on your hand, as it certainly beats most junk or fast food.

But if feeding your kid via squeeze pouch is the default option for meals, I’m not sure when the child is going to learn how to eat real food, or how to sit down and eat dinner at the table.

I don’t agree the misplaced reference to FR parenting is just about semantics. The explanation given for the term in the article is “a new way of relating to our children” and “Parents, he explained, want to be as flexible as modern life demands.”

That suggests that he thinks that the attitude towards convenient ‘mobile food’ is just one aspect of this and one that fits in with the philosophy of Free Range Parenting.

It is clear to me that he just made it up because it sounds cool and he’ll do whatever it takes to sell his product. But it is very bad publicity for the FRK movement!

And only 2 comments on the Psychology Today article so far? (One of which is mine) Come on FRKers, we have to prevent this abuse of the FRK term from spreading!

@AG, There is a drinkable yogurt in a disposable/recyclable container in Germany, but the marketing for it is similar to that of the French product. It’s touted as a healthy snack that kids can have when they’re out playing. The ads show kids playing outside, taking a break for this snack, then going back to their game. There were no adults in sight in the ads. Like the French product, the drinkable yogurt is marketed as a healthier alternative to a candy bar versus being a replacement for a full meal.

There is a time and place for these types of convenience foods in a pouch or bag. As I said in my previous post, long distance runners and cyclists use special energy gels in a pouch. Food pouches may also be good for the Scouts to have in their backpacks as emergency food, though I would be concerned about the package breaking and getting the mushy food all over the other things in their packs. My son keeps some energy bars in his Scout backpack because they are a compact source of calories. The Army has prepackaged Meals Ready to Eat for soldiers who are in the field without access to fresh foods.

I do have a problem with foods that were designed for one purpose being marketed as full meal replacements. For example, energy bars were specially designed for endurance athletes. Gatorade and other sports drinks are also marketed as “healthier” alternatives to soda (even though some contain even more sugar than the same amount of cola). Those types of drinks were originally designed as electrolyte replacements for people who sweat a lot while exercising. That said, both my husband and I eat energy bars and drink sports drinks. But we are also endurance athletes (he does long bike rides and hikes, I run half-marathons and marathons) and only eat energy bars and drink sports drinks on the days when we are doing long workouts. We couldn’t imagine sitting down at the dinner table for a meal of Power Bars and Gatorade. I have also seen Ensure, which is a product for older people who have trouble chewing but need the calories and nutrients, being marketed in the States as a meal replacement. Whatever happened to having meals with real food?

@Jennifer,
I actually took a couple of those pouches through airport security with no problem, and they were great to have on a long flight! As I was packing for the trip, I realized I had granola bars and crackers, but I really wanted some fruit. We had some bruised bananas that didn’t look like they’d hold up for the trip, oranges (but a sticky mess of orange peels on the plane didn’t sound like fun), and some applesauce pouches I had picked up on a whim for my kids’ picnic lunches at the park. So, applesauce it was!

Sure, they’re overpackaged and not great for the environment, and they shouldn’t replace real fruits and vegetables, but for an occasional quick portable snack that isn’t messy, they work pretty well!

(I really don’t get how they associate them with FRK, though – sounds like they just picked up a buzzword to get some attention).

Kids are snacking WAY too much. The little darlings won’t keel over if they have to wait a bit for the next meal. Parents need to recognize when kids are truly hungry and when they’re bored. If I was a toddler being shuffled around in a car all day, I’d be pretty cranky but it doesn’t I need a pouch of something.

As for using them as a meal replacement ….am I the only one who remembers a PBJ sandwich and an apple? I opened my Benji lunch box this staple meal all through elementary school. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated and takes about 1 minute to make.

I’m not sitting here polishing my halo because my kids do have a snack after school (we don’t have dinner until 7pm). But on the weekends, it’s only breakfast, lunch and dinner and no one has died yet!

Ugh. Banging my head on the wall…

I always considered my kids to be pretty free-ranging, but never consider THIS take on it! They spend a lot of time wandering through our yard foraging, such as….free range chickens do!:) Whatever happens to be growing in the garden, blackberries, mulberries, herbs, wild plants they know are edible, fruit from any tree they can find….They’re like my little goats! Both this marketer and the Psychology Today blogger seem to have no idea what free range parenting is all about . Our family (at least) strive to spend the least amount of time possible shuttling back and forth to activities and in the car (thought that’s hard when there are SO many great parks in my area to explore!) and eat dinner as a family every night. Like a poster many comments up stated, we are a very traditional family. Dad works, mom cooks, the kids play and we eat together:) Free Range to us means letting our kids be kids, and explore, and create, and learn, and be bored, under their own supervision! But dinner time is dinner time, and bed time is bed time, and while there is room for flexibility, we are the parents, and ultimately the decision is ours. I could see how these pouches might be good for a quick snack in the younger years, or an occasional novel treat, but the actual piece of
fruit or vegetable is likely healthier and cheaper and just as portable. I suppose I could argue that Free Range parents (if they are like our family, at least) would be the LEAST likely to use these on a regular basis. Meh. I’d probably buy them once or twice, and that would be that. With only so much money to spend on food (and my kids are well aware of that fact!) our dollars tend to go to the most simple, basic, healthiest options.

I use these pouches first thing in the morning for my daughter (2 years old). We have to leave so early to get her to daycare and get to work that trying to give her a full breakfast doesn’t make sense. Also, she gets a breakfast meal at school at 9AM. The pouches provide her with a quick, easy and non-messy option to get something in her stomach as she’s getting ready to head out the door. I also keep a couple in my diaper bag as an alternative to crackers or cookies when we are out and about. She loves them, they are full of fruits and vegetables and I also buy the organic ones in hopes that they will be better for her. I don’t think that using pouches as a true meal replacement is appropriate, but I do believe that they are better than some of the other crap I am seeing kids eat these days.

If these were true Free Range Kids they would be going in the kitchen and making themselves a sandwich to take on the road!

As a school nurse, the problem of parents snacking their kids nonstop drives me insane. Imagine what a good dinner these kids would eat if they didn’t have to have a snack on the way home from soccer practice. Kids should exercise, get REALLY hungry and eat a good well rounded meal. If they refuse dinner because it is not pureed mush in a bag, then they eat nothing. They won’t refuse forever.

“People, this post is not about whether or not the pouch is good or bad! Because that has absolutely nothing to do with free range parenting!”

Thank you Lin!

I don’t mind people going OT on tangential points like whether the food is good,, but let’s NOT lose sight of what’s going on here. It’s not even whether the food itself is “Free Range” or not — to think that’s even debatable is to miss the point. Free Range is not about what kind of food you use, it’s about how you relate to your kids and teach them to relate to the world. You can do that with or without pouches. You can use the pouches Free-Rangishly or not.

If we get too sidetracked into arguing over the POUCHES, we’ll miss the point that a major media source that a lot of people read to get info on current trends just represented Free Range as being about feeding your kids whenever they want, and implied that not having time for regular meals is not only consistent with, but characteristic of, Free Range. And THAT’S what’s wrong here.

I have seen these in stores and they look disgusting to me and I couldn’t really figure out the point of them. Our kids are involved in a number of activities, but I’m home and I make sure to prepare dinner at a time that doesn’t disrupt activities. In fact, in the true following of free range parenting, on days that my kids have a lot of activities, they help me (sometimes doing it themselves) put the dinner in the crock pot. I even left my 9-year-old home during the winter months while I was taking his sister (and the other three kids) to her ballet class, which was from 4:30-5:30 and he did the finishing preparations for our crock pot meal (putting the biscuits in the crock pot for the last 30 minutes and heating up the green beans in the microwave and then setting the table) so we could eat right when we got home at 6 before taking off to drop off the older kids at soccer at 6:30. THAT is free range, not eating out of a little pouch.

I know lots of people go through the puree stage, but honestly, I never had time to cook stuff that way. E mostly he got solid foods that I was eating too. My mum was horrified at the mess at first, but soon realised that we’d avoided that stage when you go to solids and the kid has to relearn how to handle the stuff. At 3, E is less messy than many adults. I could see people using these for convenience, but a kid who is used to homecooked stuff would probably rather mum handed over an apple.

H

I honestly think they have conflated the term freerange as used in animal husbandry with freerange as used to describe a parenting philsophy. Freerange parenting doesn’t involve letting your kid graze at will in a pasture, which is what this pouch is more closely akin to.

Just let the kid eat wherever and whenever as long as food is available (and not too messy apparently) — that is more like freerange chicken farming.

Hey, it WORKED!!!!!! Dr. Rose just put a followup post on the PT blog, agreeing with Lenore and acknowledging the correction:

http://itsnotaboutnutrition.squarespace.com/home/2012/6/22/free-range-parenting-and-psychology-today.html

“I honestly think they have conflated the term freerange as used in animal husbandry with freerange as used to describe a parenting philsophy.”

It’s sort of an understandable mistake. The phrase DID come from animal husbandry in the sense of “not keeping them cooped up” but not to the extent of “letting them run wild and fend for themselves.”

Calling these things organic is as offensive as calling their use free range. While it may be true that pesticides were not used to produce the fruit that became the concentrate that became the puree that was then boiled, heated, treated, stabilized and mass produced–that is hardly the intended meaning of organic.

Same goes for “Natural.” Sorry but these things are not 100% “natural.” Natural is an apple–you wipe it off, bite it and chew it. Unnatural is an apple substance that is concentrated for flavor (increasing the “natural” sugar content) and then has lemon juice concentrate added for stabilizing and is then heated for pasteurization and squeezed into a piece of plastic where it is sealed at high temperature.

I understand the need for convenience. I begrudge no one a few moments of ease or peace. But please please stop pretending this is a healthy choice. A homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie is far more healthy than one of these things in every way–environmental, nutrition, learning to eat as a human, family relationship, etc.

At least Dr. Rose wrote a correction. As far as the pouches themselves go, I sort of see them as free-range neutral. I think it’s a bit reckless to go about assigning “free-range” or “non-free-range” designations to every product, activity or parenting choice we hear about, without taking into account the larger context in which it’s used. Free-range is much more about a lifestyle and a philosophy that guides and informs parenting than it is about any one product.

Personally, I’ve used the applesauce and banana-berry pouches as snacks for my daughter, especially when we’re going on an outing and I want a healthy, easy snack. Sliced apples don’t hold up well in plastic baggies in the summer heat. Using it as a meal-replacement? Maybe for young babies, but not toddlers. Toddlers are supposed to be practicing with real foods so they can learn how to handle different textures and tastes, and learn how to feel themselves. Why would you want to keep them on purees? And if you do, when ARE they going to learn to get actual food, from a plate, onto a fork, and into their mouths? Which is a skill that is actually pretty important in the real world.

I thought the guy was using it in the “free range chicken” sense, not FRP, though that’s no better come to think of it.

My six-year-old eats the applesauce ones (organic, only fruit) in her lunch at school. Why? Pre-portioned, easy to finish in the 15 scant minutes she has to eat lunch, no spoons and containers to lose or accidentally throw away, and it is simple for her to pack her own lunch in the morning. She does not have to find a container with a matching lid, get the jar open, portion the applesauce, remember a spoon, get the container closed properly, etc. It functions as the “treat” in her lunch, which usually consists of a sandwich that she makes herself, a piece of fresh fruit, and the applesauce pouch. On days that she doesn’t choose applesauce, she has some other packaged treat like fruit leather or a granola bar. I don’t think these pouches are supposed to substitute for real meals. They are convenience snacks.

So the stuff is sucked…so what? If I said I was giving my kid a yogurt and fruit smoothie that she drinks through a straw, would that be bad parenting? It’s the same dang thing, but doesn’t require preparation or refrigeration. But hey, I often make bread from scratch. I can’t believe those parents who rely on packaged, pre-sliced bread to feed their kids. So lazy!

I also want to add that I follow Baby Led Weaning, so my kid does eat normal whole fruit and pretty much everything all the time (she ate a whole tomato for a snack today), but these pouches are good for on the go.

I’m not too sure why you think it’s garbage. Do you eat applesauce? Yes, it’s boiled, heated, and “mass-produced”, but so is Mott’s applesauce, which I’m sure most people eat. The ingredients on the label of the applesauce pouch is… wait for it… APPLES. Wow! How awful!

“Kids are snacking WAY too much. The little darlings won’t keel over if they have to wait a bit for the next meal. Parents need to recognize when kids are truly hungry and when they’re bored.”

Hallelujia, Chris, THANK YOU!!!! My husband’s family can’t go to the mailbox without a bottle of water and a snack of some kind. Being a little hungry or thirsty is not going to kill you.

The most free range words in the entire Times article were from Edward Abramson:
“Stop worrying, your children will not starve if they miss a meal.”

Was anyone else appalled by the descriptions of parents esp, the author trying to cajole her kid into eating, eating, and eating more? I also read and mostly followed Baby Led Weaning. It shows a great respect for a child’s capabilities and natural protection mechanisms. It talks about how the gag reflex in an infant is further forward in the mouth in order to teach them to CHEW the food. And it explains how purred food trains a kid to use sucking to get food in. To work around that protective gag reflex that is supposed to teach them to chew. I’ve seen it in action and it really is amazing to watch an infant learn to eat real food. And now… well my daughter is 16 months old, and unlike the Times author and her 22 month old, I’m not cajoling my daughter and trying to force food into her mouth until she says “OUT!” My 16 month old is given what we are eating, along with spoon and fork, and eats along side us…. with occasional, but diminishing, use of hands. As for mess on the go… well the diaper bag does have a lovely stash of wipes, they work just as well on faces and hands (and I did check they made of the same stuff as the pacifier wipes.)

It’s disheartening to see so many judgmental comments on this site, of all sites. I think allowing other parents their choices is at the heart of ‘Free Range Parenting’ as this site is dedicated to it. Whether or not your child drinks fruit puree from a pouch or not is not likely to ruin them.

My wife and I used them pretty extensively with our child when he was younger. He loves feeding himself, and always has. Before he could reliably use a spoon (still questionable, but getting there) the pouches let him do it. He’s now 17 months and mostly eats with his hands, but the pouches are still useful in a pinch.

It never ceases to amaze me how judgmental parents are, even those (and sometimes ESPECIALLY those) who’s stated philosophy is supposedly not judging others.

I didn’t get through all the comments to see if this was already said.

I think the misuse of the term is due to it’s similarity to Free-Range Chickens, where the core point is to not force feeding the chickens, letting them peck and scratch at will. Hence you may get a few clueless people limiting the free-range idea to merely food – those too clueless to spend 30 seconds on an online search. I suspect that the two people mentioned were just to lazy to properly define their term.

Here’s the email I sent to the NYTimes journalist:
Dear Mr. Richtel,

Cursory research into the phrase “Free-Range Parenting” would have revealed a book & website by Lenore Skenazy. What is important here is that Neil Grimmer’s description of “free-range parenting” is a strange distortion of a term that has been written about for several years.
As a journalist, you should have fact-checked this term before you both quoted it and used it as the crux of your article’s title. It is misleading at best, and shoddy journalism. Yes, he shouldn’t have used the term in such a distorted way, but you have compounded the problem immensely by quoting him without any apparent skepticism.

I suggest that you interview Ms. Skenazy (she lives in NY!) and write an appropriately long & prominent article that does right by the term Free Range Parenting.

My kid eats what we eat, and he’s done it since he was two. We took a two-year break from spicy foods just for him, but now we’re eating them again, and so is he. At age 4, he knows his way around a Chinese menu and is well-versed in Italian cuisine and the local seafood options. (And he can order for himself now!) He’s worked long and hard to learn to use his silverware correctly, including a knife, but now he’s a pro at it. The very idea of any food just for kids makes me cringe. Food for kids is always sugarier, fattier, and less naturally nutritious than real, home-cooked food that us parents eat. I don’t see when I would ever want him to slurp his supper down in the car and then go watch TV later when my husband and I sit down to eat. I’ve never even bought him a juice box – he drinks water from an open cup, just like me, and he has his own travel mug for the beach.

I’ve seen so many people who have special cupboards just for “kids’ food” and it’s all low-quality, low-effort, high-packaging junk. Forget that. Grilled salmon and broccoli is better than goop in a pouch any day, and the way to convince your small child of this is to serve it to him, repeatedly, without a lot of noise.

Now, if your priority is to condition your kid to open his own cupboard and get his own single-serve bag of Goldfish while you’re busy doing something else, that’s cool. But my kid serves himself too. Sure, he begs and begs for a glass of orange juice or whatever. But recently, he’s started pouring his own OJ and putting the carton back in the fridge himself. And just last week I woke up to find him chowing down on leftover pasta for breakfast. That’s pretty free-range, and I didn’t even encourage him!

I certainly didn’t mean to imply that I believed that all meals need to be formal events consumed at home. There is a wide gulf between home-cooked meals consumed in the family dining room and being too busy to CHEW. If you are too busy to consume actual meals, as opposed to subsisting on “on the go” snacks as this article suggests you should be, and too busy to even chew those snacks, you are way overscheduled.

“But, we need to have “on the go” snacks? Kids don’t really need to eat every hour.”

AMEN!!! I hate seeing kids constantly walking around with food or running back and forth between handfuls food and play. Human beings do survive without food constantly present. And kids can take the time to sit down and eat an entire snack or meal that requires chewing before going back to play, even at the playground.

“If it were just about food, we would squirt it into their mouths with a tube,” says Robin Fox, an anthropologist who teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey, about the mysterious way that family dinner engraves our souls. “A meal is about civilizing children. It’s about teaching them to be a member of their culture.”

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html#ixzz1yYPPZ4CC

@Olympia, That piece from the Onion was too funny! Thanks for sharing it.

I usually love everything I read on this blog and enjoy the comments a lot. I feel like I really relate to a lot of the people on here and love finding people in the parenting world who think in similar ways. This discussion about the pouches really bugs me though. People seem much more judgemental than in other discussions.

I use the food pouches a lot and my son loves them. We also have three sit down meals a day and dinner is always a family affair. He gets LOTS of fresh fruits and veggies and uses a spoon to feed himself. He is 17 months old and doesn’t always fill up completely when we sit down to eat so in an hour he may be hungry. Because we like to play outside A LOT and are at parks, playgrounds, zoos and other fun locations much of our day we pack snacks to keep up well fueled. The pouches are easy to pack, healthy, organic fruits and veggies, and easy clean up. They allow us to hike, run, play, and do all the fun stuff we like to do. I don’t feel guilty at all for giving them to my son. He shares my snacks too and never gets the packets for meal replacement (they really aren’t hearty enough for an active, growing boy!)

I don’t like the idea that these pouches mean parents are lazy. I’d much rather pack those along on a hike than full apples and bananas simply to save weight in the pack. We can eat the fresh stuff when we get back from our day playing outside! I do wish they were in better packaging though! I hate the waste side of them.

I agree that the way they are selling the product isn’t great. But with all the crap out there at least these pouches can help kids eat veggies they might not want otherwise. They could be eating cheetos!

Megan- I agree shaming people for using the pouches -no matter the circumstances -is wrong. It sounds like you’re using the pouches to help enable an active life for your kid, which is great. In my case, it was the article implying that sit down meals are impossible, that all kids need is a steady supply of the pouches to keep going, that set me off. The article was just stupid.

The pouches are just another option out of millions. Buying some doesn’t mean you now live the “pouch lifestyle” and you can have your kids’ teeth removed.

Gah!!! I HATE the term lazy parenting! Every parent has different priorities, whether it be healthy food, time with their children, money, or whatever else under the sun a parent is concerned with. Just because said parent prioritizes a different issue, or feeds their child in a way you wouldn’t, or, God forbid, takes a shortcut or uses a convenience food to make life a little easier and more enjoyable for their family, does NOT make them a lazy parent!!!!! A so-called lazy parent is one, I imagine, who does not parent all, who neglects a child in all areas of life, even an abusive parent! Someone who parents differently than you or has beliefs you do not hold or uses different products than you is NOT lazy!!!!!Can’t we just all say we love our kids, and want what’s best for them, even though that “best” is widely different???

I hope SKL and others appreciate my post, it’s sincere.

I agree with maggie 100%. “Lazy parenting” basically means you DARE to consider your own interests in your daily life as a parent, rather than it being 24/7/365.25 all about the kids, and doing the hardest thing on a list of options because “I care.” (No, I am NOT necessarily talking about prioritizing your time with your mate or a guy/girl in this, for the most part.) If you take a shortcut to save yourself some grief & give yourself some spare time to actually be an adult doing whatever for 2.5 milliseconds, you’re lazy.

I’ve heard it all. You’re lazy if you let your kids play vs spending every single moment trying to make sure they speak 11 languages and write their name caligraphy-style with a fountain pen by the time they’re 2. You’re “lazy” if you let them stay in the car for 2 minutes while you go inside & pay for gas. You’re “lazy” for getting them shoes that use velcro, vs shoelaced shoes. You’re not a good parent if you get a car seat that is easy to buckle vs getting the “safer” one that is 15 times harder to deal with. You’re “lazy” for letting your infant child cry-it-out at naptime vs spending 45 minutes going back & forth rock to sleep-put them down they’re crying again-pick them up, rock to sleep some more-put them down, oh it’s okay–oops, they’re crying again, I better do it all over again. And you’re a bad parent if you want toys that are battery-operated to have a very obvious “off” switch that IMMEDIATELY silences a “musical” toy.

I try not to judge those sorts of things (I may have the opinions I do which I expressed near the end of the attachment parenting post, but even then I’m simply stating what I think the principles are, not judging PEOPLE–regardless, judge a parent for being lazy, not a chance.) Me, for instance,I very often cook my kids a full sausage-eggs-biscuits in the morning–come night, I may cook them a meal with meat & potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, green beans, collards, all over a hot stove. And frankly, I’m an advocate of the “let’s all sit around the table, and NO TV etc” school of thought.

But you know what? I am not going to judge a mother that lets her child have cold cereal (vs my sausage-eggs-biscuits deal) to make it easier on herself. If <SKL or anybody else wants to give their child apples & bananas to make it easier on themselves, I say, fine. I mean, gee whiz, you would think, based on the responses of some people I hear talk, is akin to kicking your child outside in 20’F weather–naked, wet, and locking the door. For 9 hours. While it’s snowing.

Heck, why stop there. The meal I make, I mean, I use “convenience” bags and canned vegetables etc. Am I not “good enough” because I don’t grow peas & corn in a garden I maintain? Am I “lazy” because I wash dishes in a dishwashing machine and not by hand if I can help it? Should we be using a “washboard” instead of a washing machine or else we’re lazy?

And of course, the free-range stuff–I’m “lazy” because I’ve taught my kids to, most of the time anyway, be able to navigate smaller parking lots without my having to hold their hand. I’m “lazy” because I expect them to follow me on-foot in the store vs being pushed around in the grocery cart (I need all the room, and they are 3 & 5). I’m “lazy” because I allow them to dress themselves & don’t have a cow if they put their pants on backwards?

Some people, I tell you.

LRH

“I mean, I use “convenience” bags and canned vegetables etc. Am I not “good enough” because I don’t grow peas & corn in a garden I maintain?”

LOL, LRH! I’ve thought that before, too. I make my own bread.(it doesn’t make me better than someone who buys it. I am not somehow superior because I do it. I bake it because I like to bake. I think it’s fun to experiment with different kinds of bread.) But I have thought to myself that I’m not really making it from scratch as much as I’m assembling it from scratch – after all, it’s not like I milled the grain myself 🙂

That being said, I’ve never seen these pouches before. I do not care for the waste they create. It doesn’t bother me that people feed them to their kids. But feeding your child pureed fruit or veggies from a pouch has nothing to do with a philosophy which espouses allowing your children age appropriate independence and refusing to succomb to the pervasive culture of fear.I find myself irrationally annoyed at this attempt to co-opt the term for marketing purposes.

I read the article too & I can understand why you are upset, but since I understood what he mean by the Free-Range term I didn’t think much of it. I’m not sure how many older kids really eat his food. I wonder more if the article is an attempt to promote / market it as a convenience food for all kids. To me it’s more of a baby / toddler food & is great for a younger child that needs to eat often. I personally think they are great for my one year old, but as he gets better at self feeding & less messy I would prefer he eat real whole foods. These are handy to keep in your car since they don’t need refrigeration before they are opened & are not too perishable. They are Organic Fruits & veggies so they are healthy on the go food like an energy bar or a glass of milk or protein drink. Much better than fast food. My almost 6yr old turns his nose up at them, but my one yr old loves them

As I am reading some of the comments, I’m a little put off by the judgement. IE pouches = bad parents. They are a tool like anything else, they can be very useful or over used. Every situation, child & family are different. My experience with my oldest child when he was young was that he was always hungry & I always had to have food in the car or my purse just in case. I had milk in the containers that didn’t need refrigeration & energy or granola type bars, why are the pouches any worse? Due to the crappy economy, the high price of gas & everything else I try to combine my errands to not be wasteful. I also have an older son that I have to pick up from school & errands to run, market, misc shopping, doctors appointments, etc. Some days I’m out all day & my kids are not over scheduled. My son has 5 days of school & they baby has mommy & me once a week. Please lets be more kind & understanding of people who live differently than ourselves. Thanks, sorry for the rant.

I can see these being useful for trips and whatnot, just as a quick snack until you can find a place to sit, or during a long bus ride(did the same with Yops for my kid), but to replace regular feeding time? That’s just lazy.

This is awesome!!! (That Dina “heard” us and totally gets it. So exciting.)

And as for cutting fruits at midnight – they get brown (or otherwise less appetizing) by the next day. I might not want to serve my kid brown fruit chunks. Sometimes I do serve them a little discolored, but I don’t make a practice of it just to prove I’m a diligent mother.

I agree that this product isn’t the most environmentally impressive one. However, the same could be said of many things we use more often than an applesauce pouch. Hopefully there is a way to redesign the pouch for reduced environmental impact. Meanwhile, I’m not going to lose sleep over it.

I was thinking about these things more and the whole Wall-e connection kept popping into my head. The future in Wall-e is full of fat people that move around on sleds and eat (slurp) cups of food all day long. And that’s after they destroyed their world with a ton of waste from convenience food. I’ve always thought that the idea isn’t that far off with the way the world (okay, maybe just the US) is heading.

My question is – These things are BABY FOOD. That is their original purpose. They are made by Gerber and other babyfood manufactures as well as this company. I’ve never seen them but I imagine that they are found on the baby aisle with all the other baby food (an aisle I have no reason to enter anymore which would explain why I’ve never seen them). They are nothing more than the stuff in the baby food jars put in a different container. Heck they say “BABY” right on the packaging.

For any other baby item that parents of non-babies use, everyone here is all over it and the infantizing of American kids. If kindergarteners without health issues were showing up at playgrounds and schools with little jars of baby food, everyone would be outraged. But we’re supposed to shrug our shoulders at feeding kids well past the baby stage baby food because it comes in cute packaging? We’re suddenly more judgmental than usual for thinking that baby food should not be marketed as an item that all kids need instead of as something for babies?

I can certainly see where they would be handy for babies. I probably would have used them when out and about myself when my girl was eating baby food. I can’t get on board with serving elementary school age children baby food because it comes in a cute container. Sorry if that is too judgmental for this group. It seems pretty consistent with the general free-range views here to me.

Sorry, I did miss the comment. I’m stuck in a part of the world where new things don’t appear so I’ve never seen them.

If this is simply traditional apple sauce in a slurp container – like go-gurt – then I just think it’s gross and there is no need for it (apple sauce and yogurt can be saved for times when they are not an inconvenience and something else, like an actual apple, served if you need to eat on the go) but to each his own. I’m not buying them but whatever.

If you are talking a wide range of fruits and veggies pureed and put in pouches to suck, then I stick to my original comment. It is just baby food being marketed to non-babies. Moving baby food off the baby aisle doesn’t actually make it not baby food. It is not akin to a travel mug in that most food is not meant to be consumed in a pureed form or via sucking beyond babyhood. An adult consuming a liquid in adult form in a spill free container is not actually the same as an adult consuming food in baby-form and in a spill-free container. They would be handy though for those with broken jaws or recent major dental work/orthodontia. If that makes me judgmental on this issue, I’m judgmental.

And I DO feel like I am drinking out of a sippy cup when I drink out of many sports bottles. I only like the ones with wide openings that are more like travel mugs.

I think the way these pouches are marketed as something kids should be eating constantly is what’s gross. Now and again? Sure, why not. All things in moderation and so forth. But constantly, because “kids are so busy”? Just off. Kids don’t need to be so constantly busy that they never have time to chew. Learning how to eat properly is more important than endless karate and ballet appointments.

Winnie- Not long ago I read an article about the explosion in kids’ snacking- when asked why she always had snacks on hand, a mom said, “to stave off tantrums, of course.” Gotta appreciate her honesty! I think there’s an engrained cultural belief -eagerly encouraged by snack makers! -that kids should never be allowed to feel the slightest ache of hunger.

Donna- I think it can be fun to eat something developmentally inappropriate at times. Key Words: At Times. But truthfully: food in a pouch wouldn’t be in business if it was marketed as just a fun food to have on occasion. Because it is pretty much baby food. I’m reminded of my three-year-old nephew playing “baby” with his sister the other day. He was wearing a diaper at one point, something he hasn’t had the real need for for quite some time. And while he thought the diaper was fun for a bit, eventually he said, “I don’t like it. Take it off.”

You know we are seeing children coming to school with poor muscle tone around their mouths. One of the recommendations our preschool teachers give parents is give your child an apple with the skin on to eat – the chewing motion will help develop muscle tone. Poor muscle tone can contribute to problems with articulation. Its amazing how many kids bring processed fruit to school for lunch as opposed to a piece of fresh fruit. My school is in a low ses area and the cost of processed fruit is way higher than fresh fruit – so I have no doubt that this sort of product could and will catch on here in Australia.

BTW on a brighter note – our preschool teacher went to a Dept Ed sponsored early childhood conference, can you guess which book the DEC is recommending? Yep Freerange Kids!!! Our teacher was talking it up in the staffroom -hooray maybe this is the start of something big – lets hope so.

Althought I am a stickler for encouraging healthy food habits early and never even understood baby food in jars myself, it really isn’t going to permanently damage a child to be given these when they’re very young or as a snack when they’re older. But it’s the marketing that is very anti free-range. If kids don’t even have time to sit down for a meal, they’re not going to have time for free play.

You know, applesauce, puddling, jello cottage cheese and more have been around for quiet a while, and you don’t really need to chew any of those. The fact that chewing is or is not required is not the issue.

The issue is that this is marketed as “free range”. But as I see it, it is only “free range” in the same way that chickens are free range. Chickens are free range if they go out in the pasture and eat any goody that they can find, be it tasty leaf, or more tasty bug or slug. For a kid to get “free range” in terms of food, the kid needs to go get it and eat it. I would argue that the parents who let their kid walk to the convenience store with a dollar are more like how the chickens eat. This “might” be free range in the same way if the shelf is stocked with things and this is what the kid picks out.

But, Lenore advocates way beyond what chickens do. It is allowing kids to make choices about their time – and, how to get there on their own if at all possible. It is about giving kids time to be kids, to explore, to learn about nature, to make friends with kids in the neighborhood without arranged dates and mom there to supervise in case there is an argument. It is learning about the people in your area, adults and kids. It is about learning in an age appropriate manner how to be safe, secure and happy without unnatural restrictions or cages. (Oops, back to the chickens. Children shouldn’t be in cages although some parents do try to keep them that way to keep them “safe.”)

You don’t have to have over-scheduled kids to be busy & not have time for a proper meal. My oldest son is one of those kids that doesn’t want to stop & eat, but the second he gets into the car he wants to eat. I am not with him while he is at school & while the teacher can make him sit with the other kids for snacks & lunch she can’t make him eat. Sometime I have to run an errand or make a stop before we get home & having a snack in the car is a lifesaver. Also I have found that when traveling or going to museums or parks & such or even the mall the food available is often not healthy & I would prefer to bring a healthy snack. While I am not advocating these pouches for older kids they are far from junk food or processed food in the sense that they are not like jello, pudding or Twinkies or something. They are not much different than snack packs of fruit without the sugar & they don’t need utensils.

I remember years ago when I was on a job and I worked late along with an IRS agent. She had a 6yo at the time and had to pick him up from afterschool at about 6pm. The kid had last eaten at 11:45am and was starving. He was crying. She had to grab some McD’s because it was just too much to ask him to wait for a sit-down meal to be served. I’ll bet she would have loved to have a stash of convenient, neat stuff to eat in the car for times like that. (I dare you to call her “lazy” for being in that situation.)

Lin, I agree that it’s all about the parents’ choices, and most of us could avoid eating in the car if we wanted to. I used to forbid it until about a year ago when I decided that (a) my kids were too old to worry about choking, (b) they were capable of not smearing the backseat full of food, and (c) we could get more done at our destination if we got the eating out of the way. Before that I used to do the sit-down meal at the destination (picnic style), but I weighed my priorities and decided to change things up. I’m not saying there’s no other way or that everyone needs to do that. I’m not disrespecting others’ choices to do differently. But I’d like people to understand that parents can make a “different” choice without being lazy or having sick priorities.

Just for context, the place I take my kids to on Wednesday nights is one most of you would probably find valuable. There are several kid-friendly museums, some with hands-on exhibits, one with an outdoor live wildlife exibit (like a little zoo), and some with nice places to climb and play. On Wednesday evenings in summer, there is a weekly music festival right there on the green, and each week the theme is a little different. Reggae, Irish, hippie, you name it. There are exhibits and workshops for the kids – again, different each week. The place is full of different people and cultural stuff. It’s also an awesome free-range opportunity for kids to run around and get comfortable with all different kinds of people. But the food options are horrible. So, I do what I think makes the most of our Wednesday evenings. It has nothing to do with being lazy or over-scheduled or “infantilizing” my kids.

Where were these when I was a kid?

Uly, the parents were informed that there would be a lesson on AIDS, not that oral/anal sex would be described to their children. Even my 5yos know there is a deadly disease called AIDS, but they don’t know how exactly it is spread. I thought the purpose of AIDS lessons in elementary school was to reassure children that they could not catch it just by sitting next to an infected classmate.

I disagree with the way the principal handled the question. That can’t be the first time a kid asked a question that wasn’t appropriately answered factually in that setting. What if the child said “what does f*ck mean”? What ever happened to “ask your mother” or “maybe the librarian could help you later” or “oh goodness, we’re behind schedule, time to start the next section”? Why did the words “anal sex” need to be in that presentation in the first place?

If some kids are at risk of being sexually active at age 10, those kids should be counseled privately. It isn’t appropriate to explain oral and anal sex to a roomful of other parents’ 10-year-olds, in my opinion.

As for the range of community reactions, even if the word “homophobe” doesn’t show up in the comments, there are reactions to the effect that you’re uptight if you don’t realize your 10yo needs to know this. Blech. It’s just one in a series of situations where outsiders step into the proper role of parents and decide what their young children are ready for. They aren’t ready to walk to school or buy milk alone, but they need to know what anal sex is because they might try it. Hmm. How are they gonna try it if they are never allowed unsupervised for ten seconds?

I remember being 10. The absolute last thing I needed to be thinking about was that.

Jessica, that might make sense if she’d known she’d be working late for sure, or if it happened quite regularly. But she normally picked the kid up much earlier. You wouldn’t keep fresh fruits in your car or briefcase all summer just in case you “might” work late. They don’t keep that well. As for sending a snack with the kid, she told me the school didn’t allow them to have snacks. (This was an afterschool program at the public elementary school.)

Fact is, hindsight is 20/20, but it’s nice to have access to something that isn’t fragile in a pinch. I’m sure we’ve all had situations where we didn’t think of every possibility in advance and relied on some convenience to get us through.

I also used to stock little “milk boxes,” because of the time I was stuck taking two sick babies out in the cold rain when milk ran low. It was such an unpleasant experience that I wanted to make sure that never happened again. I never really needed the milk boxes but I felt better having them, and I’d bring them for picnics in order to use them up before they expired. I also still keep little packets of peanut butter, cereal bars, and a couple other things that I can grab on the way out the door if I don’t have time to prep anything. It’s not a lifestyle, it’s more of a buffer. It beats having to rely on McDonalds in a pinch. The other time convenience foods come in handy is when I pick up my kids in the evening and they have a note saying “bring a disposable sack lunch tomorrow.” My grocery store is a half-hour drive away, and I might have plans for the evening. Even if I’m out of bread (which I don’t use often) and kid-friendly fresh fruit, I can throw together a couple sacks of healthy food.

This side discussion is kinda funny to me, because normally I’m a “less is more” kind of person. The things people typically stock up on, I don’t. But having a week’s worth of super convenient foods seems reasonable to me. It gives me a buffer against stress. Much cheaper than a spa day or pills, LOL.

The pouches in question are baby food. They are 100% organic. And they are fantastic for babies and toddlers – as a baby food. They even have a spoon attachment (reusable) to prevent “slurping.” I loved using these when my son was a baby, even in our own home just like other folks buy Gerber or whatever. (And when we flew home at Christmas everyone in the airport stopped to ask what we were eating, as it seemed simple, civilized, and without mess.)

And though we’re on to bigger and better things now, when my almost 2 toddler refuses green veggies for a day or two, he will still reliably eat a spinach, peas and pears packet or brocoli and apples pack and I have zero issue with that. Afterall it is organic and it has no additives whatsoever. (He even uses his own spoon.)

I’m sorry these folks in their marketing stepped on the “free-range parent” term, but I truly don’t understand all the hate out there for parents who buy baby food for their babies (and tots) out of a pouch instead of a bottle or little plastic box?

Having a week’s worth of snack foods is more than just a buffer for when kids are hungry. It is also called being prepared for an emergency.

I used to live on the San Andreas Fault. We were supposed to have bottled water and easily prepared food for about 3 days to a week. The school actually asked that all parents send in stuff exactly like this so that if there were an earthquake while kids were in school, that they would have something to snack on until parents were able to get them. We commonly had power outages each winter of 2 or more days due to mud sliding with trees that would take out power lines.

When I lived on the other side of the continent, we lived in hurricane area, which again, is better to be prepared ahead of time. And, because we were a “southern” state, we also occasionally got huge snow storms that our county was totally unprepared to handle, meaning that much of the county could be a week before the roads were cleared (and, often had downed power lines to boot.)

Having snacks like this, as well as the crackers and cheese and peanut butter, jerky, dried fruit and such is all just part of being prepared, and yes, it is nice to rotate it out before it goes completely bad and you waste your money.

“What ever happened to ‘to each her own’ when discussing something that isn’t hurting anyone?”

I would venture that our collective use of individually-wrapped, single-serving anything is hurting us all, and most other forms of life on this planet. And if you think I’m just being hysterical, you’re in great company. Most of the word’s leaders and corporate CEOs would agree with you.

I gave these to my one year old nephew when he lived with me last year. They were a big time saver and they were also easy for him to eat on his own. They were also the only thing he’d eat when he was teething.

Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with giving a little one a pouch of food every once in awhile. Especially when they’re in that messy stage. I didn’t always have the time to deal with the spoon dropping, food slopping routine in the mornings while I was trying to get his older brother ready for school.

Honestly, our pouch consumption is nothing compared to the reams of paper my kids bring home from school. That really makes me cringe.

Compared to most folks, my family consumes much fewer non-renewable resources. Most popular products never make it into my shopping cart, and I rinse and reuse ziplock bags. But I don’t believe that the earth is such a wuss planet that a few pouches will do her in.

tmsudds, you are funny. If I took up our whole evening to cook and serve a sit-down meal to my kids every day, we’d all be fat from not getting enough exercise. No, I don’t think making time for evening exercise is bringing me to an early death. But if it makes you feel better to put me down, go for it. That’s the only way some people ever find happiness. So be happy.

And by the way, it doesn’t take all evening or shouldn’t take all evening to cook and serve a meal to children. There are great meals that can be cooked in less than 20 minutes, like home made stir fry. I tend to keep chopped onion, peppers, and other vittles in the freezer for these occasions. You can also accompany the meal with either toast or jiffy and kids love the sustenance, IF they’re used to eating non-processed foods that are healthy for them. I started all of my kids on pureed green beans as a baby food starter. They will grab a piece of fresh fruit or veggies over anything else as a snack and I don’t buy sodas, cookies, etc. We play xbox kinnect games like dance central together now that they are teens and when they were younger, we actually went outside to play badminton or toss around a football. My kids are actually extremely in shape…have six packs without weight lifting and have always had superb muscle tone. They are also athletes…good ones too. We don’t own a mower with a motor…the teen boys get out there and push the old fashion kind with a blade…we have a half an acre. I trim bushes and other foliage in our yard. It’s a team effort and since we sit down together to a meal more than your average family today, I don’t have to pull my hair out to get them motivated to cut the yard. I simply say, “Boys…the grass needs to be cut.” They get up and they do it. Because when it’s dinner time…guess what? I get up and do it…leading by example.

Again, it would be conceivable that an adult person who is strong enough to give birth and manage a household would also be psychologically strong enough to with stand a text “SMH” and a few caps. Have you ever been a part of an intense team led think tank at work that affected bottom line decisions? I wouldn’t think so, because you are very sensitive…extremely sensitive. Here is an example of a put down…”a mother who cannot manage to work and feed her kids a home cooked meal is of no better use than a circus clown.”

Now…I am in no way comparing you or any other mother a circus clown, but merely demonstrating what a put down really sounds like. Yes…I am very down to earth and I am a single working mother…my oldest is 18 and now I see why she has such a strong disposition and mind.

No matter what you say or how you say it, I won’t agree with the value gathered from feeding a child from a pouch and I will stand on my opinion that I think it’s absurd. Again…that’s MY opinion and in no way is designed to make you feel like less of a mother or a human being. I assigned no value to you or your character by stating my opinion. I think the action is absurd…not the person. However, with these responses you keep posting, I’m starting to question your sound decision making abilities. I’ll definitely have to share this lil “debate” with my teens as an example of how to accept a difference in opinion without taking it personal. Thank you so much SKL. No doubt the conversation will more than likely take place over one of our lovely daily home cooked meals. *big smiles*

I never said I didn’t criticize you. I said that I didn’t put you down. Huge difference. Yes, I did criticize you and I won’t apologize for that. In everything that you’ve said, I have yet to take one thing personal. Again, you missed the point. I said that I’m going to show my kids this debate/comment exchange as an example of how not to what people say in disagreement so personal or take it as a personal attack. You really don’t listen too well do you? Yes, another critique and observation on my part. Again, not a put down. I haven’t let your comments go, because you keep commenting to me. If you keep commenting to me, I’m going to reply. I don’t feel like you attacked me or my family traditions at all. I just think you’re being too sensitive to the matter and should probably get over it.

No thank you. Have a nice day.

Hey, those pouches are great for a picnic lunch with a five year old during a semi-rigorous 4 mile hike in the bear infested Smoky mountains! They are mess free (just toss them in the back pack with the peanut butter sandwich), nutritious (well, the applesauce kind I found was) and light weight. We had a great hike, too!