Rant: Kids Menu= Horrible Diet

[MaleficentandGoons]

Originally Posted by PSULion

Ah yes.... what we all thought before our children reached toddlerhood!

I guess I was raised differently and thus am raising my DD differently too.

[PSULion]

Originally Posted by MaleficentandGoons

I guess I was raised differently and thus am raising my DD differently too.

Nope... not at all. My parents did not make excuses for me (or cook me a seperate dinner, etc etc), and I am the same with my child in every way possible. But in reality (as EVERY parent learns at some point) you have to choose your battles.

I actually agree with many of your points about kids with poor eating habits, parents making excuses, etc. However no one should speak to things with which they have no experience. And NO, working at a summer program with kids is not the same as raising a toddler on a THREE DAY hunger strike because you insist he must wear a bib to eat and he refuses to keep it on.

There's a reason they say not to judge til you walk a mile in someone's shoes.

[MaleficentandGoons]

Originally Posted by PSULion

Nope... not at all. My parents did not make excuses for me (or cook me a seperate dinner, etc etc), and I am the same with my child in every way possible. But in reality (as EVERY parent learns at some point) you have to choose your battles.

I actually agree with many of your points about kids with poor eating habits, parents making excuses, etc. However no one should speak to things with which they have no experience. And NO, working at a summer program with kids is not the same as raising a toddler on a THREE DAY hunger strike because you insist he must wear a bib to eat and he refuses to keep it on.

There's a reason they say not to judge til you walk a mile in someone's shoes.

No working with children isn't the same as living with them agreed but when you have a camp director who has been doing this for 50 years as well as teaching/ forming/ running an alternative program for teens in a school as well as a nutritionist, a nurse who is also a fire fighter and numerous other education/school affiliated people comment you stop and think. They are much more experienced than I and on average have 2-3 kids of their own ranging in ages from 5-26 yet we all noticed how diets of children have changed.

I agree though as parents it's about battles. Where you might say the bib has to be on I would be ok with the bib on the lap. Yes, parenting is all about which battle to choose.

[PSULion]

Originally Posted by MaleficentandGoons

Yes, parenting is all about which battle to choose.

I would have been THRILLED with bib on the lap. The hysterics started when I took it out of the drawer. I finally lost that battle, but not the war. I reattacked it a few days later and have had three straight days of bib wearing.

And as I said - I definitely agree with you about many kids eating habits. My original post was meant in fun... it just struck me as so funny because I would have said the EXACT same thing a year ago. Now I know the reality of toddler life!!

[MaleficentandGoons]

Originally Posted by PSULion

I would have been THRILLED with bib on the lap. The hysterics started when I took it out of the drawer. I finally lost that battle, but not the war. I reattacked it a few days later and have had three straight days of bib wearing.

And as I said - I definitely agree with you about many kids eating habits. My original post was meant in fun... it just struck me as so funny because I would have said the EXACT same thing a year ago. Now I know the reality of toddler life!!

Oh I know you were being funny! I can't even imagine how DD will be in the future she is a riot right already! The banana face is HYSTERICAL! I mixed it with oatmeal one day to see if that would fly. She swallowed slowly and then looked at me with a VERY clear "i don't think so face."

[Bell30012]

After ten days of just eating at Disney, we were without a car so we ate every meal on property, my daughter told me that she didn't want to see grapes or carrot sticks as choices ever again. Chicken nuggets weren't high on her list either.

I just wish they'd add some more variety to the kid's menus.

[princessmom29]

Originally Posted by Bell30012

After ten days of just eating at Disney, we were without a car so we ate every meal on property, my daughter told me that she didn't want to see grapes or carrot sticks as choices ever again. Chicken nuggets weren't high on her list either.

I just wish they'd add some more variety to the kid's menus.

Me too. DD is NOT a picky eater at all. From the time she was on table food ther have been no alternative meals in this house unless someone has an allergy (DH is allergic to shellfish). She eats a large variety of foods, and likes some "interesting" things. Most notably calamari and goat cheese. She HATES the Disney kids menus. She is not a chiken nugget and pizza kid. She doesn't eat a lot, and most of the time i end up supplementing her kids meal from my plate, or buying her an appitizer out of pocket to get her some "good food". For instance: Cosmic rays. There is not even a burger on the kids menu!! It is basically PBJ or nuggets. DD and I split an adult meal there.

[princessmom29]

i realize this is not exactly folowing the rules to the letter, but for those on the dining plan:
I discovered by mistake last year hat there is no distinction made in the computers between child and adult CS credits. i ourderd DD a full adult meal somewhere, using a CS credit. I fully anticipated having to pay for another adult meal somewhere else to make up for the extra credit, but never did. We used every credit with no problem so one of her credits got spent on an adult meal. Someone else here later confirmed this for me. According to another thread if the CM sees the child with you they will question it, but if you send one parent to do all the food ordering on one KTTW card, they have no way of knowing how many adults and how many children you have. Just FYI for that day when your kid is about to turn into a chicken nugget!!!!

[princessmom29]

Originally Posted by Indiana Rose Lee

Lol, get back to me when there is something your child really doesn't like. Or do you force her to eat everything. As a parent of many, I made my kids try stuff, but no one likes everything. I'll eat octopus, but glazed carrots make me want to gag, thanks to a stint in a daycare during college.

I've worked with thousands of kids in varying capacities. It is easy to sit back and judge. But not too smart in the grand scheme of life. No parent gets everything right.

So what is your job at this camp?

Well, my DD is 6 and there are definitely things she doesn't like. She doesn't have to eat them, but I don't cook differently for her if we are having them. I try to make at least one thing I know everyone in the house likes, but there are no guantees of that happening. It is amazing what kids decide they can live with when they don't have an alternative choice there. There are some things she simply won't eat, but there are some things I simply won't eat either. I think the point is that limiting what you put in front of a kid to only his favorite foods limits what the child will eat to those favorite foods. I think kids diets are changing because more and more parents are doing just that becuase it is easier than standing thier ground. Are there exceptions? Absolutely, but I don't think most or even a large minority of picky eaters are due to a real medical issue. I think most are that way becuase they are allowed to be. I also worked summer camp and preschool for years. We did not allow special lunches brought in unless there was a food allergy at work. You would have thought we had told them we were serving dog food the way some of the parents react when they are told this. "But all little Jimmy will eat is PBJ. He is going to starve" 99% of the time little Jimmy was eating at least something from the school lunch by the end of week 1.

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Originally Posted by princessmom29

Well, my DD is 6 and there are definitely things she doesn't like. She doesn't have to eat them, but I don't cook differently for her if we are having them. I try to make at least one thing I know everyone in the house likes, but there are no guantees of that happening. It is amazing what kids decide they can live with when they don't have an alternative choice there. There are some things she simply won't eat, but there are some things I simply won't eat either. I think the point is that limiting what you put in front of a kid to only his favorite foods limits what the child will eat to those favorite foods. I think kids diets are changing because more and more parents are doing just that becuase it is easier than standing thier ground. Are there exceptions? Absolutely, but I don't think most or even a large minority of picky eaters are due to a real medical issue. I think most are that way becuase they are allowed to be. I also worked summer camp and preschool for years. We did not allow special lunches brought in unless there was a food allergy at work. You would have thought we had told them we were serving dog food the way some of the parents react when they are told this. "But all little Jimmy will eat is PBJ. He is going to starve" 99% of the time little Jimmy was eating at least something from the school lunch by the end of week 1.

I agree, believe it or not. My frustration with the OP is her assumption that parents don't try. In a big family you have all kinds of tastes. My funniest is my 11 year old who doesn't like hot spices. Freakish in this house of Indian, Mexican, and Thai food. The OP will find that she can place some foods in front of her daughter a million times, and never see it enjoyed. Her idea that she is the parent, and the child is subject to her will, has a huge potential of blowing up in her face. I hope the poor little thing really does enjoy everything.

My husband grew up in a home with huge variety and a mom that cooks exremely well. He loved going to his best friend's house with over cooked veggies and endless junk food. His bff, loved eating at DH's house. Maybe the camp kids threw away food because it was nasty. Or maybe they threw it away because it is just like home and they wanted junk because that is what camp is all about.

Vacation and going out food is about fun. My kids eat pizza and hot dogs when we are out. I make pizza at home, but I hate hot dogs! They love them. There is no way my kids could eat from the kid menu for a week. I don't get the dp because of that. It isn't for us.

[Nancyg56]

Originally Posted by MaleficentandGoons

. What I am judging/questioning is how did these foods become "The Kid Menu" Like i said when i grew up if i didn't finish my vegetables i wasn't allowed to leave the table and if i didn't like what was for dinner it was pbj. Obviously everyone has favorites as well as things the don't like. This has nothing to do with kids with "sensory" issues.

I think that restaurants respond to what parents will pay for their children's meals. When we take DGD to dinner she is not obligated to order off of the children's menu. We have asked for a smaller portion of an adult entree and while some restaurants will agree some will not. As the consumer we have to choose how much we are willing to spend for her meals. We choose to let her order what she wants.

I believe that Disney has a pretty good variety of children's offerings if you are willing to use TS. CS perhaps not so much. DD will often let her DD order an adult CS meal and will have the grilled cheese herself. If there was a greater call for "healthier" options and folks were willing to pay for those meals restaurants would offer them. If is not fair to hold restaurants responsible to parenting decisions.

Originally Posted by Indiana Rose Lee

As someone said above, a child's menu is a nice perk. Not a right.

No one has to order from a child's menu. If one does, it is either out of being cheap, or the child likes the options.

I am not sure that it is because parents are cheap. I do believe that while price is a consideration it is not the only factor. Honestly, childrens menus can be a good value and for a lot of children they are a treat. My DGD is not allowed mac and cheese, nuggets and fries often so lately when we go to dinner she chooses those options. At home she tells me that she eats grilled chicken and brocoli becasue it is healthier for her If she wants steak off of the adult menu we purchase it but sine DD has removed the carb and fatty foods from DGD's choices at home she has moved back to the children menu when she can.

Originally Posted by usnuzuloose

You would think that a TS place would know some parents like to feed there children healthier meals. How hard would it be to put a small version menu for the children for healthier choices. Maybe its time to speak up at the resturants and see. Jo

Most TS restaurants have already done this. When DGD is in DIsney she has had the opportunity to enjoy way more than nuggets etc. We always purchase the meal plan and use TS at least once a day. I cannot eat at CS every day for every meal and would never expect her to either. We also check the CS manus out before we go o that we can choose more than burgers adn fried foods. They are there, you just need to look. The portions are generous so two meals will feeld three people easily, giving DGD plenty of variety.

[melancholywings]

Originally Posted by A&E'sMom

My point is this. It would be nice if EVERY WDW CS and/or TS menu offered a couple other main items on their kid's menu, that went in a healthier direction- grilled chicken sandwich maybe? Veggie burger? Sweet potato fries?. Variety is the spice of life after all, right? And it really has nothing to do with the price. Paying "less"- especially at WDW where cheap doesn't really equal cheap in real life- should not mean that anyone is stuck with "crap". After all, a child-sized portion is also smaller than an adult portion. But. Even if your child is stuck with a limited menu in WDW, that doesn't mean they should be stuck with one back safely at home.

I agree with your post - very much. I read a few posts that indicated we should be so lucky just to have a kids meal, and I disagree. I think Disney should feel lucky to get my money.
I believe their problem is their menu is incredibly outdated - very 1980's. Burger, Chicken Nuggets, Mac & Cheese, uncrustables and Pizza all in a mickey shapped plastic tray. In moderation all that food is fine but for a 9 to 10 day vacation. It gets boring and it's poor nutrition.

[luvmy3]

Originally Posted by melancholywings

I agree with your post - very much. I read a few posts that indicated we should be so lucky just to have a kids meal, and I disagree. I think Disney should feel lucky to get my money.
I believe their problem is their menu is incredibly outdated - very 1980's. Burger, Chicken Nuggets, Mac & Cheese, uncrustables and Pizza all in a mickey shapped plastic tray. In moderation all that food is fine but for a 9 to 10 day vacation. It gets boring and it's poor nutrition.

Is Disney forcing your child to eat those foods the whole 10 days you are there? We haven't been since Sept 08 and I'm just wondering if there are CMs standing around waiting to twist arms at the table, so I can prepare for our next trip.

[bicker]

Originally Posted by melancholywings

I read a few posts that indicated we should be so lucky just to have a kids meal, and I disagree. I think Disney should feel lucky to get my money.

It's actually a two-way street. Neither side is "lucky". It's a balance between offer and acceptance. What is offered and for how much is a reflection of what's mutually-acceptable.

[melancholywings]

Originally Posted by luvmy3

Is Disney forcing your child to eat those foods the whole 10 days you are there? We haven't been since Sept 08 and I'm just wondering if there are CMs standing around waiting to twist arms at the table, so I can prepare for our next trip.

I'm a consumer and have the right to want better food offerings. I have the right to express that I want better food for my kid. But then I'll always advocate for healthier food choices when it comes to my kid and I don't understand any parent that wouldn't want those options - even if they aren't going to eat them on the menu.

So why are you against the idea of wanting healthier options on the kids meal? Why be snarky against parents who want better options? Are you advocating for unhealthy kids? Are you taking it as an attack on your own lifestyle?