Sugar Free jello for kids dessert,You gotta be kidding

[bicker]

No, it's a very serious issue, and one that shouldn't really derail discussions about Disney vacations. I feel it would be best if we all just respected each other's perspective. I've done a lot of research and I know what I'm talking about, as do the medical experts who's advice and council I follow. I respect the fact that other people hold different views. I will gladly grant them the right to say that they think sugar is keen and sucralose is evil -- but only as far as theygrant me the right to say the exact opposite , because that is what I know from my own research.

So let's just each just say our piece, respect the fact that we disagree, and move on.

Deal?

 

[Colleen27]

It does appear that Disney is gearing their menus to the "healthy" side, which is nice to see. But parents and visitors have different tastes and opinions, and therefore Disney should advertise and offer other child dessert options.

Character shortbread cookies, fruit snacks, sugar free jello cup, and pudding cups are all easy, long lasting dessert options that Disney could offer. No, they're not the most healthiest dessert to hit the shelves, but as I said, my mindset is that a dessert is a treat not an "extra snack".

I'm just glad to see that the sugar free Jello thing has provoked some reaction, and that most places are accomidating requests for an alternative. I have one child who is sensitive to certain food dyes and as a family we avoid artificial sweeteners, so SF Jello as the only option doesn't work for us. But I do like the move towards healthier choices, especially as Mom to 2 kids who don't care or french fries. I just think that there should be applesauce/fruit cups or something similar as an alternative to the Jello.

 

[bicker]

FWIR, they are offering applesauce, now, just about everywhere where they offer the Jell-o.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I have no problem with the SF Jello. Half of the times my kids are to full when it comes to dessert.

There are not going to be able to please everyone and there are much worst items than sf jello.

 

[MosMom]

Bill Cosby would be ashamed of all of you. The man loves him some Jello!

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

LOL MosMom, way to bust out the Bill Cosby.


J-E-L-L-O!!!!

 

[cougartrace]

sugar is not dangerous and that's a laughable thing to say that it is.

In moderation, it's healthy (lol..i just watched a show about this the other day on tv)

For instance, chococlate (especially dark choc) has been deemed very good for you in moderation.

Besides, this is a vacation for most people and if you don't have any medical reasons to say otherwise, I say live a little while you are on vacation. Heck, you walk all or most of it off

 

[WDWfor5]

Oh, No!! Sugar is DANGEROUS! Say it ain't so, please! Well, why did God make something so wonderful as sugar if it is dangerous?

Seriously, isn't this a little absurd. Come on, sugar is dangerous? Is it a monster? Is it illegal to consume such a dangerous substance? Disney and the feds trying to regulate what we fed our kids is simply primeval. I know what is best for my kids, and a little sugar will not kill them. They are teeny tiny little girls who need calories when they walk for miles all over WDW, and when they are busy at home. The food police have gone too far already, just let us have some choices please, since we are spending our hard earned money to have a good time.

Exactly - the only way sugar is "dangerous" is if you can't control yourself and then the real problem is the lack of self control. There are many things that can be dangerous in excess - alcohol, fats and oils, legal medicines, even exercise.

The reality is that people decide that it's sugar that's dangerous or alcohol or oils, etc rather than accepting the responsibility for there own bad decisions. As I sit here eating pistachio nuts, I could declare that nuts are dangerous since if I eat too many too often, I will end up obese and with health problems. But I am self aware enough to know that if I eat too many - it's because I didn't exercise my self control.

My kids are welcome to eat the occasional sugary treat - they're very active, normal weight and I don't need to feed them artificial sweeteners. IMHO everyone needs to get away from blaming the easy targets and take a harder look at overall lifestyle - children today need to be more active, spend less time in front of a tv and eat more healthy meals that include the 5 food groups. Sugar free products are not the answer to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, parenting is.

 

[jenjersnap]

Exactly - the only way sugar is "dangerous" is if you can't control yourself and then the real problem is the lack of self control. There are many things that can be dangerous in excess - alcohol, fats and oils, legal medicines, even exercise.

The reality is that people decide that it's sugar that's dangerous or alcohol or oils, etc rather than accepting the responsibility for there own bad decisions. As I sit here eating pistachio nuts, I could declare that nuts are dangerous since if I eat too many too often, I will end up obese and with health problems. But I am self aware enough to know that if I eat too many - it's because I didn't exercise my self control.

My kids are welcome to eat the occasional sugary treat - they're very active, normal weight and I don't need to feed them artificial sweeteners. IMHO everyone needs to get away from blaming the easy targets and take a harder look at overall lifestyle - children today need to be more active, spend less time in front of a tv and eat more healthy meals that include the 5 food groups. Sugar free products are not the answer to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, parenting is.

Thank you for this. I have been trying all morning to write a post and you did a much better job than I could.

We eat healthy and in moderation. We avoid some forms of sugar (namely high fructose corn syrup). I will never be convinced that ingesting some lab-created chemical sweetener just to eat more sweets than you should is healthier than an occasional sugary treat. Artificial sweeteners are great for those with diabetes but not for growing, active, healthy kids.

 

[bicker]

sugar is not dangerous and that's a laughable thing to say that it is. In moderation, it's healthy

As are most artificial sweeteners: healthy and safe, in moderation. That was my point (except I promise I won't laugh if someone disagrees ).

 

[seven dwarfs]

safe/not safe aside, I really have an issue eaten a nice piece of cake while my kids eat jello! Seems rude. I will just share but they need to offer similar things for kids as they offer me. Maybe in a smaller size to account for the cost.

 

[DaisyD]

safe/not safe aside, I really have an issue eaten a nice piece of cake while my kids eat jello! Seems rude. I will just share but they need to offer similar things for kids as they offer me. Maybe in a smaller size to account for the cost.

But no one is stopping you from buying the kid a nice dessert too. I don't want my child eating sugar free anything so I will happily buy her whatever she wants to eat. I could never get a tasty dessert and make her eat some nasty dessert.

 

[seven dwarfs]

DaiseyD:
I agree with you. I will either buy extra or just share. Just seems mean to me to eat a great looking treat. I know my kids, young as thery are, would wonder what is up. I hope they will change it by the time we return. If not I will do whatever I need to do. No big deal, just strange for a place where family is so important.

 

[DaisyD]

DaiseyD:
I agree with you. I will either buy extra or just share. Just seems mean to me to eat a great looking treat. I know my kids, young as thery are, would wonder what is up. I hope they will change it by the time we return. If not I will do whatever I need to do. No big deal, just strange for a place where family is so important.

It will only look mean if you don't get them something good to eat too! LOL! My DD eats adult desserts quite a bit anyway. She can't stand the texture of jello or applesauce so she always gets a good dessert.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Sugar is not healthy. Artificial sweeteners are not healthy. Hot dogs are not healthy. Fruit is not healthy.

Only living beings are healthy or unhealthy. Things (food, sugar, sucralose, sunshine, tylenol, meat) are either healthful or unhealthful.

And, because someone always has to make the argument that fruits and vegetables were once living so they can be healthy, you have a point. But the fact the fruit or vegetable you may be eating is no longer living, it is clearly unhealthy

All that being said... the jello is such a non-issue. The artificial sweetener v. sugar is a non-issue. Nearly everything we eat has artificial colors. Many things have artificial preservatives even when there are no artificial sweeteners. Animal fat is completely natural but incredibly unhealthful at the same time. The chicken nuggets your child eats before refusing the sugar free jello may well come from chickens who were raised on feed infused with hormones. I realize it's easy to single out sugar substitutes as convenient evils, but for some people, they are life savers.

Now, go eat your %$#$% jello, healthful or otherwise!

 

[PittypatBR]

Okay, I haven't been since it was instituted so only know what my BFF said when she recently returned. The problem with the Jell-o was mainly that it was NASTY tasting! She said her grandson just wouldn't eat it. I have read this from others also. As long as Disney allows alternatives in most places, why not put them on the menu as choices? Then everyone would know and not just all of us brilliant people who read the DIS boards! I will check out the taste when I am there in exactly ONE MONTH!

 

[nursetish]

Well I'm going into the dining plan knowing about the SF Jello, and it doesn't bother me at all. My five year old will either eat it, not eat it, share with his brother who is an "adult" or share with me and dad. I'm sure if desert servings are like desert servings everywhere else, there will be more than enough to go around, especially since my 11 year old isn't a big sweet eater, and is more than willing to share wtih his little brother.

As far as the SF debate, my kids eat SF stuff all the time, because we try to cut back on sugar in our house all the time, as my husband is borderline diabetic, and my MIL, who lives next door and they spend as much time there as here, is diabetic. I'm pretty sure that they'll have enough treats left from Easter to satisfy any sweet tooth they might have in June.

 

[disneygrandma]

My grandchildren like jello, and if they would give them regular jello.....that would be fine. The sugar-free jello should be an option for those children that either can not eat regular jello, or their parents choose for them to eat the sugar-free kind....but the sugar-free stuff should not be the standard dessert option for children's meals. Would you want diet pop to be given out if your child wanted a soda?

Personally, my body can not tolerate most artificial sweeteners. I found this out many years ago when I decided to drink diet pop. I had head aches, back aches, and the back of my legs hurt. Then a friend told me of someone they knew having the same problems, and it was determined that diet pop was the problem. I stopped drinking diet pop, and all my body aches disappeared. My husband works with someone who had suffered severe head aches, and went to different doctors for a cure. Finally, one doctor asked him if he drank diet pop. Yes, he did. He took his doctor's advice, stopped drinking the diet pop, and the head aches disappeared.

Years ago, I was able to chew Trident gum in moderation. However, on our last trip to WDW, I made the mistake of getting some Trident sugar-free gum to chew on the airplane, and to use as a quick refresher while touring the parks. Well, everyday I got a little sicker. On the 4th day of our trip, I spent several hours in the bathroom at the American Pavilion, while my husband just hung out. I had been having severe stomach cramps, and the other part was not at all pretty. We were forced to spend the rest of the day in our room.

Two days later, as we were ready to get back on the airplane, I looked at the Trident package. They had changed the sugar-free ingredient to something starting with an "X". It then hit me why I had been so sick, and why our trip had been ruined. It was the artificial sweetener! I disposed of that gum, and I was fine.

My daughter-in-law has gotten the same symptoms (severe stomach cramps and diarrhea) from eating sugar-free jelly beans in the past. Just the other day she wanted to try a gourmet flavor of jelly beans that a co-worker had. She knew it was sugar-free, but thought that just one jelly bean wouldn't effect her. Well, it did!

So for those of you saying that sugar-free substitutes are safe and healthy for everyone, they aren't. My problem with the Disney kid's meals is not the jello, but the fact that it is sugar-free. I would not want my grand-children eating sugar-free anything, and I won't eat it either. Please Disney, if you want to serve jello to keep the cost down......then make it regular jello.

 

[mjlewis23]

I hate to feed the fire, but I just had to comment about "artificial colors and sweeteners not being dangerous"....Well, for many children, no they are not particularly dangerous, but for my child they are.

My daughter cannot have any artificial colors, flavors or a few chemical preservatives due to food sensitivities. She (thank goodness) does not have life-threatening reactions to them, but even in moderation (I mean even a single M&M), she will turn into child who absolutely cannot function normally. Depending on the chemical (different food colors, sweeteners, and preservatives have different chemical properties), they will either turn her into a very hyper child, an emotional wreck, or a complete zombie (almost to the point of being scary), then after those episodes come migraines, and for a 7-year old, a migraine is not fun. Removing these items from her diet, albiet hard, has been a life-saver for us. We now have a very well behaved daughter who is perfectly normal in every way except for she has to eat real food instead of processed stuff.

So, needless to say, we will not be getting sugar free jello, regular jello or anything of that type. However, I understand that Disney is not just there to please me, and having a child with allergies/sensitivities makes you much more understanding of these things. So, yes I will be purchasing a fruit cup for dessert if she wants one. But, neither my husband and I will be eating dessert either if they don't offer an all natural adult version as well, so I don't think she will even notice. So, I say "so what" about the jello....It's my vacation...I have bigger things to worry about!

But, please understand that even though you may not know about the dangers of particular chemicals doesn't mean they don't exist.

Michelle

 

[bicker]

Indeed, and that warning goes for natural things as well. How many of us look at peanuts as a wonderful, natural snack, while many many people look at them as serious health hazards.