Editorial
I am amazed at times how so many families seem to operate a 24-hour-cafeteria approach to feeding family members.
Despite both parents having to work to pay the bills for the demands of life today, and having little time for domestic activities so many people seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time on shopping for food and also preparing it. That is also not to mention funds spent on food and transport to and from shops and supermarkets.
Convenience is a major factor in food choice and preparation for the “time-poor”consumer today. Yet many families seem to have unplanned meal times and menus so that meals are based on a fancy for a food chosen in a rushed visit to the local take away, fast food restaurant, garage, supermarket or local convenience store.
As hunger takes over from any other aspect of food choice such meals can often be somewhat unbalanced with too few fruit and vegetables and a disproportionate amount of energy from fat as well as an excessive amount of salt. On seeing the items on offer, often people give in to children’s demands for snacks such as crisps. This then results in the children having no appetite for the meal and a vicious circle of unhealthy snacks developing.
Often when talking to the parents of a child who has been referred for a dietary problem, I find the family has little structure to food and meal times. The parents eat no breakfast themselves and give the children money to buy food during the day. Some schools provide an excellent breakfast service at “Breakfast clubs” or at mid-morning breaks. Other schools do not provide anything and children buy items such as sweets or savoury snacks and soft drinks from local shops on their way to school and then have little to spend on a balanced school lunch.
When they get home they are thirsty and hungry and then having filled up on food they are so full they do not want to eat an evening meal with parents. The frantic mother then ends up going to buy something to tempt the child later on and thus a pattern of cafeteria eating in the family develop.
Mabel Blades
