What age were you when you had your first junk food hit? Ask today’s child and most will have eaten at a fast food outlet by the time they were one. Unbelievable really. The first time I ate a McDonalds’ I was 20 and working in the USA on summer placement from hotel college. Times were different then and there was only 2 McDonalds in Dublin. I remember that first visit so well. The processed meat burger in a soft sweet bun was very foreign and not the taste I associated with meat and bread.

Today with the rise in processed foods, ready prepared meals and an abundance of fast food outlets and supermarkets, childrens’ diets have changed and in truth are becoming a nightmare. Processed food is a taste that today’s children recognise from an early age.

Because of the fast pace of life and both parents working outside the home, time pressures kick-in. Home cooking is becoming a thing for weekends. Even at that some families go out for lunch or supper and are faced with the ubiquitous kids menus in restaurants and hotels of sausages, chicken nuggets, burgers and chips.

Children are in the midst of a consumer food war created by the marketeers and aided and abeited by supermarkets, fast food joints and in a sense condoned by parents.

Without preaching I believe that it’s up to parents to educate their children about food. Part of this education should be to develop a sound knowledge of how food is produced, the different types of food, the taste of such foods and the enjoyment and fun of food socially. Getting your children involved and interested in food is the way forward.

Shopping for the best freshest ingredients, help with choosing the meat in the butchers, feeling and smelling the best fruit to check if it’s ripe, choosing the vegetables, buying milk, yoghurt and cheese. Children love responsibility when they realize that their opinion counts and especially when they are involved in decision making in the family.

These small steps from an early age will create an understanding of what food is and little conversations evolve about how food is produced and in turn prepared at home.

Real food is powerful. When understood and appreciated it is wonderful. It nourishes, it sustains, it excites. It lets you travel the world. Eating and enjoying real food is a learned behaviour. Children learn all behaviours as they see them: food, it’s no different. They eat and drink the foods they see their parents having. It is also easier to encourage and train children to eat in a family or group environment rather than on their own.

One of the best lessons for children is to realise from an early age that there is a time and place for food and that food should not be wasted. It is also very important that parents ensure that their daily intake includes foods from the major food groups in order to achieve a balanced and nutritional diet.

The primary education system should also consider a food module and food tastings within their Social Personal Health Education subject to reinforce how important real food is at an early age.

I am lucky to enjoy cooking and to have the time to be at home with our children. So when I cook at home, I cook for my family as opposed to cooking for the children. I don’t like the idea or term ‘children’s food’.

I include the children in the shopping, in the food preparation and in setting the table.
Most importantly, eating in our home is a family event.
The challenge for parents today is to get children to eat real fresh food. I know parents will say ‘My John will only eat such and such ….,’ but research has shown that we all don’t necessarily love a taste the first time we try it. Think Guinness and smoked fish, as examples. Likewise with children, it can take several tries before they accept a new taste. Children can all too easily become used to the processed taste of foods as opposed to real freshly cooked food.

Go to France or Italy and see the children digging into the family food feasts of baked fish or roasted rabbit with pasta bowls and salads .
Visit China or Thailand and watch in amazement as children slurp the noodles and rice dishes whilst pulling off a leg from a whole duck.
Every week at the supermarket I look in horror at shopping trolleys loaded with sliced pans, plastic hams and luncheon roll, frozen chicken pieces, pizzas, chips, sweet buns and biscuits. Where is the fresh fruit and veg? Where are the yoghurts, cheese and real butter? Do they never go to a butcher for meat cuts? Do they never bake a cake?
I shouldn’t act surprised. I recall two incidences last year in my own home with visiting children. A 12 year old asked me ‘What is that thing?’ My six year old responded in typical form by saying ‘You don’t know what a pineapple is!’ Amazing, pineapples have been in the local supermarkets for the majority of this girl’s lifetime.
The other story is a little scary. We had friends from Dublin down for Sunday lunch. With a crowd I tend to serve our meals family style. As I carried in the roasted chickens with garlic and herbs, roasted veg and potatoes, real boiled potatoes, this little man of eight asked two wild questions. ‘What is in the roasting tray and what are those?’

He referred to the whole chickens and the boiled jacket potatoes. Never before had he seen either. Some might think this child came from an impoverished background. On the contrary, because of his mum and dad’s high powered executive careers, he lives his food life surrounded by Marks and Spencers ready to go, beautifully presented and prepared oven ready dinners. There is no faffing around in that home with whole birds or spuds. This is an example of where the children of today are loosing out on one of life’s simple pleasures. Experience with real food will stand them in good stead for later life.

Shopping
Parents of today don’t need to be great cooks in the kitchen. They do however need to consider their food and menu choices. This starts with the weekly shopping trip to the supermarket. Parents need to take time to understand that what they are feeding their children will impact greatly on their future food choices, their enjoyment of food and their health. They need to plan their food choices and include their children in the family food scene. They need to pull out a cookbook and give themselves the confidence to go back to basics. Real slow fresh food should be the target. This can be achieved with a little planning. One pot casseroles, one pot pies, curries and soups can all be made in the evenings and ease the stress of making dinners when parents come in from work.

Creamy rice puddings, stewed fruits and custards are a winner in most families. Move to the summer and have pastas, ribs, chicken, steaks, kebabs and salads. Make your own icepops from fruit juices. Make smoothies and frozen fruit yoghurts.