A third of children eat a takeaway a week, with babies as young as nine months eating a diet of fizzy drinks and takeaways, a survey by the Infant and Toddler Forum found. The survey of 1,000 parents found that nearly a third of under-threes eat a takeaway a week, and 19 per cent are given takeaways or adult ready meals every day.
Obviously, the implication for these very small children is they are eating far too much salt and fat. The report warns this is a diet which is totally unsuitable for a child, and The Food Standards Agency says babies under a year old should not have more than a gram of salt a day.
Almost half the parents questioned admitted to using food to bribe, warn or calm children and a quarter said they made alternative meals when the child wouldn’t eat what they were given.
I think that all parents, at some stage are bound to use food in negotiations with their child, but at the end of the day the parent is the one who knows best and should lay down the rules for what their child is expected to eat. The problem comes when those parents have a bad relationship with food or refuse to learn the basic rules of cookery that would prevent these small children eating so much processed, salty food.
Anna-Marie Julyan 