General Parental Chit-Chat

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

What the hell were you people eating when you were children?

It could've been worse. We had neighbors who were always eating Swanson TV dinners. They had a big box freezer in the basement, and when those TV dinners were on sale, the mom would stock up.

This is downright scary:
TV Dinners

a reply to: ColeYounger

Oof.

I'm glad my mother made me eat what I did, as an adult I have no desire for sweets or junk food.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Carnivore diet? Cannibal diet?

a reply to: Atsbhct

Yes.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: ColeYounger

Oof.

I'm glad my mother made me eat what I did, as an adult I have no desire for sweets or junk food.

As fatty as they are, I figured babies were solidly in the junk food category.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

What the hell were you people eating when you were children?

Quisp & Team flakes.... You can't even make this stuff up!

We let ours help in the kitchen as he likes. I had him up at the stove learning about scrambled eggs the day before I had surgery so he could try making me breakfast post-op.

He doesn't quite have patience yet for the curdling process.

He's been exposed to measuring and mixing and the basics of chopping. I've showed him how to use the electric kettle to boil water to make his own hot tea.

Our eventual goal is to hand him off to his future wife able to handle himself around kitchen. At least one of them ought to be able to. We both had to teach ourselves. It'll be interesting to see how much he helps when we turn out some big batches of tamales over the Christmas break.

Cooking at high temperatures can alter food chemistry in a bad way if you consume it that way regularly. When making green beans, boil them well, till tender, failure to do so can lead to increased risk of blood clots and kidney stones.

Much of how our parents prepared foods lowered our risks of having problems, kidney stones were once rare, not anymore. Blood thinners are given out to patients like candy, that was not the case years back, people prepared foods like their ancestors did and passed on knowledge led to less people being in nursing homes or with side effects of strokes and cancer.

We try to cook things in the oven at temperatures in the three fifty range but do cook some things up to four hundred but no more than that. I am just trying to warn you that chemistries alter at levels of heat over four hundred, but occasionally we can eat some food cooked that way, in low moderation it does not hurt us occasionally.

Just a warning, I never tell anyone what they can or can't eat, but pay attention to how you feel up to forty eight hours after eating things.

originally posted by: Nyiah
As fatty as they are, I figured babies were solidly in the junk food category.

You have to go with the free range ones.

a reply to: Atsbhct

I steam vegetables, rather than boil them into a grey, mushy oblivion. I think the biggest difference is not being over-protective. Teach safety, and let them do just about anything.

My son was burning stuff (in the fire pit) with a propane or MAP gas torch when he was 3 - with me alongside him, plugging things in and changing out lightbulbs at 2, power tools (drills, not saws) and lighters at 3, real hammers/nails/wood to play with, etc. He always asks first, and is very proud of following safety steps. Just recently started electronic circuitboard soldering and I can leave him to it.

My daughter doesn't like such things, but we've also let both of them climb on furniture and countertops, yet they know not to at anyone else's house.


I was always told "NO" to anything "dangerous." By age 7, I'd had burns, stitches, a pretty good electric shock and a bad sprain. My son is now 7, and has never had a significant burn or cut, or sprain...or electric shock. I think my method has worked well. Now I just have to get him to learn to cope with pain and life-threatening injuries - that was the value I got out of my sheltered upbringing which led to my curiosity leading to injuries.

a reply to: dogstar23

You let him use a lighter? Lol. I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, or your kid will be the best prepared kid ever... of all time, lol.

We were allowed to roam free and pretty much were banned from the house from breakfast to dinner. We got into lots of crazy situations and it was kind of fun an exhilarating (except when it wasn't, lol).