Parents, do your kids a favor...

Alright, before I go into this rant we need to get a few things clear.

I know I don't have kids of my own. I know I don't understand "how difficult" they can be until I have my own. This is my opinion. Let's proceed.

Monday was the 4th of July. I spend apart of the day at my parents annual 4th of July BBQ. At this party were a bunch of my younger cousins one of which is a toddler. His mom asked me to watch him for a minute so she could go do something. Sitting in front of me was a plate full of raw vegetables that I had munching on to get away from the normal chips, hotdogs, potato salad etc. (I did eat my grandma's fried chicken though cause duh). As he sat on my lap he mentioned that he wanted something to eat. Naturally, being the lazy ass that I am, I offered him the plate of vegetables.

He looked at me very confused. I had seen him most of the time earlier in the day gnawing on a chicken wing. I asked him if he wanted to munch on these. He wasn't sure what some of them were. After about 10 minutes. I got him to try 3 different colors of bell peppers and cherry tomatoes. Guess what? He freakin' loved them (not a fan of the carrots but 4/5 isn't bad)! As his mom came back and tried to put on his shoes he kept running back to the plate for more veggies. In shock she announced to the people around "Oh my gosh! You're eating tomatoes? Ben got him to eat what else?!" Once he got his shoes on and before he left, he looked at me and asked me if he could take the rest of the vegetables home so he could eat them later. Parents, do me a favor...

Teach your kids about good healthy foods and give them a variety for God's sake!

I don't care how "hard it is" to get your kids to eat other things than the stuff they're "used to". Start them out young. Feed them raw fruits and vegetables as often as you can. When they're older make them eat new things. They'll eat if they're hungry enough they'll eat it.. If they refuse to eat it, oh well. A kid missing a meal isn't going to hurt them. I remember when I was a kid. If I didn't like what my mom made for dinner, I either ate it or I didn't eat.

I notice that kids seem to be given a lot more say in their own upbringing these days. What ever happend to "do what I tell you to do". I'm not saying that kids shouldn't be able to make any decisions. Just not decisions they're not mature enough to make themselves. For example... it bugs me when I hear parents ask their kid open ended questions like, "what do you want to eat?" and then feel bad when they tell the kid, "no you can't have chocolate cake... no... n... fine." What the hell?! (sure this is an exaggeration, but you get my point) Sorry, I got a bit side tracked. I'll save that for another time when parents piss me off.

Again, I know I don't have kids of my own. I know I don't understand "how difficult" they can be until I have my own. You have a kid. That's your first priority and it's your responsibility for its eating habits. When I have a kid, I'll be damn sure to remember that and take full responsibility for my kids healthy eating habits.

Please expose your kids to different kind of foods. Stop feeding your kids hot dogs for dinner all the time. I don't care if it's the stupid Gerber shit that's not really a hot dog. Make your kid some real food. It took me less than 15 minutes to get my cousin to try and like a few new vegetables. Do a favor for your kid ok?