I do agree that it is odd that there is a huge change from when I was a child to now. So many children with health issues that really were not as big a concern as they are today. I work with special needs children and its a massive eye opener. At the same time back when i was a child children with issues were not really seen as many were put into institutional care. My best girlfriend who lived over the back of me had a brother that was downs syndrome. Everyone believed he had died but my friend found out that he had actually lived until he was 12. He was kept in a care facility. So sad.

Food companies do target kids lunchboxes with unhealthy crap. But it’s up to the parents to moderate it and ensure the diets are healthy. Don’t agree with the autism/ADHD link either

Bad choice of words on her part. Don’t doctors/specialists recommend cutting excess sugars and all of that kind of thing out of a childs diet before even going down the ADHD path to eliminate the whole diet mimmicking some symptoms thing? So that would kind of make her point on that moot.

ADHD and autism aren’t caused by diet. If dietary changes fix the problem, then it wasn’t ADHD or autism. Having a healthy diet is a good idea for anybody, of course, but judgy comments like this mum’s aren’t helpful to families dealing with ADHD and autism. There’s enough stigma to fight as it is.

““Specialists estimate that one in two children will be diagnosed with a disorder of some sort, such as autism, ADHD, ODD, Global Development Delay, allergy etc by 2040 if we don’t do something. Does that seem unrealistic to you? Well think about it!”

“This is NOT ‘convenience’. Convenience foods are when you grab a naturally wrapped banana, or when you double a biscuit batch and freeze some for that ‘busy’ week.”

Nope. They are convenience foods. Bananas are fairly convenient if your child will eat them (sensory issues are a thing), and they’re available (in season etc.), but so is a muesli bar. Baking double batch of cookies ahead of time is good planning, but not everybody has the ability to do their own baking (health issues of their own for example).

Which specialists estimate this? Sounds like she’s pulled that figure out of the air.

“When we were in primary school how many kids were diagnosed with a disorder? Now compare today, how many are in today’s classrooms?”

Partly that’s down to increased awareness, and changes in the diagnostic criteria. Lots of adults, especially women, are being diagnosed with ADHD and autism. They had it their whole lives, it’s just that nobody picked it up when they were kids. Nowadays kids like them get diagnosed early, and can get help early, which helps them live happier, more productive lives. It’s actually a good thing.

“I feel angry at the food industry, I feel angry that people won’t wake up and realise that food is medicine.”

No, shouty lady. Food is food. Medicine is medicine. A good diet can help you fight off a cold, but it won’t replace the missing neurotransmitters in the brain of someone with ADHD.
““I edited my post once I got home and finished unpacking the groceries because I was thinking about it on my way home. I thought that people might attack me as it could touch a few pain points, boy was I right!”

Sounds like she’s enjoying thinking of herself as a martyr.

More people diagnosed because there is more information about it and more people in general. That being said, I did read an article saying that there is a decent amount of kids being misdiagnosed, apparently sometimes due to the parent wanting an excuse for their “lazy” parenting or parents wanting attention because they have a “special child”.

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  • • Jen2019 replied
    • 17 Aug 2019 , 4:18 pm

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  Getting a diagnosis is not an easy process- there are appointments and doctor’s visits, then therapy etc. which take time and money. That doesn’t seem lazy.

They’re only unhealthy if this is all you put in your kids lunchbox. One or two of these a day with fruit, sandwich/roll, yoghurt etc you’re doing ok in my books

Parents have the decisions what they choose there children to eat. Everything in moderation

I don’t understand enough about either of them to make a valid comment but I have heard that diet plays a bit part of behavioral problem involving too much sugar

ADHD is known to be caused by an unbalance of chemicals in the brain. Some behaviour in some can be caused by diary products or potatoes. I know of one child who went uncontrollable after eating 2 thin slices of cheese, another who does the same after eating a serve of boiled potatoes with other vegetables (I don’t know what meat he had). Neither child had had any form of alcohol at at all.

Well said. Moderation is the key for sure.

She maybe should have used pen and paper and then thought about it later. If you don’t want the stuff don’t buy it. I don’t think any of it is school food but if they want to advertise it that’s their choice.

Well of course companies will be pushing their products for back to school. That’s just good marketing. It’s up to us to make the right decision for our family.

I think healthy is the way to go but everything in moderation. I think this woman is a bit over dramatic and needs to calm down a little.

WOW! So much in there to address. Maybe type a post, breathe, wait, think about it, read over it, and edit it, before sending. I am a Mum of a child with ASD and just to confirm it is not food-related at all. As parents, we all make choices on what we feed our child, so it is the parent’s responsibiltiy to choose what they feed their child. The onus is always on the parent.

if you don’t want people to comment on your opinion then don’t post on line.

I think she raised a few valid points and of course a lot of people would take it the wrong way and some would have felt guilt because they feed their kids lots of this stuff. Something has definitely gone wrong somewhere. I was at school in the 70’s and early 80’s and there were 2 overweight kids at my primary school and 2 at high school, nothing like the high numbers now. No one had ADD or ADHD, no one had any type of allergy except the odd kid being allergic to bee stings. Perhaps if she worded the article and did it when she was calmer it may have had a more positive outcome.

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  • • Jen2019 replied
    • 18 Aug 2019 , 2:22 pm

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  A lot of people with ADHD and autism aren’t diagnosed until adulthood. We were around 30 odd years ago, it’s just that nobody knew back then.

In part I agree with this post. So she was a bit emotional and was a tad over the top, but bottom line is these foods are not foods, they are dead processed particles of what once was food. If you do your research you will see the increase of childhood disease is linked with the increase of processed foods. Yes everyone does not have the time but how hard is it to give them fruit and support Aussie growers instead of multi-national companies that lie and claim that some foods are healthy when they are not. We do need to keep this in conversation without attacking people personally and encourage more people to go back to wholefoods, our bodies prefer foods closer to nature. But we need to lead by example no use pushing good food on kids if they see you not eating it. We need more gardens in schools which include fruit trees, how wonderful would it be if kids could go out a pick a fresh snack full of nutrients for playtime.

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  • • mom93821 replied
    • 24 Jan 2019 , 6:55 am

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  I agree with vegetable gardens and fruit trees in schools and communities supporting the gardens.

Meh, i send what gets eaten, not what will end up chicken food the next day

I believe preservatives and artificial colours and flavours very much contribute to the increase in issues we have today. Obesity is just the obvious one. Obviously the issue isn’t with people who eat this stuff occasionally, it is the people who eat processed food every day. A lot of people eat processed food for every meal. Just because there are “health claims” on the packaging, doesn’t magically make the food whole and nutritious.

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  • • musicmum replied
    • 22 Jan 2019 , 8:27 pm

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  I agree with your comments.

Yeah that was a massacre waiting to happen. Seriously bugs me when people use their own personal experiences as proof of something medically based – correlation does not equal causation. And for goodness sake, at least read up on the conditions you’re writing about before throwing them around like alphabet soup in that mish mash of an angry post. The people this post was aimed at are all adults and perfectly capable of making decisions on what their children eat for themselves. Attacking them for what they put in their trolley is neither going to change minds or choices.