It all starts at home with endless television adverts aimed at children.
Then, in supermarkets, children see the familiar images on packaging, plus 'free gifts' and 'collections' to make, endorsements by celebrities and so on. No wonder children are seduced.
The agenda
Food firms are in business to make profits, not to build the health of the nation. 'Pester power' is brilliantly profitable and in their trade journals, companies are openly urged to use it. However, most 'children's'
foods are highly-processed, nutrient-depleted, additive-laden and high in sugar, salt or fat. When you understand that they are created to nourish profits, not children, it's easier to reject these products.
Plan shopping
Each week, write menus for the whole week - every meal, snack and drink - and post it up. Plan for delicious meals made from fresh ingredients, not from packets and tins. Go for healthiness, variety and flavour, and include plenty of fruit and vegetables. It doesn't need to be complicated - for example, every meal can end with fresh fruit. Snacks can be fruit, bread, cheese, houmous or vegetable sticks. The only drink you need to buy is milk. Forget pre-sugared and salted foods.
Then make your shopping list. Read it through and make sure that you can justify each item. At first this takes a little time, but it soon gets quicker as it becomes a weekly routine. It also saves money, and, importantly, it means you can whiz round the shops so there is less time for children to get bored or distracted by seductive packaging.
In the supermarket
It is advisable to:
* Shop early in the day (before 10am is best) and avoid Fridays and Saturdays to miss crowds and queues.
* Eat before you go, to reduce weariness and frayed tempers. It is also good to let your child choose something to eat when you go in, but only from the fresh or dried fruit section.
* Go around quickly, buying only what's on your list, unless you have a genuinely better idea.
* Sometimes give children simple choices, such as, 'Choose three different kinds of fruit' or 'Choose a fish for dinner'. Or say, 'Find a nice fat parsnip' or 'Count six mushrooms into the bag'.
* Don't walk down the aisles with the sweets, soft drinks, bag snacks, biscuits or children's breakfast cereals.
Avoiding supermarkets
Alternatively, you can:
* Shop online - no queues, no pestering, no hassle.
* Use markets and small, local shops where they know you. These can be cheaper, too, especially for fruit and vegetables.
Dealing with pestering If pestered for something:
* Simply say, 'It's not on the list this week'.
* Pick up the item and read the ingredients list together. If it's very sugary or salty, or if there's something that doesn't sound like food, reject it. Explain why - for example, that salt 'stops your bones and teeth growing properly' (salt inhibits calcium absorption). If fruit juice drinks are asked for, express alarm at the long list of non-fruit components. As well as being a good way of rejecting unsuitable fare, this also makes excellent consumer education.
* Explain that adverts and packaging are only about selling.
* Make it clear that you are criticising the food and manufacturer, not the child. If you've re-thought buying a certain item, explain, perhaps in advance, that it's because you have learned more about it. You might say, 'I'm sorry, it's my fault, I shouldn't have let you get used to those sugary cereals. I didn't read the label properly. From now on we'll get something that won't rot your teeth.' (Most 'children's' cereals are from a third to nearly half sugar.)
* Ignore claims such as 'with added vitamins'. The amount is usually the smallest the company can put in and legally make the claim. Again, it's about selling - the picture targets the child, the claim targets the adult.
* Stay in charge! If you don't shop wisely for your child, who will?
Further information:
* Dump The Junk! by Mary Whiting (Moonscape, 7.99) contains ideas on how to get children to eat healthy food and how to steer them away from junk.
