You forget that our consumer driven economy has produced the most wealthy, safe, innovative, creative, and sustainable economy the world has ever seen.

> You forget that our consumer driven economy has produced the most wealthy, safe, innovative, creative, and sustainable economy the world has ever seen.

If our overly materialistic US economy is driven by people going into to debt to buy crap that will be useless almost immediately, then it is not as stable as you think. Also, the manufacture/disposal of all this unnecessary crap is ruining the environment.

My kiddo has been knocking back quarts of cherry tomatoes by himself since he was one...it’s never bothered him. He’s a tomato and berry fiend!

This is a very good point. I place blame on myself being in the opposite camp. I was a very tiny child and the doctors and other adults always gave my mom grief about it. So there was constant pressure to eat. Couple that with the old-fashioned sit here at the table until you eat everything on your plate, even if it…

Definitely the donation route. Most cities have a children’s hospital that would LOVE unopened toys. Let people bring stuff to you and just bring them to your local children’s hospital. Or put a note on the invite “No Gift, Please. Any gifts, though appreciated, will be donated to _________” as a way for complete…

I’m sorry, we live in a country that can’t guarantee health coverage for children, but we’re going to demonize their parents for feeding them?

the point of this article

Gotta start em young. My toddler loves playing with kitchen utensils. It makes their day when they get to help cook (throw something in a pot or water or stir something on the stove). Hoping we have a future contestant for chopped jr and I won’t have to cook in a few more years.

I’m not sure CPS steps in if a parent “starves” their child. There are plenty of orthorexic parents out there who don’t let their children (let’s be honest, their daughters) eat junk food or processed food or refined carbs. Homes where orange juice is banned. This is seen as normal.

Except you can’t tell by looking. The overweight kid will be treated like he has parents who take him to McDonalds every day. Who drinks nothing but Starbucks drinks. Who thinks Nutella is a health food. Meanwhile if you’re thin no one cares what you eat. In fact, our culture is so screwed up about this that we also…

So much yes. I have a 4 month old. I have been given so many age-inappropriate things. I live in 600 square feet. Don’t give me toys and clothes that I have to store. If you do, give me a gift receipt. I guarantee I can exchange it for something we actually need. Also, the kid is too little to care. Just buy me those…

Last year we had success with: “No gifts, please. (We didn’t bring one to your kid’s party.)“ That seemed to do the trick.

Which is crazy. How are children supposed to learn how to be productive members of society if parents are expected to treat them like infants until they head off to college?

The matter of hours in the day is definitely a huge one, taking care of a family while working 3 part time jobs (which all require open availability) doesn’t leave much time for meal planning, couponing, shopping, and cooking.

There’s also the question of circumstances. Some people feed their kids garbage because they live in a food desert and can’t always swing a trip across town to a real grocery store. Some work entirely too many hours to reasonably be expected to cook, particularly for a large family. Or, more commonly, they can’t…

No. Parents should be held accountable for a child’s diet & exercise, but that does not equal controlling their weight. Weight gain/loss is dictated by your metabolism, which is dictated largely by genetics. Food and activity can influence metabolism, but are never the deciding factor in how it will behave.

This 1000 Times. I will never forget when my father in law passed away and the funeral home was trying to up sell my mother in law on a nicer casket. He literally said “Your husband will be so much more comfortable in this one...”. My mother in law, obviusly vulnerable at this point almost did it until I stepped in…

What sort of debt do you have?

I don’t understand why those without stock portfolios don’t invest the money they get from their rich relatives.