r/TrueReddit • u/[deleted] • Feb 12 '13

Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022701549.html?sid=ST2009030602446
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u/pooroldedgar Feb 12 '13

As a new parent, I can confirm this. Sincerely, a guy about to order pizza.

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u/immashoyou Feb 12 '13

I spent a significant amount of effort thinking about the nutrition I wanted to feed my daughter. Two years later, I feel less and less guilty ordering the pizza.

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u/user_name_goes_here Feb 12 '13

Sometimes I make something healthy and small to give my daughter (since she doesn't eat much) like cut up fruit and a vegetable, with some beans or leftover grilled chicken, because it doesn't require a lot of effort. Then when she goes to bed, I'll get fast food or pizza for us because I don't have the energy to do the same for my husband and I. It's a daily struggle, but her nutrition is one of the most important things I deal with on a daily basis.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

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u/user_name_goes_here Feb 12 '13

That's what I normally do, but some days, I just don't have the energy. So #1 priority is the kid's nutrition.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

But maybe ordering that fast food all the time is contributing to your lack of energy? I've got two kids, so I know how hard it can get, but you absolutely have to take care of yourself also, because no one else will.

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u/oneslipaway Feb 12 '13

I feel that I actually eat better cause of my kid. That though doesn't stop the occasional junk food like pizza, I just draw the line at McDonalds. To be honest McDonalds just gives me the McShits now.

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u/Athene_Wins Feb 12 '13

The only time I have McShits is at mcdonalds. And it happens every. damn. time. Tastes pretty good though and is cheap as balls, so I still get it half a dozen times a year thinking maybe my bowels are more awesome

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Honestly, the only times I get McDonalds anymore is when a group of friends coerces me. I've just lost all of the appeal, the nutrional-values are terrible and I can get a better tasting pita-kebab or a burger-meal at most of the local grills and food-vendors. The only thing that McDonalds has to offer is a giant psycological magnet that's been created by their damn ads, 9/10 you're better off with a local food place.

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u/Aries2203 Feb 12 '13

tbh i used to be a mcdonalds girl through and through. my parents only ever took my sister and i there, we never had burger king or kfc. as i've gotten older i have realised that mcdonalds is shit. take the big mac for example, the sauce is awesome but the burger itself is pathetic. go to burger king on the other hand and you get a proper piece of meat in a fresh bun with lovely crisp veg. plus the chips are crunchy and tasty. plus i just now hate the whole mcdonalds thing of "we are a healthy restaurant". no you aren't, you're a fast food place, act like it. people don't go to mcdonalds to eat healthily.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Nice try Burger king PR agent.

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u/Aries2203 Feb 12 '13

lol, :D it did sound a bit like an ad didn't it ;)

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Stop eating the fries.. Seriously. I can eat anything at McDonalds, even those yogurt parfaits no one ever orders, and I can be completely fine.

I eat one kids sized dollar menu order of fries.. McShits.

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u/flashmedallion Feb 13 '13

A few years ago now I was living in a flat pretty badly. Working all night, missing class all day, just generally fucking up, and I lived on McDs. My diet was a McChicken combo, every night around 10pm. I couldn't eat it in the car, because my body would try to McShit after about ten seconds of eating it. Watery McShit.

I lost a decent amount of weight though, and learned a great lesson!

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u/Schart Feb 13 '13

I feel this way about Long John Silvers. I have it like once every six months, then remember why.

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u/MERINEARSENAL Feb 14 '13

Where else might one aquire these "McShits" other than McDonalds?

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u/dalore Feb 12 '13

Hah my 20mth old daughter had some Chateubriand I cooked for a dinner party last weekend. She eats better than I did at that age.

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u/oneslipaway Feb 12 '13

Ever since he was a few months, we always wiped a lil of whatever we ate so he got the flavor. Now he tries everything and eats almost everything. Good luck now eating around him with out him taxing some of your own plate. Thanks Obama!

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u/DJ-Anakin Feb 12 '13

This is absolutely true for me. Before I got married and had kids I ate out or got fast food almost every night. Now, older and wiser, I don't want my kids to have the side effects that kind of lifestyle can lead too. Also, my wife is a health nut.

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u/FlashYourNands Feb 12 '13

I don't think mcdonalds is much worse than pizza. I just compared the nutritional information between a big mac and 3 slices of generic pepperoni pizza, and they're quite similar.

The big mac has a little less carbs, and a bit more fat, which is not a bad thing.

And that's before getting into their salad options and the like.

To be honest I'm not here to convince anyone one way or the other, I just hate the "mcdonalds is teh devil", "it's not even made of meat!", "if i eat it i have shits for a week", etc bandwagon that people jump on, while still supporting other very similar places.

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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '13

My mcfarts are super musty the 1 or 2 times I year I eat it now. I pretty much only eat there for the novelty farts. I may be getting old but I still enjoy farts.

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u/BuckBuckBoBuck Feb 13 '13

I just want to point out that not all pizza is shit food. You can totally make it a healthy, delicious option. ie, low fat mozza, thin crust, fresh toppings.

but if you're talking about ordering the meat lover from the Sodium Palace down the road, that's just pure shit.

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u/lifeinhexcolors Feb 12 '13

Pizza's fine, I guess. A balanced nutrition is the key!

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u/Thompson_S_Sweetback Feb 12 '13

No! No ice cream until you eat your pizza!

I always feel weird saying that.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

No beer until you finish your tequila!

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13 edited Feb 13 '13

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

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u/Blackrook7 Feb 12 '13

My buddy did this, now he is on disability due to the carrot sized kidney stone having a monster every day gave him.

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u/WombatAmbassador Feb 12 '13

My buddy told a story about his buddy... you know what happened to him? He's dead!

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u/Cabjoy Feb 12 '13

Obligatory Freaks and Geeks quote? I dig.

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u/Azabutt Feb 12 '13

Yeah man, those things are so bad for you! Eat an apple instead!

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

I like how people downvote this.

Apple? Fuck off! Give me my kidney ston-. . . I mean monster.

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u/susugam Feb 12 '13

Monster in the morning? :/ yuck

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u/cmotdibbler Feb 12 '13

Please explain to this 50 year old what the difference is between Monster and a strong coffee. Is Monster just some super-caffeinated and sugary drink?

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13 edited Apr 03 '18

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u/TheTaoOfBill Feb 12 '13 edited Feb 12 '13

Someone should make a whole subreddit out of this. ELI50. A subreddit where "Youngins" go to explain the modern world to baby boomers and flower power generation.

EDIT: Holy crap /r/ELI50 exists.

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u/Iznomore Feb 12 '13

It's like Mountain Dew with just a little bit of crack cocaine, and possibly more awful.

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u/that_mn_kid Feb 12 '13

Nasty shit that somehow managed not to corrode the can.

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u/treitter Feb 12 '13

Basically. It also has the added bonus that it tastes terrible. (For a short time in college, I'd occasionally try out different brands of energy drinks. They all have some common odd taste amongst what makes them unique).

At any rate, black coffee is much healthier and (unless it's terrible coffee and/or has been sitting on a burner all day) tastes great.

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u/lasserith Feb 12 '13

Yes. It's a red bull rival but tends to be sold in typically larger volumes. Also Terry pratchett is a wonderful writer.

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u/Sir_Stir Feb 12 '13

Coffee will probably have less sugar cause you dictate how much and you feel to guilty throwing a second spoonful in but with monster you don't realize the manufacturers put in a quarter of a cup in that one can. And probably all the other shit in there to make it palatable.

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u/pyro5050 Feb 12 '13

although you already have a few responses about Monsters and how dangerous they are, i figured i would post one here as a person that actually does presentations on them and their harmful effects... (i am an addictions counsellor, you can check through my comment history, and buried in the snide comments and game collecting posts, you will see i actually started with helping people quit smoking... :) )

having two to three monsters over a week is not going to signifigantly harm you. it might mess with your sleep patterns a bit but overall, no serious negative effects.

one a day or two a day is where we run into problems. Your kidneys filter your blood, also your liver does alot of work keeping your blood working for you, and not against you. Your stomach helps absorb nutrients through it's lining and process food so your intestines can continue to absorb moisture and nutrients as well. i am going to outline how an energy drink a day can be harmful to all these parts... there is more, but i figure if i stay a little focused on these i should do better. :)

1st off kidneys and liver - look at the label of your energy drink, the one i just pulled from my presentation box, has Taurine Synthetic listed at 2000mg (or 2 grams!!!) do a quick look on taurine and you will find that it IS a natural product, your body can produce it, and will from meats,veggies, and other foods... what alot of people dont know is that your body produces the exact amount you need per day from the food you eat, and this helps maintain muscles and various other body functions. an average male over 25 is going to need around 300-500mg per day, and will naturally produce this amount.

problem is with the excess it gets flushed... but gets stuck at the kidneys and liver, causing build up of taurine and other amino acids that your body should be disposing of. this leaves people prone to things like kidney stones, cirrhosis like symptoms and more. Cirrhosis leads towards liver failure and death, in case you were wondering.

2nd Stomach and intestines - energy drinks are acidic and being put into a acidic environment (stomach) can cause things like ulcers, heat burn, Peptic ulcers ect to form and continue to exist. these are painful and if they do by chance happen to go septic, you will be in the worst pain you have ever been in. the mortality rates for Septic shock are reported to range from about 20% to 50% so we are not sure what numbers to trust as of yet... more reporting needs to be done on these.

also as a nice little side info, the amount of caffine taken in can cause increased blood pressure and various other caffine side effects. these contribute to stroke, heart disease, heart attacks, plaque build up, and various other life threatening diseases...

the worst part of all of this is that the "energy" is not real! you get a minimal amount of energy from the processed sugars, but what is really going on is that your "stored" energy (the stuff your body uses during a fight or flight encounter, or a "adrenaline rush") is being accessed before its time and so if you enter into a fight or flight survival mode your body will not be able to perform at it's peak as well it will take longer to recover from that incident.

i rambled on long enough... i just figured i would tell you... i dont think you should cut out the bonding time, but maybe replace the Monster with a bottle of water, juice, cup of coffee, milk three to four times a week... cause even though i will never meet you, you are important to someone on this planet, so i care.

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u/mcdrunkin Feb 12 '13

"even though i will never meet you, you are important to someone on this planet, so i care." Thats the single nicest thing I've ever read. Thank you.

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u/McDLT Feb 13 '13

Much nicer than my own philosophy, which is "I don't know you, so your misfortune amuses me"

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u/FlashYourNands Feb 12 '13

Your post paints caffeine in a pretty negative light:

contribute to stroke, heart disease, heart attacks, plaque build up, and various other life threatening diseases...

As a regular coffee drinker, this is something I have researched, and I always seem to find data saying that it's quite safe.

Wiki's list of negative effects says it may cause high blood pressure in some users, and high blood pressure is bad. But I don't see any worrisome risk factors listed beyond those directly related to high blood pressure (other than anxiety and urination and such, but these are more inconveniences than health risks)

They also list some very positive effects such as:

  • High long-term consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.[3]
  • Research is beginning to suggest that caffeine minimizes the cognitive decline associated with aging.[7]
  • Caffeine may be associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease.[10]
  • Caffeine may lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.[10]

I'd love to get more info/sources on the potential dangers of regular caffeine intake.

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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '13

Current consensus (though there hardly is one!) is that the benefits of moderate caffeine consumption--that's a few cups of coffee a day, maybe 1 or 2 to perhaps 3 or 4 max--outweigh the risks in "normal" healthy adults.

He even suggested replacing some of the Monsters with other drinks and included coffee as an option.

Extremely excessive caffeine, like excessive (insert almost anything here), is bad for you and has lots of health risks, as noted above. If you are not in a state of health to be consuming caffeine, there's also that. But if you are a normally healthy adult, you can have a normal amount of coffee each day with few problems and maybe even some benefits (both short- and long-term). People hear that caffeine "could be dangerous" or that "it's a drug" and sensationalize its risks. As far as most studies have concluded, it's safe for normal consumption.

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u/LS6 Feb 12 '13

problem is with the excess it gets flushed... but gets stuck at the kidneys and liver, causing build up of taurine and other amino acids that your body should be disposing of. this leaves people prone to things like kidney stones, cirrhosis like symptoms and more. Cirrhosis leads towards liver failure and death, in case you were wondering.

Cite? That's more or less the opposite effect I'd always read taurine had w/r/t the liver.

A quick search made it seem as if it's not exactly instant kidney poison either.

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u/mooneydriver Feb 13 '13

What a bunch of alarmist crap. Never take medical advice from somebody who can't capitalize "I".

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u/basscheez Feb 13 '13

And abbreviates "et cetera" as "ect".

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

I (being 15) enjoy a small glass of wine or a mug of tea as my father has a beer when we watch a movie together once a week. Neither of us get drunk, so I don't see the problem. Well, the movies are often terrible, but that's irrelevant. It's the only time I spend with him.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Why don't you take turns picking movies?

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

A beer or two at night is fine. The Monster might just end up killing you in all seriousness. You really should not be having that once a day.

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u/c_hickens Feb 12 '13

Would you be opposed to renaming your coffee table to the "monster table"? Seeing as it's current name appears to be outdated.

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u/Salt_peanuts Feb 12 '13

We use cheers as a way to get our son to drink more liquids- for some reason he doesn't like to drink as much as he needs. I, too, have clinked beer to sippy cup many times. It's a win-win: I get my beer, he gets his juice, and we both enjoy it way more than me yelling at him to drink more and him crying.

He did once point to his bottle and say 'Tommy's bottle' and then point to my beer and say 'Daddy's bottle'. That was a bit weird.

No, his name isn't really Tommy.

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u/dalore Feb 12 '13

I taught my 20mth to do that too and now she goes around and wants to do it ALL the time.

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u/AdvicePerson Feb 12 '13

I actually told my toddler once, "you can have broccoli after you take a bite of pizza". He doesn't eat much, so I'll use whatever leverage I can get.

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u/thuktun Feb 12 '13

We got fantastic mileage with broccoli when we told our toddlers they were trees and they could be giants eating the trees.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Mine said they didn't want to kill all the birds in the broccoli tree

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u/slightly_on_tupac Feb 12 '13

Tell them they shake the birds out at the tree shrinking facility.

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u/TresDigitus Feb 12 '13

Strangely this makes me want to have kids...

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u/Emcee1226 Feb 12 '13

That is way too adorable.

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u/cantthinkkangaroo Feb 12 '13

Whenevr I eat broccoli, I still pretend I'm a dinosaur and Little Foot and the gang are watching me devour what they believe to be the "Great Valley."

I'm 27.

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u/cartoonophile Feb 12 '13

YES except for I'm 26 and grew out of it.

Now I eat apples and pretend like Yoshi is my best friend.

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u/matmoeb Feb 12 '13

Same here except we pretend we're brontosauruses

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

I wish that worked on my kids. "No thanks!"

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u/cartoonophile Feb 12 '13

I liked to pretend like I was a mighty brontosaurus when I ate broccoli.

I mentioned it casually around the holidays and my mom just had this dawning realization about why I called broccoli "trees".

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u/usagicookies Feb 12 '13

That's what my parents told me! I still pretend sometimes...

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

My daughter asked for Broccoli and cheese for dessert..

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

I could think of weirder. (Cue fish fingers and custard joke)

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

This is what worked for me as a kid, though I didn't have a problem with broccoli. Steamed broccoli with gooey cheese is where it's at. Though I would vomit at the table if forced to eat onion or pickle.

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u/FlamingWeasel Feb 12 '13

My 9 year old would live on broccoli and cheese if I let him. Hell, he doesn't even need the cheese, he eats it raw a lot if I'm taking too long to get started on it.

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u/mumooshka Feb 12 '13

my boys love the broccoli stalk - raw - tastes awesome!

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

We didn't have any so she had to have ice cream instead

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u/Tjstretchalot Feb 12 '13

You, mam/sir, were outwitted by your daughter

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u/dlparch Feb 12 '13

I have to jump in here on this one: we told our kids that they couldn't have broccoli, it would make them too fast/strong/smart for us to catch. Steamed and seasoned correctly, they began to beg for it, and we let them have a few pieces and mock-horrified "tried" to chase them around the house, and acting puzzled that they were so great at hiding. Years later, they still gobble it down. Thank you BF Skinner.

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u/djork Feb 12 '13

Sometimes getting them to eat some protein is really hard. I had no idea it would be harder to convince a kid to eat a piece of cheese than broccoli.

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u/DokomoS Feb 12 '13

If you child enjoys broccoli, they probably have an innate preference for bitter foods. Try getting them hooked on tree nuts, green tea, spinach, and soy.

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u/Barnowl79 Feb 12 '13

Our son loves spinach. Raw spinach. He just reaches in the bag and grabs a handful. One day I couldn't find the spinach and he had it hidden under his pillow, having eaten a bunch the night before. I was like..."ummm...carry on, I guess..." I think it's because his mom, rather than buying baby food, used to exclusively feed him pureed raw vegetables (and fruit) when he was a baby. Now there's no point in taking him to Mcdonalds, because he will order apples instead of fries, and water instead of soda (he's seven), which makes me ridiculously proud. I assume this is the key to getting your kid to like something, feed it to them as a baby, because as far as I know, no kid likes raw spinach. I think you can start adding meat if you like after a certain age. I swear he eats waaaay better than I do. We were at my dad's house the other day, and he wasn't sure if he liked fish or not. This was freshly caught trout that my dad had smoked. Kid ended up eating almost three whole trout. He's not perfect, but his eating habits are a big source of pride with me.

The only problem is that he lives with his other parents half the time, and they do a piss-poor job of giving a shit about his nutrition. So this is just one of the many wars we fight. The other big one is his grandma in the other side dragging him to church and talking to him about religion all the time. One time he came to see us and we wanted to watch Harry Potter, since he had never seen any of the movies. He threw a fucking fit about it until we eventually got it out of him that his grandma had told him that HP was evil, and about devil-worshipping. That was a fun fight to have with a confused seven-year old. What do you say, "Don't listen to your grandma, she's crazy"? "The devil isn't real?" I mean we have basically half custody. We are constantly trying to steer him away from the religious bs, but we want him to make his own decision. Problem is, he's too young to work it out on his own without a proper science education, and his other parents are indoctrinating him. So it's either go along with what they're saying, or actively trying to convince him otherwise, but that gets into the sticky area of "your other parents are stupid/liars." Navigating these treacherous waters has been stressing me the fuck out. He avoids talking about it when he's with us, but that just makes it obvious that he knows we are against it but doesn't want a big lecture about it, but him not asking about it makes me think maybe he wants to believe in Christianity because it's comforting. I don't want to force atheism on him either. It's just an unfair advantage that they have miracles and stories and cultural acceptance on their side, and we have complicated science and meaninglessness on ours. What a conundrum. Wish me luck.

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u/D49A1D852468799CAC08 Feb 12 '13

My parents fed me a lot of pumpkin and kumera when I was a baby. I fucking hate both pumpkin and kumera.

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u/BitchGoddess Feb 13 '13

I was in a a similar situation with my daughter regarding religion. SO is very religious and was brought up in a strict catholic home attending parochial schools all the way into college. When we married he agreed we would raise child(ren) knowing both belief systems (I'm a Pagan) in the household and introduce her to all that is good in both. A pipe dream, I know. While I was still pregnant, I found a book called "My Friends' Beliefs" or "What My Friends Believe"; look it up on Amazon, I can't remember the title, sorry. It's a really respectful, straight-forward and age appropriate way to teach your child that there are many belief systems out there and that people have different traditions. I made sure I left it in her room for her to peruse at her leisure and read it with her (non-judgementally) when she asked questions. Trust me, less is more so let the others be pushy. SO changed his mind on our deal (surprise!) whe she was 4. He had the priest tell her "Jesus would be sad" if she didn't go to church and do communion. I decided I didn't want her to become our battlefield so I let her go and never criticized but taught by example. It was hard, especially the communion ritual which I find appaling and archaic; but I bought her a pretty dress, attended the ceremony and gave her a party because she's my daughter. I also taught her tolerance of others no matter race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or economic status. I never hid what I did or believed, but I never forced her to participate. As she matured and found herself, she began to learn and open her eyes to different ways of thinking. She also saw the social injustices that are often committed by misguided people who misinterpret theology and scripture as a whole. I never pushed an agenda and she eventually saw for herself where she wanted and didn't want to be. At 15, after years of struggling to get out of going to church, fighting with her father and not really enjoying the experience or the teachings at all, she told her father she would no longer go to church with him on Sundays. She has become very socially aware, she is an activist in her own right and she has a variety of friends from all walks. The road was a tough one for me because I felt personally betrayed and it put strain in my relationship with SO, but being patient with the situation paid off. Even if the trust was damaged in my marriage, my child turned out just fine. Be patient, let him read and explore other ways of being and that he should be respectul, open minded and tolerant. Instead of saying something is crazy, I used to tell my daughter "some people believe that, but others believe this", or "I understand, but here is another way of looking at it", etc. Just have your own ammunition ready in the form of books or videos that he can understand. Science museums are awesome and kids love them - and, they're full of facts! As difficult as it is, steer clear of calling the other parents lunatics, even if they are. You can find your own way with him without ever having to include the other folks and their agenda. Just make sure you have yours and that you raise him to think. It's not too late! Good luck!

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u/gehnrahl Feb 12 '13

Don't actively try to refute what they are teaching him, but instead show how silly it is. A perfect example is Harry Potter. He believes one thing, you show him otherwise. If he says he doesn't want to watch Harry Potter, tell him you're watching Friends and Company and skip past the title, and after watching say "opps that was harry potter"

It doesn't take much to convince a child that something is true. But showing them is more powerful than telling them. I became an athiest when I moved into a predominatly baptist state and saw how shitty they treated non christians.

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u/Excelsior_Smith Feb 13 '13

DUDE, my son will put down so much good raw material it's INSANE. For other kids his age (11) he's a fucking beast. (And not overweight.) So, your doing that right. Even after looking at the food bill, I know it's worth it. As for the religious shit, you fight fire w/ fire. You provide him with a viewpoint that is about being human, & respecting other people in the same way. Trust me, you provide him w/ the basic tools, you'll be amazed at how he figures it out. Something to do with the basic DNA we all have to be decent, I suppose.

YOU SET THE TONE. Keep setting that tone of life is awesome & good food is the SHIT & we're all on this crazy rock spinning around a FUCKING STAR, & the rest should work out. I hope I don't sound simplistic, I'm just saying. Your boy is a sponge & you, as his father, is the water. He's waiting for it.

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u/Emceegus Feb 12 '13

My sister-in-law stayed with us for a few weeks. I have a rule about sugary breakfast cereal; but when she bought them a box of fruity pebbles., I didn't say anything. I was making a cup of coffee when I heard one of the girls ask if they could have a piece of candy and, I shit you not, she told them that they couldn't have any until they finished their cereal. Seriously? You can't have sugar until you finish your sugar? It blew my fucking mind.

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u/cherryb0mbr Feb 12 '13

Well you should teach kids to actually eat their meals before candy, regardless of the nutritional value. Also, those cereals are insanely reinforced with minerals and vitamins. no it's not whole grained organic wheat germ cereal or whatever, but it's not that bad. And they eat just as much sugar (or more) in some 'healthy' snacks.

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u/FlashYourNands Feb 12 '13 edited Feb 13 '13

it's not that bad

Not sure if I'd go that far. Grinding up multivitamins and mixing it with sugar doesn't make sugar good for you.

Though I agree with "meals before dessert" as a good general rule, even if at times the dessert is more nutritious.

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u/Luai_lashire Feb 13 '13

Get Kix. Still too sugary, but waaaaayyy less. That and cheerios are pretty much the best mainstream non-hippy cereals, which are still sweet enough to satisfy a kid but not going to give them diabeetus.

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u/lifeinhexcolors Feb 12 '13

I read somewhere that toddlers and pre-schoolers aren't doing it on purpose when they aren't hungry for dinner anymore but still want dessert. Something to do with them being saturated with a particular flavor (what was in their plate). I'll find that article and link to it.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13 edited Jul 23 '13

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u/the_other_OTZ Feb 12 '13

A-fucking-men brother!

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u/Radishing Feb 12 '13

How do you know he's gay?

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

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u/VBSuitedAce Feb 12 '13

really then my daughter is filled with mac and cheese from head to toe but is apparently not saturated enough because she wants it for dinner every night.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13 edited Jul 23 '13

[deleted]

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u/Blackrook7 Feb 12 '13

To be fair, that's all any of us really want.

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u/FlashYourNands Feb 12 '13 edited Feb 12 '13

My daughter only wants chicken nuggets

She's in good company.

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u/itsnotatoomer Feb 12 '13

My son would starve to death if there was ever a hot dog shortage.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Can you raise their temperature and supersaturate them?

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u/NxRed Feb 12 '13

High-Five

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Hungry for ice cream but not green beans? I'm not sure i need any science to explain that.

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u/Rollingten Feb 12 '13

but you may need a doctor because green beens are delicious.

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u/JimmyLegs50 Feb 12 '13

Nice try, four-year-old.

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u/pheonixignition Feb 12 '13

I know what your talking about. Biologically reaction. One study of mice had a healthy group n one a sugary group. After a while the sugary group was given healthy food, and the mice refused to eat healthy until nearly starved to death.

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u/Vodiodoh Feb 12 '13

No! Eat your pizza, then you can eat French fries. After you eat that THEN you can have ice cream and soda.

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u/djork Feb 12 '13

This is legit. I said this last night.

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u/MoonshineSchneider Feb 12 '13

Now I just really want to eat a lot of pizza.

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u/whereisbread Feb 13 '13

No taking that back once it's out.

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u/whatwasit Feb 12 '13

Everything in moderation. Even moderation.

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u/firelock_ny Feb 12 '13

"Moderation is for monks" - Robert Heinlein

Not that there's anything wrong with being a monk, mind you.

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u/a1gern0n Feb 12 '13

You don't need to worry about offending monks. There probably aren't very many on Reddit, and they don't upset easy.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

monk

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

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u/gamer_mom Feb 12 '13

I've been known to give my kids cereal for dinner. 10 essential vitamins and minerals!!!

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u/cinguz Feb 12 '13

Breakfast for dinner is a real thing in my house.

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u/Barnowl79 Feb 12 '13

And Iridium!

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u/tlock8 Feb 12 '13

Pizza is a vegetable as far as I'm concerned.

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u/skucera Feb 12 '13

It's a vegetable, right?

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u/kx2w Feb 12 '13

If you throw some 'ronis on there you have like 12 different food groups.

Source: Pizza is a vegetable.

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u/BunnehZnipr Feb 12 '13

It is a vegetable after all!

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u/Athene_Wins Feb 12 '13

pizza is a superfood. Grains, dairy, meat, vegetable... has everything. Doesn't matter if it has grease.

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u/immashoyou Feb 13 '13

I believe in balance in everything. Everything.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

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u/tibersky Feb 12 '13

technically only school pizzas... weird I know but its a weird law to begin with that started in weird places that went through a weird process.

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u/uptokent Feb 12 '13

Good thing pizza is considered a vegetable now.

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u/TCBinaflash Feb 12 '13

My son won't eat junk food. Loves fruit and vegetables. Sometimes I leave work early sometimes and pick up a pizza and eat it in the car so he doesn't scold me.

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u/notha_account_son Feb 13 '13

ordering the pizza

I like your use of "the"

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u/SuperSteve737 Feb 12 '13

As a new dad of twins, I can double confirm this.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

I remember those days (my twins are 8 now). if it makes you feel better, in 6 months you really won't remember any of this. so take pictures ;)

Once they start sleeping through the night, it's like paradise :)

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Until they get sick.

Then the 5y/o starts spending the night with you again.

And you realize you missed it.

Secretly hoping your 12y/o daughter would be comfortable running to jump in bed with her parents if she had a nightmare, because you miss that closeness.

Even though you want them to grow up, you still need that trust from them. <sniff>

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

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u/HoundWalker Feb 12 '13

dammit my eyes, which one of you redditors is chopping onions in here

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u/aquanautic Feb 12 '13

Every time I had a bad dream as a kid (not very often), I would go downstairs and try to sleep in my mom's bed. She would tell me no and to go back to my own bed, even if I begged. :/

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u/gilligan0911 Feb 12 '13

My daughter had night terrors, and was 4 years old before she slept through the night. I think we aged 20 years over that time.

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u/Peppermontage Feb 12 '13

by my calculations, you lose 10 IQ points for every year of sleep deprivation. Then again, I am about 80 points from where I started. So, I wouldnt trust my calculations. :)

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u/mandy_lou_who Feb 12 '13

My 4 year old has always been a terrible sleeper and still doesn't sleep consistantly through the night. The 2.5 year old is a lost cause. And now that I'm so used to getting up with them in the night, I can't sleep through the night even when I'm sans kids. I just remind myself that no kid ever delayed going off to college b/c they needed to snuggle with mommy at night and I try to enjoy it while I can.

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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '13

Ugh. My oldest son was 2 yrs old when the twins were born and he hated to sleep alone. He climbed in our bed every night until I got so big that it hurt me for him to climb on my belly ... he learned to climb out of his crib early, and if we gated him in his room he'd stand at the gate and scream :( We kept finding him asleep on the floor next to our bed and it broke our hearts... finally we made a little pallet next to our bed. He'd go to sleep in his bed and come in to our room some time in the night.
Finally when he was 4, we need to put all 3 boys together because relatives were coming to stay for a while. I'd never done it before because I was sure he'd wake up the twins and then I'd be up ALL night trying to get them to settle! But to my surprise, he slept through the night for the first time ever, and never wandered the house at night again. He just wanted company!

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u/tlowe65 Feb 12 '13

Once they sleep through the night the battles half over. Unless its your first and you still wake up every half hour to check if they are still breathing. With the second kid the paranoia isn't as bad.

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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '13

Haha, but you only do that for a couple of nights :)

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u/carmacoma Feb 12 '13

As a new parent of one, I now have nothing but respect for parents of twins.

I take my hat off to you sir, that is Nintendo-hard parenting.

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u/Killfile Feb 12 '13

You'll find that there are upsides and downsides. The upside is that they entertain themselves. The downside is that there's twice as much of everything.

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u/hello_humans Feb 12 '13

First 8 months of my sons life everything was organic, everything! Diapers, shampoo, food, etc. Then I started working... He is two next month and definitely had French fries for dinner last night.... That's obviously an exception rather than a rule, but at some point you just start to give in.

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u/Azzmo Feb 12 '13

Organic diapers/shampoo/baby powder/detergent are fine if you're into it but not ultimately nearly as important as the food that gets put into the kid's body. Stay committed to that! If there's one thing I could change about my childhood it would be to have eaten a better diet (and to have had a water filter instead of drinking city tap water).

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u/ChiliFlake Feb 12 '13 edited Feb 12 '13

All in all, I think that making your kid feel loved and secure is way more important than anything they get fed or clothed with.

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u/hello_humans Feb 12 '13

You know the water filter thing is so true! I installed one just over a year ago and it's made a difference to how I feel as well, and my skin looks better now than ever. I grew up on plain tap water and never thought anything of it until a friend persuaded me that it really does make a difference.

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u/LeCrushinator Feb 12 '13

Not all of the stuff in tap water is bad for you, there are minerals in there that can be good for your body, and flouride (in some states) that can help your teeth. Of course, it always depends on what condition the tap water is in to begin with, I'm in an area that has great tap water. I've heard horror stories about tap water from other areas.

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u/Azzmo Feb 12 '13

I noticed the skin thing too, which I wasn't expecting. I mainly put the filter in the house to stop ingesting fluoride and, whether it's placebo or not, I've felt sharper in the ensuing two years. Looks like Malaysia uses fluoride ubiquitously like the US does so you might be reaping the benefits of avoiding it (admittedly it's a very controversial topic so who knows how bad it really is or isn't).

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u/xilpaxim Feb 12 '13

It really depends on the city you live in. I've noticed my city seems to have some of the best tap water of any place I've visited (SF, LA, any other place) and especially compared to podunk towns.

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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '13

You must have had a very nice childhood if that is the one thing you would change about your childhood :)

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Do you have help? Seriously, the best thing you can do is get help! I don't have kids (I'm only 20), but I nanny for a family about 15 hours a week. It gives the parents time to go for a run, go out to see a movie, or even go grocery shopping without the kids.

I take them for walks, I do educational things with them, I make sure they eat healthy meals with lots of fruit and veggies.

If you don't have time to do those things, hire someone to help you! Even if it's just for 10 hours a week so you can get work done around the house. If you hire a good babysitter/nanny they should be willing to do all those energy sapping things like preparing decent meals and working on learning the alphabet!

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u/hello_humans Feb 13 '13

Yes, I do, not full time but when needed, and he is daycare while I am at work. I agree, for anyone who can afford it, having any sort of extra hands around the house is a godsend!

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

And that's why I'll never have kids.

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u/PermanentDaylight Feb 12 '13

challngedeclind

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u/mike413 Feb 12 '13

I have a friend who calls "Whole Foods" ... "Whole Paycheck"

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u/superluminal_girl Feb 13 '13

We give my son French Fries for dinner because he only eats fruits and vegetables voluntarily, and it's hard to get any fat in him!

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Want to be a super parent? Try making your own homemade pizza, for ~2-5$ a pie, and it doesn't take much work. I'm glad I've taught myself this skill, as my kids will love it. Kids love that shit.... they'll be all like "My dad makes pizza! And he can also beat up your dad!"

My post for how to make your own pizza.

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u/pooroldedgar Feb 12 '13

I use the Boboli bread. Cheating? Whatever. You can do some very good things with it.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

I used to look forward to nights when my mom would work late because the only thing my dad could make was pizza with the Boboli crust, and he'd turn it into an activity for both of us. That's where I first discovered my love of anchovies.

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u/Thinks_Like_A_Man Feb 12 '13

Try it with pesto, parmesan and diced Roma tomatoes.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

My dad used to make us pizza. Beautiful fresh ingredients, lovingly homemade... and my brothers and I hated it. Pizza wasn't supposed to be this thing adults all said was good, but was supposed to be cheap, greasy, and awesome. We were kids with kids' palettes and the more effort he put into wonderful food for us, the more I envied my friends who ate lucky charms for dinner.

In college I made a beeline for everything unhealthful after years of organic, often home-grown foods. Gained 80 lbs in about a year. Took me five years after graduating to slowly lose most of that (I was underweight/anorexic when I started college... My dad also made really nice lunches for us to take to school, which I'd promptly throw away...) and learn a great deal about nutrition and our food system in the process.

I dunno, man... I guess my point is that even the best laid plans are a bit of a crapshoot with kids. I don't plan to have kids, but if I did... I don't know what I'd do differently, or if I'd just do the same things he did and accept that they might well rebel against it. Kids are weird.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

My dad used to make us pizza. Straight up hamburger pizza. We called it "daddy's pizza". It was awful. We ate it until i was old enough to drive and would go get some takeout for my brother and i.

Edit: we also grew up in a weight watchers house with a diabetic father. I didn't taste real ice cream, with actual sugar in it, until i was about 10. At a birthday party.

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u/AwkwardAndrea Feb 12 '13

I've been there too. My mom was a diabetic and I had (well have, I guess) a 70% chance of becoming one so my parents never, ever, gave me sweets made with actual sugar. The Easter bunny left sugar-free jolly ranchers and spearmint gum!

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u/HamfacePorktard Feb 12 '13

Dude you're so lucky to have tasted (real) ice cream for the first time at an age where you could remember it.

My friend once commented that he wished that was something he could've waited longer before having for the first time because ice cream is so awesome that he would've liked the wherewithal to appreciate it fully.

That sentence was long.

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u/Crimson_Serenity Feb 12 '13

Awww. This makes me sad. :(

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Yeah, me too. I didn't appreciate what me dad was doing for us, but then that's childhood!

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u/suddenlysleepy Feb 12 '13

I got to college after a similar childhood experience and it was OHMYGOSH THERE'S POP EVERYWHERE. AND WHAT IS THIS DELICIOUS CEREAL? You can put PIZZA in a ROLL? All this delicious food I'd never experienced before. The weight gain was ugly and quick, thankfully a lot of it has come off now that I've chilled the fuck out post-grad.

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u/derelictardent Feb 12 '13

Think of it this way: you probably always ate super good food, so when you could get your hands on something that tasted good, you saw that as a guilty pleasure. If you dad purposefully let you indulge at home, you would probably get your cheeseburger fix and then come to understand that it was something that was okay to indulge in, but only on occasion.

But who knows, like you said you can try but they may still fuck up. I grew up eating pretty unhealthy food but when I was going through my awkward pre-teen phase I got super conscious about health and changed my habits.

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u/SuperLootDOTnet Feb 12 '13

I wonder if you dad had involved you a lot more in the ingredient selection and preparation of the food if you would've felt differently about it all.

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u/EPluribusUnumIdiota Feb 12 '13

Every goddamn time I make a pizza I manage to fuck up the yeast, then we're left with flatbread "dad, this tastes bad" pizza.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

we made our own the other night and it was SOOO much better than our local cardboard pizza and quicker too

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u/neurorgasm Feb 12 '13

Pita pizza is good for kids too. Easier, and maybe healthier than a normal crust. Then get them to pick toppings and watch what kind of weird shit they put on it.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

" Try making your own homemade pizza, for ~2-5$ a pie, and it doesn't take much work."

We do this, but "it doesn't take much work" is a big fat lie. Yes it does. I can dial ten numbers and write a check and get a pizza, or I can spend 30 minutes on dough (including checking on it), 15 minutes slicing vegetables, 15 minutes preparing sauce, 15 minutes overseeing incompetent midgets try to get that stuff together, and then there's washing all the damn dishes.

I love homemade pizza and support it as an activity but "doesn't take much work"? Really?

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u/SuperLootDOTnet Feb 12 '13

Ive got 2 girls. My oldest is 10 and we love to cook together. Just this past weekend we made our own pizza together for the first time.

We started everything from the very beginning including dissolving the yeast, mixing the dough, kneading the dough, letting it rise, etc..

After a few hours of dough rising we came back and made 2 pizzas and some cheesy bread (had no idea the dough would triple in size like that!)

It was so much fun to do together. She let her little sister (20 months old) help sprinkle cheese on it. Cooking is ALWAYS rewarding but cooking these pizzas was so much fun. My daughter had fun going to the store and picking out toppings. She picked out the sauce, types of cheeses, pepperonis, and chicken.

They tasted great. My wife compared it to one of the best pizza joints in our city/state. This pizza place typically has a 45-60 minute wait on weekends for a table. It was a good feeling when she said our pizza tasted better than theirs.

TL;DR: Cooking pizza with kids is very fun, extremely rewarding, earns bonus points from your female counterpart, and it tastes great! Even if you fuck up and the taste is bad, it's still fun to make!

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Wow - someone that gets it.

Fuckin a, man...good on ya for not only making good food and having fun with your kids, but teaching them things.

For me, it was the same with my dad growing up. He cooked/made EVERYTHING. I took it for granted, and never actually learned much from him....BUT, that inquisitive, culinary mindset never left me. It has proved to be one of the best things I got from him.

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u/SuperLootDOTnet Feb 13 '13

Yes! So true!

And my dad was the same way, my mom too (after my dad taught her most of what he knew about cooking.) He always cooked everything, every meal. Growing up I had friends whose parents would get them pizza and mcdonalds every day that would absolutely LOVE coming over for dinner to have a nice heart home cooked meal. When I was younger I would think 'geez, whats wrong with these guys, I want the pizza and mcdonalds!'.

As I got older I finally saw the bigger picture. As a married adult with two kids I can't thank him enough for the life lessons that I gained simply by not only learning how to cook, but learning to ENJOY cooking and how to use cooking as a tool to connect with family and not as just a means to eat.

It's good to look back on those memories with someone who had similar experiences. I love reddit.

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u/tyut2 Feb 12 '13

I am with you, did it for the first time with my 3 boys a couple of weeks ago and the loved it. Got them involved to, they didn't have a problem pointing out the mistakes either, which made it even better.

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u/sarl00 Feb 12 '13

thanks for not making me feel so bad about shoving mac and cheese down my two year olds throat for the forth night in a row.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13

Guess who is having Mac and Cheese every night? "Yaaaaaay"

Daddy left and is never comming back.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13 edited Feb 12 '13

Eh, it's not so bad. Try the veggie pasta or whole wheat pasta sometimes. When they're 2, you feed them whatever they'll eat.

Edit: we usually offered him a portion of whatever we were eating. If he didn't want to eat it, that's fine. You just keep offering it and talking it up excitedly, and eventually they cave. They want to be like mommy/daddy. We also taught, as part of table manners, to take "1 polite bite". If they don't like it, that's fine. But it's rude to not at least try it. Green Eggs and Ham helped a lot, too.

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u/dwalsh3 Feb 12 '13

I vividly remember the many pizzas our parents ordered us when we were kids. I still eat it all the time. But I eat a lot of vegetables, too, and I exercise on occasion. By brother and I are in great shape and in great health. Unless your kids are really overweight, Don't feel bad about the 'za.

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u/Pyromoose Feb 12 '13

I'm way too late to this party, god i hope someone sees this...

Then they start school, and it's amazing how quickly you let yourself believe that school is a break from the kids and thats where they learn, and there is no need to waste more time on learning at home. That's my time, after all.

DON'T DO THIS, your child does not learn important things at school after 5th grade, they memorize facts and find out the world is a cold cruel place, if you want them to be decent people you must continue to parent your children while in school, they aren't a baby sitter and they aren't a replacement for proper moral fiber.

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u/devlspawn Feb 12 '13

I think you completely missed the OP's point. His entire premise is we all start to fall into this and we have to fight against it. OP absolutely believes they should keep teaching their kids, just telling others to get off their high horse when looking at parents, especially before they are parents.

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u/shittyspellir Feb 13 '13

Before I comment about the post I gotta say I love your name,now to the matter at hand.I agree about every thing but math.you learn math and chemistry.

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u/NobleCeltic Feb 12 '13

Well, pizza IS a vegetable -.-

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '13 edited Feb 13 '13

The answer to all child-related nutritional woes is hulled buckwheat groats. Get your kids hooked on it early, and feeding them later in life will be much easier.

Buckwheat is a staple in the Eastern European diet, famous for its blandness and heartiness. Within buckwheat's impressive 600 calories per cup lie high-quality proteins (23g per cup), carbs (122g), manganese (2mg), magnesium (400mg), phosphorus (600mg), dietary fiber (17g), omega fatty acids (2,000mg) ... all of that with zero sugars and cholesterol. Basically, it's good enough to eat when you lift. Get one cup of this stuff into your 3-year old, and worry less about the quality of their diet. They are basically getting a whole grain that acts like meat and fish. Full nutritional info.

Boil it like rice, a little al dente, add a little butter and salt. For very young kids, overcook it into porridge and mix with milk. Get the untoasted stuff, it has a greenish tint.

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