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Over the last couple of years I've attended quite a few Birthday parties for little ones here in the United Kingdom. What surprises me is that in a lot of cases kids are offered things that I would classify as junk food:
- party sausage (about an inch in size, my bet is they consist mostly of chemicals and other ingredients I would rather not offer to kids)
- crisps (and the whole variety of flavoured biscuits)
- various sweet junk (cheap and nasty stuff presented in various forms as candy or chewing something. In contrast, I don't have a problem with some nice dark chocolate or home-baked cakes.)
- fish fingers (again, really doubt they are what the adverts claim them to be)
I am not paranoid about healthy eating, but I am quite into it. I don't think that eating crisps and party sausage at the age of 2 is a good way to start your life.
So, I've decided to open a discussion and exchange of information on what kids party food is like in your country and whether you would be concerned about feeding little ones the foods I listed above.
almost every kid's party I've ever been to served pizza. Yes, "kid food" is served because you can reasonably expect all the kids to like it. I try to feed my kids healthy, balanced meals, but I don't have a problem with occasional chicken nuggets, pizza, hot dogs.
Those foods you mentioned are traditional British kiddie foods. I remember when I lived in the UK (I'm American) and saw these kiddie magazine with Kipper or whoever and they showed the same food you talked about in your post. I thought the sausage thing was weird. I don't know many 2 or 3 year olds who like sausages.
In the USA, if you have a party, it's generally cake or cake and icecream. Sometimes it's pizza or hotdogs and hamburgers (if the people serve a meal) and then cake (or cupcakes/fairy cakes which have become very designer). Sometimes it's ice cream cake.
For a kid's party you may also see chips/crisps but generally people do the cake and that is it (or cake and icecream).
It's a party, anyhow, not daily eating.
You can serve what you want at your kid's party. But most kids don't want spinach quiche and jacket potatoes...
Birthday parties aren't meant to have dark chocolate and carrot sticks...
Birthday parties is the "special occasion" when you have thinks like chips, soda, pizza, cake, ice cream, fish sticks, etc... and here was have platters of like various cheeses, pepperoni, celery etc...its pretty nice and it has a healthy yet fun kick to it....
But you can be at my birthday party I am gonna pig out and eat some junk food...
My 21st birthday is in August, I'll have TONS of junk food and alcohol...
Parties are special occasions, so it's OK to let the rules go a little bit and indulge.
Most kid's parties in the U.S. revolve around cake and ice cream. There will also generally be "goodie bags" filled with little toys and candies for the kids to take home. In additiona to cake and ice cream most people also serve chips, dip and soda or punch. If there is a meal involved it is generally pizza or hot dogs and hamburgers.
If it is a mized adult/kid party or older kids you will also see the "trays". Generally anything from pepperoni, cheeses and crackers to deli meats and cheeses with all the fixings to make sandwiches. Fruit trays/bowls are also not uncommon, but guess what the kids pick?
One of the more interesting parties we went to had a penaut butter and jelly "bar" with different kinds of peanut butter, jellies/jams and breads. They included a milk "bar" as well where the kids could pick a plain glass or one of several syrups they had like chocolate, strawberry or raspberry. Overall a little healthier and the kids seemed to really like it. For dessert they had varieites of water ice and some small cupcakes.
One note on kid's birthday's here is that they seem to become ever greater and more elaborate affairs complete with themes. The more adventerous also will host location parties that could be anything from bowling to kayaking to paintball to a sporting event.
When my kids are invited to a party I let them enjoy the food that's offered. It usually includes:
1) Soda (we never allow soda in our own home even for special occassions)
2) chips and dip (we only allow it when we throw a birthday party)
3) cake and icecream (we allow both in moderation, but we make sure they are home made or at least made from all-natural ingredients).
4) Pizza (we usually make our own once a week or so).
5) A pinata with an assortment of hard and chewy candy
I don't worry about the crappy party food because my kids eat a very healthy, mostly vegetarian diet at home. I think my kids realize that the party food OP mentioned (with the exception of sausages and fish sticks which aren't typically served at kids parties in the U.S.) is for special occassions and not to be eaten every day.
When my kids are invited to a party I let them enjoy the food that's offered. It usually includes:
1) Soda (we never allow soda in our own home even for special occassions)
2) chips and dip (we only allow it when we throw a birthday party)
3) cake and icecream (we allow both in moderation, but we make sure they are home made or at least made from all-natural ingredients).
4) Pizza (we usually make our own once a week or so).
5) A pinata with an assortment of hard and chewy candy
I don't worry about the crappy party food because my kids eat a very healthy, mostly vegetarian diet at home. I think my kids realize that the party food OP mentioned (with the exception of sausages and fish sticks which aren't typically served at kids parties in the U.S.) is for special occassions and not to be eaten every day.
Agreed. My kids eat a very balanced and healthy diet at home, so I am fine with them eating junk at a birthday party every once in awhile. Forcing seven year olds to eat carrot sticks and only offer milk (this was the case at a birthday party my son went to) just kind of sucks the fun out of things.
Junk food is traditionally served at BD parties here as well.
Unless your child is spending a lot of time at birthday parties I wouldn't worry about it. They aren't 'starting off life' on such a diet....they are occasionally indulging which most people find perfectly acceptable. As your child grows older you can discuss eating such foods in moderation and why you don't eat them all the time.
When my kids are invited to a party I let them enjoy the food that's offered. It usually includes:
1) Soda (we never allow soda in our own home even for special occassions)
2) chips and dip (we only allow it when we throw a birthday party)
3) cake and icecream (we allow both in moderation, but we make sure they are home made or at least made from all-natural ingredients).
4) Pizza (we usually make our own once a week or so).
5) A pinata with an assortment of hard and chewy candy
I don't worry about the crappy party food because my kids eat a very healthy, mostly vegetarian diet at home. I think my kids realize that the party food OP mentioned (with the exception of sausages and fish sticks which aren't typically served at kids parties in the U.S.) is for special occassions and not to be eaten every day.
This is us.
At home we eat small and healthy most of the time. The kids complain about being hungry sometimes but that is because it takes our stomaches about 20 minutes to tell our brains that they have been fed. When we have visitors, then we will have sweets / dessert. Usually this means having to go out specially to buy it. Of course when a person arrives at the door around dinner time, the kids will invite them to dinner even if they are a door to door salesperson.
For parties though its anything goes. Sweets, junk food, ice cream, soft drink, chereos and tomatoe sauce, pizza, lolie hunt, pinyata with lollies in it and ofcourse cake.
We normally hold birthday partes in a local park and do lots of running around games. We also try to do it straight after school so as not to clash with weekend sport.
We will set up a table or two with the food on it and most of the kids will walk straight from school. I meet them at the school and walk with them. As well as all the junk food we will have a couple of big fruit platters with healthy food. Interestigly many of the kids will get into the fresh food in a big way. I think our kids tend to go straight for the junk because they get the good food all the time.
Fruit platters will include (depending on the season)
Peaches,
Watermellon,
Apple
Banana
Kiwi fruit,
Strawberries,
Celery
Carrot sticks,
Also we always have a big dispenser of cold water and lots of plastic cups. And a niko pen. The kids can write their name on their cup. (In my day we shared a cup but these days .....) You need a crate to put them in because the wind can sometimes blow them away.
We also do a peanut and lollie hunt. Oooo peanuts politically incorrect. but we do warn the kids and ask who is allergic to peanuts and organise for them to just look for the lollies.
Also with cakes, because of allergies, we tend to have a cake with different bits or juset several different cakes. One bit glueten free, another bit with no chocolate and another with no nuts and then the big normal bit.
We (my household) don't usually throw birthday parties that require a lot of food. I try to schedule parties sometime after lunch and at least an hour before dinner.
This year we are having a luau and we are serving cake, Hawaiian punch~cause it's a luau! and some chips and dip and fruit. I feel like when it comes to a birthday party, the guest are there to hang out and enjoy whatever activity you may have going on, rather than the food.
Oh...but we stay away from peanut products since so many kids are allergic to peanuts!
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