Hellobee Boards Topic: Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?

Hellobee Boards Topic: Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 18 May 2026 09:38:08 +0000 doodlepoodle on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1310065 Tue, 31 Dec 2013 12:33:25 +0000 doodlepoodle 1310065@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pop tarts, school lunch and Pizza Hut...is that healthy? ;) yerpie110 on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1310047 Tue, 31 Dec 2013 12:24:47 +0000 yerpie110 1310047@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My parents were very strict. I had no soda, dessert, or junk/processed food in the house, basically, ever. We ate Chinese food cooked from stratch, pretty much every day. We rarely ate out. Dinner time was important, and we always ate as a family. I do tend to enjoy cereals with lots of food coloring since it wasn't allowed when I was a kid, but overall, I still eat pretty healthy. I won't be quite as strict with my kids, but hope to pass along similar principles. AmandaB8 on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1310043 Tue, 31 Dec 2013 12:24:12 +0000 AmandaB8 1310043@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yup - no vegetables. Seriously. The first time I had a veggie I was probably 12. We ate junk constantly, and only drank soda. There were always chips, cookies, etc. Strangely enough, my mom always says we have bad teeth - I haven't had cavaties since I moved out (and started eating healthier) HLK208 on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1310026 Tue, 31 Dec 2013 12:19:05 +0000 HLK208 1310026@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @cranberryapple: definitely. When my sisters went off to college, they ate ice cream for breakfast! But now that we've been on our own for a long time, we're all better eaters. Beyond2 on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1309387 Tue, 31 Dec 2013 07:56:07 +0000 Beyond2 1309387@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My parents weren't too too strict considering I didn't eat any vegetables until I was 20, but my mom did limit our dessert intake. I remember tiny pieces of homemade desserts and a rule of 2 for candies... Literally 2 Swedish fish would count as dessert. I wish I learned more moderation from that.... BabyBoecksMom on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1309358 Tue, 31 Dec 2013 07:19:31 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 1309358@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My mom made sure we had 2 veggies and a protein at dinner and ate relatively healthy during the day. But junk food and sugary snacks were hard to come by in our house. cranberryapple on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1309312 Tue, 31 Dec 2013 02:38:18 +0000 cranberryapple 1309312@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @HLK208: Did the strictness affect your eating as you got older and more independent? Like, were there any occasions of binging on junk food because you didn't have it at home? Just wondering because that's sometimes an argument I hear against kids having a super strict diet! TheSwissWifeStyle on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1307648 Mon, 30 Dec 2013 11:12:18 +0000 TheSwissWifeStyle 1307648@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No. Little Debbie was my best friend. Yeesh..... I wish my folks knew more about proper nutrition when I was growing up. I was a chunkster, and then later formed unhealthy (restrictive) habits. I will do things a lot differently when I have kids. looch on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1307201 Mon, 30 Dec 2013 08:16:18 +0000 looch 1307201@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I grew up in a household where every meal was cooked from scratch, I always brought my lunch to school, etc. There was only diet soda in the house, we weren't allowed to touch that, and honestly, I didn't like the taste as a child. We had plenty of ice cream and twinkies, though. My mom has a sweet tooth. We were allowed to have a bowl of ice cream after dinner if we wanted and I usually opted in. erinpye on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1307120 Mon, 30 Dec 2013 04:47:38 +0000 erinpye 1307120@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No, but we didn't have a lot of junk food in the house and never had soda in our house. My mom also cooked a lot. I think she was very intentional about not making food a big deal since her mom did, and as a result my mom has struggled with her weight her whole life. lamariniere on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305455 Sun, 29 Dec 2013 02:33:54 +0000 lamariniere 1305455@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Not strict at all. I tremble to think of all the processed food/junk food I ate until I was about 13 and decided on my own to eat healthier/become vegetarian. Ugh. Also, my dad was often in charge of my brother and I in the mornings since my mom went to work around 6am. He often took us to breakfast at fast food places. At least none of this ruined my eating/health as an adult. It's mainly home cooked meals here and no fast food. sarac on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305422 Sun, 29 Dec 2013 01:06:47 +0000 sarac 1305422@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Mine were the other way - totally lax, processed food, never sat down as a family. A lot of that was because I was a terrible picky eater, and my father was on a very restrictive renal diet. But they really lost control of the situation when I was very young. So now I cook all of my family's food from good, whole foods. We sit down every night and many mornings. We have snack food around, but no junk food. We don't do 'good' and 'bad' foods, but we do talk a lot about how different foods make us feel. My daughter is an amazing eater - far better than me - and I feel like my hard work has really paid off, so far. Purpledaisy on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305420 Sun, 29 Dec 2013 00:59:46 +0000 Purpledaisy 1305420@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nope! I grew up in a junk food house... Now I'm the total opposite and eat very clean. yoursilverlining on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305379 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 23:39:47 +0000 yoursilverlining 1305379@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @wonderstruck: you and my brother are cut from the same cloth! He is the pickiest eater I know, which is weird since we just ate whatever my mom made growing up and he wasn't picky then! wonderstruck on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305361 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 23:23:19 +0000 wonderstruck 1305361@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @yoursilverlining: My parents had a very similar setup for me. Although in my case, it didn't matter in the long run - despite their efforts I grew up to be a notoriously picky eater who drinks an embarrassing amount of Mountain Dew. MrsSCB on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305330 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 23:01:50 +0000 MrsSCB 1305330@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I never felt like my parents were strict. We just didn't have junk food, chips, soda etc. in our house so we were healthy by default, but i never felt deprived or like i wanted something more. My mom is a great cook so we just are whatever she made us. nana87 on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305314 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 22:46:08 +0000 nana87 1305314@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Not very strict, in that we had a lot of freedom to choose what we wanted, and I was vegetarian while none of my other family members were. We definitely ate our fair share of unhealthy treats, and ate a lot of take out, but our meals were always balanced. Like, I could eat chips and cookies as long as I was also getting vegetables and good protein sources as well. yoursilverlining on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305299 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 22:34:51 +0000 yoursilverlining 1305299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I wouldn't necessarily say they were strict. My mom made dinner every night from scratch, and things like chips, soda, candy, etc. were an occasional treat. Junk food/fast food was a treat. We were always expected to eat what was served, so there was no catering to or special meals made for picky eaters, although we were not forced to eat something if we didn't like it (we always did have to "try" it though). Lunch was brown-bag: sandwich, fruit, etc. We'll probably follow the same basic set-up; since we didn't eat a lot of junk food growing up, it's still an occasional treat and stuff like soda we never keep around since we rarely drink it at home. Everything in moderation, and making healthy eating just a normal part of life, so it's not a big deal to eat veggies and you don't have to set up a lot of "rules". Mrs. Bee on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305296 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 22:32:58 +0000 Mrs. Bee 1305296@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Hmmm.... I don't think they were super strict, but we rarely ate fast food. We almost always ate a healthy home cooked meal, but they definitely allowed us to have lots of sugary cereals and sweets. But overall I guess our diet was really healthy! artsyfartsy on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305283 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 22:22:43 +0000 artsyfartsy 1305283@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nope! Basically ate whatever I want. Especially at my dad's house. He didn't know how to cook so he let us fend for ourselves. Mom made meals but she had a cabinet full of snacks and we got whatever we wanted. She still keeps her cabinets stocked full of snacks! My diet has junked up a bit since being pregnant (I caved quite a bit) but normally I keep bare basics in the house...just whole foods/ingredients, fruits and veggies, and maybe some healthy snack alternatives. I'm excited to clean my diet back up after baby is born! That will be the norm in my house and what I will feed my child on a daily basis, but I will also teach him the joys of buying a package of pre made cookie dough every now and then and baking them late at night, having a pop when you go out to eat (when he's older), and having a little too much Halloween candy. Mae on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305209 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 21:13:01 +0000 Mae 1305209@https://boards.hellobee.com/ In some ways yes, but mostly no. My mom did have a rule about pop (no more than 1 can/day and never before noon), and she didn't buy a lot of regular snacks crap (chips, little debbies, bagel bites, etc). But she did buy a lot of "diet" snack crap we had free reign over, and also I was a suuuuper picky eater and she gave in and let me eat frozen pizza and chicken patties a LOT when I was a kid because it was basically all I'd eat. jhd on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305188 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 20:59:22 +0000 jhd 1305188@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Not super strict but we didn't get much junk! Mamasig on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305115 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 20:15:43 +0000 Mamasig 1305115@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I wouldn't say super strict but we didn't get a lot of junk food. I think it was more for financial reasons than nutritional ones. Things like coke were more for special occasions. I believe everything is ok in moderation. DS gets to taste sweets and other junk food but it's not an every day thing. So far no soda or sugar drinks for him. Mrs. Taco on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305103 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 20:10:04 +0000 Mrs. Taco 1305103@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nope, we ate a lot of semi homemade meals and processed snacks. My mom was a single mom for a while and worked A LOT, this was what worked for her. My siblings and I are all at healthy weights now and eat a lot more clean. I hope to provide fresher options for my family and limit processed 'junk' but I also want to avoid strict rules that can lead to unhealthy views. yin on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305046 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 19:42:31 +0000 yin 1305046@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My parents are old school Asian, and we only ate Chinese food. No snacks, no soft drinks -- just lots of rice with meat and veggies twice a day (no eating in between). My parents did let me eat a sandwich with a boxed drink for lunch at school but no snacks. I didn't eat breakfast in the morning, and a sandwich had to keep me full until after school. Crystal on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305031 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 19:34:16 +0000 Crystal 1305031@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nope. We ate a lot of boxed and semi prepared meals., and there was always soda/chips/candy around. I hope to clean up my eating for health reasons and instill healthy habits in my children. Andrea on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1305023 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 19:30:43 +0000 Andrea 1305023@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nope, my parents fed me lots of junk. They say they didn't know any better? :-( autumnlove on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1304970 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 19:00:48 +0000 autumnlove 1304970@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yes, healthy food and minimal processed stuff. bpcmarj on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1304948 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 18:48:53 +0000 bpcmarj 1304948@https://boards.hellobee.com/ At first, yes. My parents were on a macro biotic diet when I was young, we ate a lot of miso soup, belonged to a food co-op and had carob instead of chocolate. No soda and only 100% juice. That lasted until I was about 8 I would say. The. The only restrictions we had was no diet food ( aspartame). MadamBabyFever on "Were your parents strict about what you ate as a child?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-your-parents-strict-about-what-you-ate-as-a-child#post-1304932 Sat, 28 Dec 2013 18:32:44 +0000 MadamBabyFever 1304932@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I guess it was quite strict, we were only allowed sweets, crisp and soda on Saturdays. All meals were very balanced and cooked from scratch, traditional Norwegian food, lots of fish and meat and always accompanied by lots of veg. The biggest food rule we had though was that you always had to finish everything on your plate. Mom now agrees that we shouldn't have had that rule, I've had such issues with food only recently have I felt able to leave food on my plate.