Very much like how I feel about junk food, I am ambivalent towards fast food. Many parents could empathize. Most fast-food fares are over-processed, over-seasoned, over-done, hyper-packaged, highly-glamorized, romanticized, cartoonized, and infinitely advertised junk that doesn't look nor taste anything like real food. And yet, there you are, you mall-rat you, lining-up on a Saturday afternoon, jostling elbows with other lucky zombies who got ahead of you, impatiently waiting for your turn behind that counter, to part with your hard-earned money just to have a taste of that newest, juciest, junk in town.
I kick myself in the *%$* sometimes. But then, there are days when you mentally find yourself thanking the heavens for fastfood. These are days when even the inner-Martha Stewart in you balks at the thought of marketing,cooking, dishwashing...... The business of fast food is not food. It's time and convenience. And on some days, you are their happiest customer.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Snack Attack
When it comes to my child's school snacks or ba-on, I go from one end to the other. Meaning, I have this royal debate going inside my head that is driving me nuts. Lately I've become a little numb.
On one end is the progressive, informed, sophisticated mom who will not allow her child to be fed junk and highly processed food and drinks just for the sheer convenience of it. This is the kind of mom who wakes up a li'l earlier to prepare healthy snacks for her child, who has all her ingredients cut-up and ready for quick cooking or heating at the start of the day, and who has mastered her child's eating habits that no ba-on is wasted or left to be feasted on by a less discriminating classmate.
Sure I'm that kind of mom some of the time. Maybe when the moon is blue. But there's that other end where lives the kind of mom who buys her child bags full of junk food, candy and tetra packed drinks enough to last him a week or two. She is budget-conscious and at least more responsible than that mom who just gives her ten year-old money so that he can buy whatever he wants be it junk food, pets or high powered machine guns.
I've been all of the above and that royal debate is still on. Mom No. 1's efforts is laudable and very ideal, but I don't know many working moms who don't have househelpers who can be consistent with this. I'm talking about snacks, not lunch, and I don't think it's fun for the child to be snacking on the same kind of sandwich day-in and day-out. This is where the "trading" usually happens. Que horror! Your child could be snacking on a reheated siopao bought a week ago because he just wants to taste something else other than your mayonnaise and cheese sandwich that he has for ba-on for the last four months.
Mom No.2 like I said is budget conscious so when it comes to school snacks, there's no second guessing, Potato Chips -MWF, Cheese Balls-TTh. Her grocery bill is consistent and she doesnt worry whether the Potato Chips will taste better today and bland tomorrow, or her child's drink having less sugar today and very sweet tomorrow. Mom No. 2 is set for the whole week and her snacking solution works like a well-oiled machine. In a few years perhaps she will just deal with her child's kidney or UTI or sodium problem, but, that's not likely to happen very soon. She will deal with that kind of thing later.
Mom No. 3, has Mom No. 2's problems and more. But her child is happy because he's buying and eating what he wants. He can save some of the money he has and spend some on the things he wants to buy anyways. Mom No.3 is worry free and is even teaching her child how to manage his very own "allowance" early on. She just has to monitor his spending and the food that he ate.... if she has the time. Uh huh.
So there you go...that's my snacking dilemma.
At the moment, I'm working with my child to be the effective Mom No. 1. He makes my life easier because he says what he wants to have as ba-on and I can have it all prepped at the start of the week, no sandwiches, mind you. He wants rice and a light viand. Well and good.
I just don't know how long the moon will stay blue.
On one end is the progressive, informed, sophisticated mom who will not allow her child to be fed junk and highly processed food and drinks just for the sheer convenience of it. This is the kind of mom who wakes up a li'l earlier to prepare healthy snacks for her child, who has all her ingredients cut-up and ready for quick cooking or heating at the start of the day, and who has mastered her child's eating habits that no ba-on is wasted or left to be feasted on by a less discriminating classmate.
Sure I'm that kind of mom some of the time. Maybe when the moon is blue. But there's that other end where lives the kind of mom who buys her child bags full of junk food, candy and tetra packed drinks enough to last him a week or two. She is budget-conscious and at least more responsible than that mom who just gives her ten year-old money so that he can buy whatever he wants be it junk food, pets or high powered machine guns.
I've been all of the above and that royal debate is still on. Mom No. 1's efforts is laudable and very ideal, but I don't know many working moms who don't have househelpers who can be consistent with this. I'm talking about snacks, not lunch, and I don't think it's fun for the child to be snacking on the same kind of sandwich day-in and day-out. This is where the "trading" usually happens. Que horror! Your child could be snacking on a reheated siopao bought a week ago because he just wants to taste something else other than your mayonnaise and cheese sandwich that he has for ba-on for the last four months.
Mom No.2 like I said is budget conscious so when it comes to school snacks, there's no second guessing, Potato Chips -MWF, Cheese Balls-TTh. Her grocery bill is consistent and she doesnt worry whether the Potato Chips will taste better today and bland tomorrow, or her child's drink having less sugar today and very sweet tomorrow. Mom No. 2 is set for the whole week and her snacking solution works like a well-oiled machine. In a few years perhaps she will just deal with her child's kidney or UTI or sodium problem, but, that's not likely to happen very soon. She will deal with that kind of thing later.
Mom No. 3, has Mom No. 2's problems and more. But her child is happy because he's buying and eating what he wants. He can save some of the money he has and spend some on the things he wants to buy anyways. Mom No.3 is worry free and is even teaching her child how to manage his very own "allowance" early on. She just has to monitor his spending and the food that he ate.... if she has the time. Uh huh.
So there you go...that's my snacking dilemma.
At the moment, I'm working with my child to be the effective Mom No. 1. He makes my life easier because he says what he wants to have as ba-on and I can have it all prepped at the start of the week, no sandwiches, mind you. He wants rice and a light viand. Well and good.
I just don't know how long the moon will stay blue.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Random Musings
I have been too busy to make any new posts lately. United Nation's Week came just right after the second grading. My pocket took a beating from all the costumes and incidental expenses for the parade, photgraphs, snacks for practices, etc.
To make matters a little too exciting for comfort, there were just too many deadlines to beat at work. Whew! I don't know how other moms manage....and to think I only have one kid. If you thought you had it good when your toddler finally grows up and your diaper and Gerber days are gone, well, you have another thought coming. School age kids will present you with another set of woes and worries that will guarantee to hasten hypertension, white hair and wrinkles on your forehead.
Like any other garden variety lunatic mom, I tell my son not to marry yet because...well because he's too young and I'm too young to be a mother of the groom. Plus of course he can't dress himself properly yet without me barking instructions and yelling threats of doom if he forgets to zip his pants one more time.
Like any other garden variety lunatic mom, I'm actually laying a pathway to use in the future for more serious talks about girls and romance and relationships. My son has crushes and imaginary girlfriends, but he has not yet crossed that line. Meaning, he still loves it when I kiss him and pretend he's still my baby. He enjoys it when we cuddle in the morning and I call him my lil' sweetie pie or something, and he walks around naked in the house and discusses with people how he is not yet circumcised.
My son is still my baby boy...but I'm already counting the days when he crosses that line...hopefully I'll be just about ready to cross it with him too.
To make matters a little too exciting for comfort, there were just too many deadlines to beat at work. Whew! I don't know how other moms manage....and to think I only have one kid. If you thought you had it good when your toddler finally grows up and your diaper and Gerber days are gone, well, you have another thought coming. School age kids will present you with another set of woes and worries that will guarantee to hasten hypertension, white hair and wrinkles on your forehead.
Like any other garden variety lunatic mom, I tell my son not to marry yet because...well because he's too young and I'm too young to be a mother of the groom. Plus of course he can't dress himself properly yet without me barking instructions and yelling threats of doom if he forgets to zip his pants one more time.
Like any other garden variety lunatic mom, I'm actually laying a pathway to use in the future for more serious talks about girls and romance and relationships. My son has crushes and imaginary girlfriends, but he has not yet crossed that line. Meaning, he still loves it when I kiss him and pretend he's still my baby. He enjoys it when we cuddle in the morning and I call him my lil' sweetie pie or something, and he walks around naked in the house and discusses with people how he is not yet circumcised.
My son is still my baby boy...but I'm already counting the days when he crosses that line...hopefully I'll be just about ready to cross it with him too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)