Baby food pouches

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/ga...pagewanted=all

Do you use these? I am curious about them! They seem like a good idea... kinda. Meal time with families is very important to me.

I'm ambivalent about them. Seems a way to skip the whole "let's sit down as family and have dinner" thing that more and more studies are proving to be crucial. Also , it seems like a way for corporations to make more money at the expense of children (packaged food having less nutrition than fresh). One woman is mentioned as having this for her 4-5 year old to have as a snack on the way home, as if throwing a banana or some baby carrots or some cheese and crackers into a bag is just SO MUCH WORK. If your life is really so busy that this is too much for you, maybe you need to rethink some priorities to not short change your kid.

On the other hand, its more nutritious than stopping for fast food or a bag of chips....

I think it's aweful. Family meal time is so important and while this is offering a healthy choice for moms on the go (older kids in sports etc..) I never really understood the need to so busy that most weekday meals took place in the mini-van.

By the time my son was old enough to sit up in a highchair and eat cheerios, he was at the table with us. By 14 months he got whatever we were eating, cut up small for him so he could finger feed. Before that I made my own baby food and controlled how chunky it was. I think it's also important for children to learn to see choices and balance on their plates. To see meat, veggies and grains. Healthy eating is something they learn at home and eating on the run out of a package, where they can't see what they are eating, IMO isn't teaching them anything about natural foods. Packaging is packaging to a child and they dont' care that it's all organic.

JMO

Thanks for posting the article RedFox - I enjoyed it.
My favorite quote...
"

True, the pouches allow children to be mobile, but their real appeal may be that they allow us to be mobile, too.

I went back to Mr. Grimmer and put the question to him: Is this about our children, or about us?"

These weren't out on the market when my kids were babyfood age, but I have used them in the following instances recently:
- long cartrips
- hiking
- weekend camping trips
- day at the beach

I buy them a few times a year a as novelty, special "we're going on a trip" thing.
I'm too dam cheap to buy them regularly, plus the packaging seems a little wasteful if your family was knocking a couple of these back a day.
I can put applesauce in a tupperware container and pack with a reused plastic spoon much cheaper! :)

I do have to admit though they are handy for squishy foods on the run.
And you can put the top back on to save the rest for later.

I would never consider these a meal substitute, more an on-the-run healthy snack.

Re: Structured mealtimes.... it is VERY easy for my family to let them slip. DH and I recommit ourselves to the family table dinners regularly. We really do enjoy them and it is so much better for the kids and us too.

My grandmother brought me up with structured mealtimes.
My divorced parents did not - it was catch as catch can and a lot of eating out.
I split my time between the 3 of them growing up.... as a child I was comforted by the family dinner table ---- and I think my kids are too.

:idea:

Business idea for one of us.....

Reusable Squish Pouch that you can put your own homemade purees in!

Now THAT I would be more open to.

I have grandchildren... the nearly one year old came equipped with both pouches and traditional jar food for his stay over this weekend. Of course, not knowing what was in the bag, I promptly dropped it on the tile floor and shattered one of the jars. So, +1 to pouches.

They are very portable - can be left in the car / diaper bag / purse in all types of conditions for days at a time. A home packed tupperware with applesauce can not withstand that without risking unhealthy microorganism growth.

They sure were handy for dh and myself - we are not equipped to feed babies. I could have pureed whatever we were eating, but honestly - we were camping!!! Another piece of equipment that needed power and then to be VERY clean before next use was quite honestly beyond us. But I can also see them as an adjunct to everyday feeding. The whole family going to a restaurant - sure - give junior a pouch instead of just french fries. (How many of us have marked a restaurant or two off the rotation due to them not having child-friendly offerings besides mac-n-cheese, hot dogs and chicken nuggets?)

At the price these items command, I doubt there are families whose whole kiddie diet is comprised of pouches. However, I definitely would buy these to have on hand for the occasional need.

A sad state of affairs...

Anyone else (besides myself) notice the pattern today Re: quick meal fixes, energy drinks, snack foods, packaged process goodies, and ballooning bodies? I don't go anywhere nowadays without seeing a child or adult sucking on something or eating something (on the go). Small wonder why such a large populace sports bodies resembling VW Beatles on legs.

This, "I don't have any time" nonsense, is a bunch of hooey! Actually, now that my brain is warming-up to all this, I feel my blood temperature a risin'! Moms need to go back to school to learn how to raise children and administer proper household planning. Too bad all the modernity comes by way of the expense of innocent little children... Only 100 calories a serving, give me a break!

Twenty/thirty years ago, the only thing kids sucked on was a quick drink of water when they were thirsty, and with proper balanced meals, snack-foods were non-existent.

This latest and greatest idea IMO ranks right up there with chocolate baby formula.

This article really overcomplicates baby feeding. Really? You do a little song and dance to get Junior to eat his peas? I pretty much just put them in front of him and if he eats it he eats it, if he doesn't he doesn't, but no snacks until the next meal. None of my kids have died of starvation yet.

Quote:

---

“It takes tremendous resolve by parents to say, ‘Mealtime is mealtime,’ - from article

---

I have not found it to take tremendous resolve. That's a bit dramatic. Climbing a mountain takes tremendous resolve.

That said I have bought the applesauce in pouches for snacks when we are traveling and for the weeks directly after I had baby Charlotte as a breakfast choice.

We had these when P was about 8 months old and we were on vacation. But I squeezed the contents onto a spoon to feed her! It never occurred to me to squirt it directly into her mouth.

Whenever funky stuff like this is introduced to the market, I worry about those who will rely on them as a regular (daily) staple.

When we were kids, apple slices, orange wedges, bananas, and carrots, were our kid/baby pouches.

What happened to that?