I know a lot of folks in this thread are taking the piss but imagine you are a single mother on a limited / min wage income working 2 jobs and a kid or two to feed. You need food that doesn’t spoil and that you are certain your kids will eat (can’t afford to waste it) and that doesn’t require much if any time to prepare (you don’t have time). This is how you get shopping carts like this.

People posting the Russian borscht or whatever don’t get it, there are people out there that simply can’t spend an hour or whatever cooking.

[–] usernamesaredifficul@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I mean I get it but when I was a kid it was "shut up and eat what's put in front of you"

[–] Assian_Candor@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Maybe you don’t want to spend the 20 mins you have with your kid that isn’t getting them ready for bed fighting about broccoli or whatever. My point is free/extremely cheap, easy access to healthy prepared foods is the solution to shopping carts like this not shaming people for their food selections. Hardly anybody over the age of 7 would intentionally choose to eat like this.

[–] usernamesaredifficul@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

oh no doubt this is a poverty related malnutrition issue

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Those are all name brand snacks every one of those items costs as much as a more healthy meal.

[–] aaaaaaadjsf@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yeah a box/bag of oatmeal would easily be cheaper than that box of cereal, takes three minutes to cook, and would be much healthier than the cereal, even if you need to add a bunch of sugar to it to make it palatable to kids.

This photograph is just a unique situation that seems to occur in industrialised nations with food deserts. Where this kind of food can be made very cheaply, and even the poor have the purchasing power to afford it. These kind of ready made meals and snacks are usually very expensive in South Africa (except for the ramen/two minute noodles, those are always cheap). No way would a poor person here buy some microwave pizza over a bag of rice or pap.

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yea that stuff is not cheap here.

If it was all generic brands maybe I'd buy it but this is somebody acymtively spending significantly more money to avoid anything that could be considered a nutrient.

[–] Assian_Candor@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No it’s somebody doing a shitty bit

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net -1 points 1 year ago

Tell that to the dozen people saying it's classist to judge this person.

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net -1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Letting your kid eat junk food because you don't want to be the bad guy and make them eat vegetables is really shitty parenting.

[–] Assian_Candor@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Do you have kids? I would have thought the same before becoming a parent but raising kids is really hard particularly without any support networks. Everyone is just trying to do the best they can. I try really hard not to judge other people’s parenting, the only shitty parenting is being absent or abusive imo. Any parenting that raises kids to be happy, healthy and loved is good parenting in my book.

I’ve got plenty of friends who are great parents that feed their kid nothing but buttered pasta and vitamins bc it is all they will eat. There’s no reasoning with a five year old and if you draw a hard line you will both be miserable. You can’t “make” them eat anything, they are individuals with agency.

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yea I do have a kid and if it were up to her she'd have bacon or sausage for breakfast chicken noodle soup for lunch and a cheeseburger and French fries for dinner every day. But that would be a terrible diet so she also has to eat her veggies if she wants desert after dinner. It's really not that hard and just giving your kids junk food because you don't want to parent should be child abuse.

If you can't draw a firm line with a 5 year old you're a bad parent. You might both he miserable for a couple minutes until they realize they aren't getting something else so it's eat dinner or be hungry. And it's way better than being miserable for your whole life because you let your kids walk all over you.

[–] bubbalu@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So buy broccoli and cook it well and if she don't eat you can afford it. What about people who can't afford to scrape nothing into the trash? It's not like most people don't know they should eat healthier. They just can't afford they kid to refuse and pitch a fit, financially or emotionally.

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net -1 points 1 year ago

You dont throw it out you tell your kid that's what's for dinner.

If you can't afford to throw something into he trash not sure how that means you can afford to cook an entirely separate meal.

Again, sorry not accepting the argument that it's ok to not parent your kids because it's tough.

[–] callouscomic@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

This is not a binary choice argument. Some aspects of good parenting require privilege that not all families have.

People who have never suffered and struggled don't get it.

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Don't you fucking lecture me like you know me or my family we've known plenty of struggles.

Giving your kid something other than junk food is not a luxury or a privellage it's the absolute bare minimum for being a parent.

Rice and beans is cheaper and healthier than any of the shit in that cart, I know because for years that's what I ate when I couldn't have afforded the garbage in this cart.

[–] CarbonScored@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

And if your children just steadfastly refused to eat rice or beans? For hours. Every day? And you didn't have the spare time or energy to work out a cheap and healthy food solution because you have a chronic illness and you're working 12 hours a day to afford a roof?

Not denying your experience at all, but don't deny others' experiences either. I've lived through periods of it as a kid, and seen it as an uncle; there certainly are struggles that can make that kind of lifestyle effectively impossible for hardworking and loving parents to achieve.

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net -1 points 1 year ago

They refuse until you make ot clear it's that or be hungry.

And then they eat.

Sorry, not entertaining the argument that not parenting your kids is fine because it's hard to do it.