Ugh. If you've remotely been paying attention to the news for the past couple of days, then I'm sure you've heard about the study saying Oreos are addictive — to the point that researchers are comparing them to cocaine. (Seriously?)
Apparently the super-delish cookies stimulate the pleasure center in the brain the same way drugs do. That means we aren't hallucinating by thinking that our kiddos are hooked on them.
But even though Oreos are junk food and may turn our children into junk food junkies — who really cares? Is this really supposed to make us paranoid enough that we won't let our kids have sweets anymore?
Ever since my son was a toddler, I've had no qualms about letting him have junk food. Want to know the main reason why? Because he's a kid and kids love treats and quite frankly I think they deserve them too.
It's not like I'm saying they shouldn't eat healthy most of the time, but honestly, what's the harm in letting them have dessert every night? Or a fast food kids' meal every week every now and then? They're just kids, for crying out loud. They have their whole lives to concern themselves with every single morsel that goes into their mouths and what sort of negative effect it may or may not have. Shouldn't we cut them a little slack while they're in preschool?
But maybe I'd feel differently about allowing the junk food if my kid weren't perfectly healthy, or if he were overweight or weren't very active. He's been a bean pole right from the start, so I've never seen any harm in letting him scarf down French fries, candy, or Oreos. I feel like he eats enough good stuff to balance out the junk.
On that note, I think I'll go ahead and add Oreos to my grocery store list for when I go out shopping later today. All we have in the house right now are Chips Ahoy, and it's probably about time to spice things up and throw a little variety into the mix.
Will you continue to let your child eat junk food even if it's addicting?
Image via KidStock/Corbis
