Saying “no” to Goldfish made her want them even more: the forbidden fruit, or in this case, cracker. They’re convenient and tasty, but we also WANT them. Their food is “highly palatable,” thanks to additives like maltodextrin, which physically keep us coming back for more. Getting us to want something is a large part of the processed food industry’s warfare. I realized, then, that I had done it! I had abetted Big Food in programming her to WANT. “It tastes like nothing.” She shrugs in disappointment, but as if programmed to keep eating (well done, Big Food), she reaches her hand in again and escorts more fish food into her mouth. Once she’s chewed and swallowed, she looks at me, disappointed.

(She’s right.) She opens the bag, expectantly breathing in, dips her hand into the sack and brings a few to her mouth, crunching down eagerly.

She bounds over to the pile of individually wrapped Goldfish packages, carefully choosing a plain pouch, knowing the rainbow variety might be too much for her old mum to handle. She looks at me pleadingly and I give her a nod, thinking I might be doing more harm than good should I say no as I normally do. I can see saliva well up in the corners of Madeleine’s mouth as she tunes everything and everyone else out, including the party entertainment, focusing only on the bright colored package that has been effectively designed to beckon to her. Inevitably, the forbidden food (Goldfish for example) shows up at a party and suddenly, it’s more coveted than even the cake would be. Try as I might, taking processed foods off the table, so to speak, seems to do more harm than good. (Perhaps it’s our brains throwing the fit, creating cravings rather than tears nowadays). Take it away and we’re toddlers again, wanting, yearning and throwing a fit just to get some of what we tell ourselves we can’t have. We feel what they feel.Īs adults, we respond the same way to deprivation that our kids do. We walk a fine line being parents and it’s harder than I imagined it would be. As parents, it’s easy to project our experiences on our kids, as we try to prevent them from having the same ones that left negative imprints on us. Meeks’ fourth grade class at Newfane Elementary. It’s no secret that I weighed the same amount on my wedding day that I did when I was in Mr.

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