Do These People Have Kids?

I subscribe to a lot of on-line parent sources. These newsletters and websites are chock full of interesting information and suggestions. Some of them are more helpful than others.

Today, I got a newsletter from ivillage.com, I like ivillage a lot because, unlike some sources, they have a lot of information for children of all ages. Given that my children range from elementary school to high school, going to one site saves me a lot of time and aggrevation.

This week's ivillage newsletter came with the kids snack swapper. It is sort of a cool idea; plug in some snack kids tend to want (like, say, "cheese puffs"), then hit the big Swap It button to see what is suggested.

The suggestion? Cheese flavored rice cakes.

Cheese flavored rice cakes? Do they honestly believe that, if your kid is longing for cheese puffs, cheese flavored rice cakes will satisfy them? Have they tried offering frozen grapes to a kid who wants candy? I don't think so.

I'm all for offering children healthy alternatives to junk food. My best solution so far is to make sure there's nothing but the healthy stuff in the house for them to eat. So, if they want a snack, they can have yogurt or cheese sticks but no potato chips or cookies. Of course, this sometimes makes for an unhappy husband, but I figure he can always make a trip to the store if he's gotta have ice cream. :)