People share interesting opinions after '90s parenting described as 'negligent'

Parenting has dramatically evolved from the '90s to today, especially in terms of food and nutrition. Reddit user u/Choice_Caramel3182 reflected on their upbringing, comparing the "healthy meals" of the past to those of the present. “What the f*** were parents thinking in the 90s?” they asked. The user shared their childhood experiences, emphasizing how unhealthy their meals were.

“I often look at the focus on nutrition in today’s parenting and think back to my childhood, growing up in the '90s,” they wrote. They added that they had a poorer childhood than the majority. “I remember going a full week without eating a whole fruit or vegetable!” the post read. The person added a list of items, including steak, fries, canned foods and more that were a regular meal for them. Having vegetables or a healthy and balanced diet by today’s standards was more like a luxury to them at the time.

“If we were lucky, we would get a can of corn or green beans with dinner. Or maybe completely unseasoned peas/carrots mix with lunch at school. And so much milk, soda and Kool-Aid!” the post read. They acknowledged that greater knowledge and information have changed parenting but couldn’t understand the stark difference. “But did they not stop to think about what all of these ultra-processed foods filled with chemicals and preservatives were doing to our bodies and brains?”

They added that their childhood diet had a significant impact on their life. “I look now at what I feed my kids and it makes me sad for younger me. I was undernourished (very underweight, which my parents blamed me for),” they said. They mentioned that this caused them to turn to unhealthy habits as a teen and become overweight. They added: “My kids eat more vegetables in a day than I would in a month!” The person agreed that the case may not be the same for all. However, they wished to understand whether parents were comparatively negligent about their kids in the '90s. 

Many people had different perspectives to point out. u/Penguinandbees wrote, “I always felt like I was eating healthy at my grandma’s. She would buy the ramen with the dried up veggie packets in them, which as an adult is a very depressing thought.” u/Thelonius16 said, “I think that’s just your experience. My parents always insisted on vegetables at every meal, despite what I had to say about it."

u/TraditionalCitron498 remarked, “I think this depends on the family. My parents created healthy eating habits for me as a child and I didn’t know we appreciated that until I became a parent.” u/Anianna said, “All of our vegetables came in cans, save for baby carrots and oranges, so maybe I just never noticed.” u/trulygracious suggested, “I think it’s very easy to be hard on our parents but everyone is a product of their environment. Likely, they were just doing their best to survive and give you what they were being marketed with.”