As a mother of four children, it is quite often that we get invitations to children's birthday parties. Usually this means the menu will not be of the vegetarian kind. Usually you know there will be either hot dogs, pizza, hamburgers or some other kind of meat. In the past, I would usually feed my toddler before going to a party or function knowing that she will probably not eat the food there anyway. I would feel bad because I knew that they had to buy food for the guests so I would feel rude not accepting the food. I would tell them that she was a picky eater and that she already ate.
But later on, I started to bring food with me just in case she got hungry. In fact, I brought her food to her own birthday party! While every other child at her party ate the food they served, my daughter had her own meal that I brought. I'm sure people must of thought I was crazy, but I couldn't let her go hungry. I sometimes wonder what people think when they offer my child food and I tell them "thanks but she doesn't eat that kind of food." They must think I'm some crazy mom that shelters her children! But the truth is, I don't feel it's okay to just let your kids eat junk food because it has become socially acceptable. Now is the time to give them the best food for their future health. I always tell people "she has plenty of time later in life to eat garbage if she wants to, but for now it's my time to make sure she eats well".
So then is it rude for me to bring food to a party? I don't want to insult anyone, but if I know I'm going to a party that is serving hot dogs, I'm going to bring her something else to eat! It's better than just not going, right? Should I keep bringing her food to eat, or just feed her before going and not eating while we are there? She has just started school so I know I have many years of birthday parties to go to so I would love to hear from others who have experienced this dilemma!
