Here's what started the conversation.
We were watching an 'Emergency Room' show and a rather young couple - I'd guess both were about 19 or so - brought a kid in with bleeding (I mean bleeding a lot) gums, and he would not walk and would start screaming if someone tried to get him to stand up and walk. Xrays showed that the growth plates of his bones were extremely abnormal - he had stopped growing.
The doctor diagnosed the child with Scurvey - a severe Vitamin C deficiency. He couldn't believe it. He said, 'this is something I associated with pirates'. Scurvey is extremely painful and can cause death. It is only seen with the most grossly deficient diets.
He asked the parents what they fed the child: 'Oatmeal'.
Nothing but oatmeal? Yes, for several years.
No vitamins, no milk, no eggs, no meat, no protein of any type, no fruits, no vegetables.
The parents proceeded to look just horrified!
Oh! Do you have to give a toddler protein? Milk? Eggs? Fruit? Vegetables? REALLLLY????
They look at each other with horror, oh dear, we are supposed to feed our child protein, fruit, vegetables, so that he does not die of deficiency diseases, such as scurvy.
My SO was like, 'yes, the poor parents, they have no idea'.
I was like, 'COME ON, there is no WAY a person can get to be that age and have no idea that a baby can't grow and survive on packages of oatmeal and nothing else for years - even in HIGH SCHOOL they are taught about nutrition. When the child was born the hospital would give them nutritional information, they're bombarded constantly with it on TV and the internet, and every time they take the kid to the doctor, talk to a relative or any friends with young children, they are going to be told about nutrition.'
The replies indicate otherwise.
I know owe my SO ten bucks, and I have to throw flower petals whenever he enters the room, throw myself down and scream, 'I'M NOT WORTHY'
Unless, of course, a few of you step up and deliver some really excellent descriptions of a toddler diet.
