Plum Organics’ broccoli and apple. Um, yum?
Kids have been drinking out of pouches for a generation at least. It bears remembering that when many of us were in our juice-drinking days, juice boxes and pouches, as well as sippy cups, didn’t exist. Now, it’s more common in some circles for kids to drink out of so-called spillproof devices or disposable containers than to use cups. I get (and have availed myself of) the convenience factor, but there’s a point at which convenience far outweighs commonsense. And I think we may have arrived there.
It occurs to me that drink pouches (and now food pouches, about which more in a sec) are a perfect anthropological example of an item that, once it came into existence, altered people’s lifestyles to suit it; created a need, and then filled it. Like Tivo, or voice mail. But not necessarily in a good way.
So, yes, now you can take semi-solid sustenance from a pouch. Instead of sipping, you can slurp. Plum Organics’ latest offering – veggie and fruit puree blends in a pouch – were introduced in 2008. Other companies (baby-food household names such as Gerber and Earth’s Best, for example) have their own versions of the product, but Plum Organics is the main player in this New York Times article, which elevates pouch food, as an alternative to actual meals, to a trend.
I read the piece, and it had me choking on my actual food.
The pouches don’t appear to contain anything different than what a parent can make him or herself, or buy in another, non-pouchy form, such as purees of veggies and fruits in jars that you then feed to a baby, or have a toddler feed herself, with that old-fashioned and slow-moving conveyance, the spoon. I was left wondering, if you can’t get your toddler to eat pureed food off a spoon, is the idea to trick her into it being more fun if you can suck it?
But apparently the novelty and the trickery (for lack of a better word) is only a part of the marketing thrust here. As the Times quotes Plum Organics president Neil Grimmer as saying, suckable food pouches “empower” children.
I wasn’t under the impression that our toddlers and preschoolers (who it would seem are the intended consumers, though we shouldn’t leave out models and anorexics) needed empowering.
The pouches are also touted as a way to squeeze (sorry) mealtimes into a modern family’s busy schedule, allowing greater flexibility in eating. Parents, Grimmer says, want a “less structured alternative” to regular eating times; that way, a child can eat whenever he’s hungry.
Couple things:
- Being able to reach for a pouch “whenever” has the potential to divorce eating as a biological need from eating because it’s a pleasurable activity to share with people. Does anyone remember dystopian future visions of a meal in a pill? By that logic, it would appear a next step after pouch-sucking might be the nasal-gastric tube.
- A child – anyone, really – should learn to eat when it’s time to eat. Yeah, that sounds highly rigid of me, but them’s the rules around here. Kids who pull up to the dinner table with mildly growly stomachs eat. Kids who have been grazing and munching and slurping all day eat one bite of chicken or two forkfuls of pasta, declare they’re full, and return an hour later looking for more, and “more” in the after dinner hour is usually not the veggies they left on their plates.
Another supposedly genius benefit of the grab-and-suck pouch is that it frees busy families from the tyranny of meals when they’re trapped in an afternoon-to-evening cycle of activities and parties and practices. The Times writer, Matt Richtel, reports that his 22-month-old daughter consumed one pouch on a day she’d barely touched breakfast, on the way to gymnastics class. The next day, another pouch was her sustenance en route to a birthday party.
Is it possible that the solution – food so convenient you don’t even have to sit or stand still to eat it, much less spend two seconds on preparation (which is what you’d spend on, say, grabbing an apple or peeling a banana) – has arisen to fix a problem, being crazy-busy, that can be fixed other ways? Such as in not being so busy all the time?
No, says Plum Organics’ Grimmer:
…that ship has sailed. And not just for us, but for our children, too. “My kids are more scheduled than I am as C.E.O.: soccer, ballet, theater.”
Regular mealtimes just add one more item to the schedule, he said, whereas the pouch supports “those moments and gaps when they can truly be unscheduled. It’s about supporting the idea that they don’t have to have every last second structured.”
So, he’s saying that the pouch becomes the unstructured part of the day. That’s scary.
Then, chimes in Maureen Putman, chief executive of Hain Celestial Group, the parent company that makes Earth’s Best:
“We’re always asking more from our children. They’re expected to be involved in so many activities, sports and music and language classes. How do you fit a meal in in between?”
Her conclusion: “It’s just necessary to live life on the go.”
But think: Who is asking all this of our children? It’s us, right? I mean, that’s obvious, surely. And if we’re doing the asking, we can do the un-asking, yes?
Could be that space-age food is necessary for a “life on the go,” as Putman puts it, but we can stop our lives from being lived on a launch pad, can’t we? And have breakfast, while we’re at it?
As I started reading this, I couldn’t help but think about the part in your book about sippy cups (which we use, but your point is a good one). These pouches sound great in certain situations- car trips for example, but are really utterly unnecessary.
OMG, scary. Definitely scary. This pouch/puree business has gone over the TOP the last couple of years! It wasn’t that big of a “thing” yet when my 3 year old was born and during her first few years; now it’s exploded and they are everywhere. My initial visceral reaction was that I want my children to learn what the whole, actual foods ARE in that form. And to be able to eat them that way, like they’ll be expected to (I hope!?!?) as grownups someday. This is way, way over the top. Ewww.
OK, so this is a little scary…but I have to add that they can serve a purpose. I live way out in the country, and when I go to town, we are there all day long. When my son was still a baby – on solid foods but not really able to eat much beyond purees – these were awesome for being able to neatly feed him lunch outside of the home, and for a quick ‘hold him til we get home’ snack. However, we had weaned off of these by the time he was 19 months old in favor of, shall we say, adult type foods. Frankly, I thought these pouches were BABY food, not something suitable for children who can use utensils. So, I still maintain they have their place, but mostly I agree with your thoughts on the pouches as toddler/Pre-school foods. Definitely scary…
The author writes “At last, I realized the source of my nagging discomfort. The pouch may help us negotiate the age-old battle of wills at the table, not to mention relieving me of my vaudeville act. But it also creates children in our own frenetic image: energetic, vitamin-fueled, moving frantically from one thing to the next. I wonder if that’s a good thing.”
In the words of good old Dr. Spock “Don’t be afraid to trust your own common sense.” Seems to me the author of this article knows it’s a bad idea but instead of trusting commons sense he’s following blindly what others are doing/think is OK. Yikes.
I occasionally purchase these pouches for my 19 month old, who sometimes eats them in place of apple sauce for his (regularly scheduled) afternoon snack. But he eats them in his high chair, from a spoon, like a human. And why do people think these are a replacement for veggies? The first ingredient on all of the ones I’ve purchased is fruit so that is the bulk of the ingredients and that’s why they are sweet. And yes, they are nothing more than baby food – it’s just that most parents would be embarrassed to feed their four year old baby food from a jar. That’s all from this soap box. Thanks for post!
Awesome article! Once my youngest got past puréed foods I stopped buying them. Which was around 10 mo. When we go out with our 3 lil ones I pack a small cooler with chopped up fruit and veggies. I don’t think the 5 min it takes me is to much. I know what they are eating. I also love in there about hungry kids coming to the table and eating because they don’t snack all afternoon. I also believe in this. I made that mistake with my oldest who is now 6. My children are served dinner and if they don’t eat it, that’s it. Dinner is what brings families together at the days end to b a family. If your missing out on too many meals together u are missing out on what a family is truly about
I can understand the appeal of these things, particularly when you’re in the midst of running around but using them as a replacement for actual food seems downright stupid.
My son (almost 20 months) has a metabolic disorder that requires him to eat (or drink something other than water) pretty frequently. When we’re out running around, giving him something like this during his regularly scheduled snack time, while convenient, is silly. I’d rather give him a few Teddy Grahams or a banana than give him these.
I wasn’t aware that these pouches were being marketed for kids past babyhood, except for the applesauce ones. I do buy the applesauce ones for my daughter. It’s no different than applesauce from a jar or convenience size snack that has to be eaten with a spoon. Great for one the go snacks, and I plan on putting them in her lunch this fall when she goes to kindergarten.
My nephew eats a lot of the veggie ones. But he’s a baby, coming up on a year, and doesn’t have any teeth yet. I can’t imagine offering pureed carrots and plums to my 5 year old or my almost 8 year old!
However, I have noticed that there is a TON of judgement and competition when it comes to how we choose to feed our kids. I always fed jarred food when it was appropriate. I had no interest in making my own baby food. But you should see some of the snark on blogs and such about “crappy” storebought food or the mothers who “can’t be bothered to take the time to lovingly make their own baby food.” My son had a food allergy, weight issues and was not a great eater as a baby, so he ate baby food past a year. A stranger at the beach gave me the evil eye when she realized my child was 12 months old and really digging his jarred bananas and blueberries. When my daughter was 2 weeks away from turning one and we ran out of formula, I figured 2 weeks wouldn’t make that much of a difference and switched her to cows milk. Man, did I catch it for that! And HOW DARE I give them milk from conventional cows?
Thank you for your comment!! I agree that there is so much judgement passed on parents today, from other parents! My husband and I both work full time (yet another judgement from some) and we use the pouches to pack for lunch and snacks. I’m packing 2 snacks and lunch for two kids every day. That’s a lot more than just 5 minutes to cut everything up!! So one of our fruits might be a pouch, and then a couple fresh fruits. Since my kids are getting plenty of fruits and veggies every day, I don’t care if one comes from a pouch! My kids can eat with silverware, sit for meals, and have a healthy view of food. Why do we all have to weigh in on every single decision every single parent makes?? Thanks again for your comment – I support ya!
Beth,
See, the way you are using the pouches, to me, is what they should be intended for — a convenient way to give a little extra fruit and/or veg. It’s really no different from me buying small fruit cups or applesauce cups for my kids’ lunches. I keep those around in the cupboard for the days I’m packing lunches and realize I don’t have any fresh fruit, or none on hand that will make it through the battering my kids give their lunchboxes! But I was troubled, having read that Times piece, about the idea that we can’t do ANYTHING about our busy lives OTHER than give in to the craziness and suck food out of pouches. As though there’s no other option, such as NOT being so busy!
Denise
Your comment made me remember back when my kids were really young. All three of them didn’t get their first tooth until at least 14 months and I remember once being yelled at by a Gerber customer service representative when I called with a question. She found out that I was feeding my “baby” stage three food before she had a full set of teeth. She gave me a good rant about how they could choke to death! Ha ha ha!! Try not to take other people’s judgments too seriously…it’s better to laugh. Even with the comments here, I got a chuckle when these pouches are being described as “scary.” Hee hee. I do sympathize with you though because it is tough dealing with other people’s judgments. I try to look on the bright side because raising kids has made me be able to go against other people’s opinions when necessary and make decisions with more confidence. It is human nature to judge others and I don’t think it is going to go away.
I find them useful when we are out and about. They are quick. She likes them and they’re clean. I try not to make parenting decisions based on fear — I’m not scared my child won’t eat from a spoon, she does — I’m not scared she won’t sit for a meal, she does — I’m not scared she won’t eat other food, she does.
I do find this conversation kind of funny though. Do you think this is the kind of things moms talked about when baby food came out or disposable diapers or walkers or bouncers or anything new? Ive noticed a trend: moms with young babies use the new things bc we are at the stage of whatever works — moms with older kids or grown kids find the new things cop outs or necessary or maybe even dangerous.
Interesting to see this all play out here. Thanks for the article.
Interesting, Kelly. You may have a point about younger or new versus older or experienced parents looking at convenience items differently. Back in the dark ages when I was a baby, disposable diapers were brand new, and you can bet my mom pounced on them for their convenience. But there’s another example of what I’m talking about,and of the discomfiting (to me) trend the pouch article brings up. Disposables are convenient, make things easier, and are a valid choice (just as jarred or pouched food over homemade is a valid choice). But then the diaper industry takes things to further extremes with pull ups that (to my mind,even though I used them a bit) delay toilet training, and even those silly designer diapers, all to separate parents from their money.
thanks for weighing in!
Denise
So true. I mean really, who needs diapers with Hawaiian flowers bc it’s summer? It all comes down to balance, judiciously using things that are convenient while making sure they don’t create a developmental problem with your child.
I’ve seen these in the store and was never interested in trying them, but my little one never wanted to eat purees. She much preferred real textures, so I just gave her naturally soft food, like bananas.
I don’t schedule my toddler (18mo) any activities outside the home. We go to the park when it’s sunny, or we play at home. We are able to have meal and snack times at home, or I’ll bring some crackers or fruit if she needs a snack when we’re out.
Meal and snack-times are fairly scheduled. If she doesn’t finish her dinner, I save the part she didn’t eat and give it to her later on, if she claims hunger. I figure, we eat pretty early, it’s not unreasonable for her to be hungry between dinner and bedtime, but I want to establish early that she can’t just leave part of her dinner and expect to eat something else later.
I do that with my son, too. We have a family rule about cleaning our plates, having put a reasonable amount on them to begin with, so we normally don’t need to go there, but when he says he’s full, the rest of his dinner goes into a container and in to the fridge for his bedtime snack, lunch the next day, or whatever.
Brilliant, awesome, love this article for so many reasons. Totally agree with pretty much everything you say (even tho I do make considerable use of those pouches…going to rethink that….)
ABSOLUTELY agree that we are the ones asking kids to be crazy busy and we can un-ask…I have tried to do that in the past 2 years. Not that I was ever caught up in juggling a CEO-like schedule, but even the running, schlepping and stressing that we did do I’ve cut out in as far as we are able.
Also totally agree about hungry kids and mealtimes. People think I’m nuts but I let my 4 y/o get hungry. And then he wants to eat. And then I feed him. Pretty much whatever I feed him, he eats. Because he’s hungry, and there aren’t a bunch of choices (No sing-songy “Do you want kale and quinoa or mac ‘n’ cheese?” Take a wild guess what the toddler’s gonna pick!)
Thank you for this sane view of parenting. So appreciate it.
Great points, but a big omission is the WASTE. Disposable everything. I’m so sick of individually wrapped, disposable everything. Aren’t we supposed to be more enlightened these days about the world we’re leaving to future generations?
Shalla – yes! You are right. I didn’t even factor that in (while meanwhile I schlep a couple bags of compost down to the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays and endure the wrath of my husband for storing “trash” in the freezer all week).
We buy the pouches for our 21month old daughter (although hubby took one on his 15mile run the other morning and slurped it halfway through).
They are exceptionally handy for keeping in the diaper bag. My daughter absolutely loves them and will tear apart the diaper bag if she has access looking for what we call ‘squeezy fruit’. She generally gets 1 pouch every few weeks or months. They are for emergencies and they are quite handy for that. Like say, yesterday when my husband said ‘let’s go for a ride about an hour to this restaurant’ and it was 3 hours until we got there. Well, he and I and the inlaws were able to survive. The toddler? Not so much. One, we were in the mountains with no businesses to shop from and Two, that squeezy fruit is substantially healthier than much of anything I’d find at a gas station.
Now, if you’re using the pouches as actual meals on a consistent basis, I see a problem with that. but for us? They avoid hassle. They take care of a need when that trip took longer than expected, when the child’s blood sugar went too low at the wrong time, etc.
and.. they’re recyclable.
meh.
Denise — Saw your book mentioned in The New Yorker today!!
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2012/07/02/120702crbo_books_kolbert
I hate and disagree with all of the reasons that the Plum Organics guy gives as to why they make these pouches. We do use them on occasion, but as a snack, sitting in a highchair, or as an additional fruit or vegetable to a meal that’s eaten at a restaurant. I sometimes keep them in the diaper bag as a ready-to-go snack. It’s kind of a novelty to our 21-month-old, and if I gave him a pouch every day, he’d get bored with it. He eats when we eat and, for the most part, what we eat. If he doesn’t like it, then we tell him sorry but that’s what’s for dinner. We’ll offer fruit afterwards if he doesn’t eat super well, but I’m not going to give him Goldfish and bread just because that’s what he wants.