PARENTING

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I am not terribly fond of peanut butter, although, every once in a while, it's really good for a minute.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

It's really good when you're hungry as a she-wolf and there's nothing better in the house. 
Kind of like eating putty if you don't doctor it up, though.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I did the WIC thing once, when I was prego with my son.

Peanut butter. Peanut butter. Peanut butter. So much peanut butter.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

And MILK MILK MILK MILK MILK.
They didn't CARE that I'm lactose intolerant. "TAKE THE MILK VOUCHERS!"

[insideout]

Sounds like the main issue with your kids friends is lack of parental attention.

And it's also true that food at someone's elses house always looks tastier than the crap your mom serves you. 

But that doesn't explain the greasy unwashed look you describe, and lack of parental attention does.

My best guess based on the info in this thread combined with personal experience as a parent is that it is a combination of those and other unnamed factors.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I did the WIC thing once, when I was prego with my son.

Peanut butter. Peanut butter. Peanut butter. So much peanut butter.

WIC is one of the few things America does that makes me proud.

All things considered, that's a very sad statement.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Sounds like the main issue with your kids friends is lack of parental attention.

And it's also true that food at someone's elses house always looks tastier than the crap your mom serves you. 

But that doesn't explain the greasy unwashed look you describe, and lack of parental attention does.

My best guess based on the info in this thread combined with personal experience as a parent is that it is a combination of those and other unnamed factors.

OR

The kid is just being a shit.  I was a shit.  It's part of being a kid in America...Or was.  My kids aren't shits.  I can't understand why.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I did the WIC thing once, when I was prego with my son.

Peanut butter. Peanut butter. Peanut butter. So much peanut butter.

WIC is one of the few things America does that makes me proud.

All things considered, that's a very sad statement.

Yeah, WIC wears a white hat.
It's about not feeding your kids Cheetos for breakfast and getting them accustomed to actual FOOD.
This makes me expect it to go away soon. Can't have THAT in America^(TM).

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

Oh man, I fucking loved WIC. Except for the dickholes at S&S that were like "we don't need to stock 1lb bags of non-organic carrots because you can get cans instead and that's totally complying with their rules for us!" Because canned carrots are worth eating 

[Cainad (dec.)]

Something I learned from my mom recently, about how she raised me and my brother:

Never threaten any punishment for misbehavior that you aren't 100% committed to following up on. Severity of punishment is less important than consistency.

Looking back, I realized that one of the major differences between me and many other kids was that I had nearly zero desire to test my parents' boundaries. There was no thrill in trying to get away with being a little shit, because being a little shit meant being punished for it.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Something I learned from my mom recently, about how she raised me and my brother:

Never threaten any punishment for misbehavior that you aren't 100% committed to following up on. Severity of punishment is less important than consistency.

Looking back, I realized that one of the major differences between me and many other kids was that I had nearly zero desire to test my parents' boundaries. There was no thrill in trying to get away with being a little shit, because being a little shit meant being punished for it.

One of the things I never wavered from was following through, no matter how crazy my threats were. I mean, one time I threatened to spray them with the kitchen spray hose if they didn't stop whatever annoying behavior they were engaged in, and they didn't stop. So I hosed them. They were stunned, and I had a mess to clean up, but ever since then they have never questioned whether I would do whatever crazy shit it takes. (There have been a couple of glasses of cold water over the head, too, and also on a few occasions a squirt bottle. I'm sure some people would think I'm a monster, but whatever.)

[Cainad (dec.)]

Fucking solid.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I did the WIC thing once, when I was prego with my son.

Peanut butter. Peanut butter. Peanut butter. So much peanut butter.

WIC is one of the few things America does that makes me proud.

All things considered, that's a very sad statement.

Yeah, WIC wears a white hat.
It's about not feeding your kids Cheetos for breakfast and getting them accustomed to actual FOOD.
This makes me expect it to go away soon. Can't have THAT in America^(TM).

Assholes have been trying desperately to kill WIC since the day it was introduced.  It's still there.

And while it's still there, you can assume that the USA isn't ALL dickhead and assmunch.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I did the WIC thing once, when I was prego with my son.

Peanut butter. Peanut butter. Peanut butter. So much peanut butter.

WIC is one of the few things America does that makes me proud.

All things considered, that's a very sad statement.

Yeah, WIC wears a white hat.
It's about not feeding your kids Cheetos for breakfast and getting them accustomed to actual FOOD.
This makes me expect it to go away soon. Can't have THAT in America^(TM).

Assholes have been trying desperately to kill WIC since the day it was introduced.  It's still there.

And while it's still there, you can assume that the USA isn't ALL dickhead and assmunch.

What's been keeping WIC dickhead and assmunch proof, though, and HOW THE FUCK DO WE DEPLOY THIS IN DEFENSE OF THE LAST FEW THINGS BETWEEN US AND ALEC?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I did the WIC thing once, when I was prego with my son.

Peanut butter. Peanut butter. Peanut butter. So much peanut butter.

WIC is one of the few things America does that makes me proud.

All things considered, that's a very sad statement.

Yeah, WIC wears a white hat.
It's about not feeding your kids Cheetos for breakfast and getting them accustomed to actual FOOD.
This makes me expect it to go away soon. Can't have THAT in America^(TM).

Assholes have been trying desperately to kill WIC since the day it was introduced.  It's still there.

And while it's still there, you can assume that the USA isn't ALL dickhead and assmunch.

What's been keeping WIC dickhead and assmunch proof, though, and HOW THE FUCK DO WE DEPLOY THIS IN DEFENSE OF THE LAST FEW THINGS BETWEEN US AND ALEC?

What's been keeping it safe is that no matter how much advertising you do, most people don't want babies to be malnourished.

Also, ALEC hasn't really got a vested interest in getting rid of it, for reasons that should be fairly obvious.