10 things you should NOT give your children

1. Coke (the soft drink). It contains more caffeine than a cup of coffee. We don't give our children coffee and yet foolishly parents give their children coke! Don't do it.  It is NOT ok to do so. Not to mention the amount of sugar and chemicals in this stuff. I'd go so far as to add soft drink in general though many of you will disagree.

2. Energy drinks. What child needs an energy drink? They were created for athletes to drink before games and are now sold to the public. I saw two young boys (around 10) come out of a shop with energy drinks in hand and I was cross that the shop owner is allowed to sell them to underage children. It straight up bothers me that both coke and energy drinks do NOT have a warning label on them stating they SHOULD NOT be given to children or teens under a certain age.

3. Cigarettes. Well this goes without saying and yet some parents thinks it cool or funny to introduce their children to cigarettes, giving them a puff here or there. Not really ok :(

4. Alcohol. Our brains grow and develop and absorb and learn and are still forming up to the age of 26. Those who consume alcohol under this age are more likely to have issues developing adult thinking because alcohol stumps your brains growth.

5. Pornography. Once upon a time little boys discovered daddy's Playboy under the bed and back in those days Payboy was quite tame. These days little boys and girls (as young as 3) are discovering porn by accident when playing on daddy's mobile phone or computer! This is seriously not ok. No child should be thrown into the adult world BEFORE THEIR TIME. They have a life time to discover sex and work out what types of things they'll be interested in. Dads you really DON'T WANT you little boys and girls thinking they're interested in certain types of sexual acts just because they saw inappropriate footage on your electronic devise. Take heed and take care not to let this happen.

6. Drugs. As with alcohol you really don't want to introduce your children to anything that is going to stump their brain development and growth. If you want your children to do well, be smart and achieve good results and have a good self esteem, which most parents do, you need to allow your children's brains to develop normally without interference.

7. Sexualised clothing for children. I've seen t.shirts with inappropriate slogans such as 'future porn star' sold to little girls and boys, young girls wearing g.strings, bras, and loads of other clothes that smack of adulthood being given to young people. It's always floored me that sexualised clothing sells because it's the ADULTS buying it for their children! Duh! What is the matter with people? Haven't you ever heard of the word NO?

8. Violent games, toys, movies.  As a mother who hangs around other mothers I have seen first hand what exposing children to violence does. One friend of my child would hit others with swords, bats and other toys.  They were always pushing my child, pinching them, biting them, bullying them.  This child didn't understand violence, yet was violent, and had violent toys. This child grew out of this as they got older and understood hurting your friends was not ok, yet in the beginning they just didn't understand how emulating the things they'd seen made friends afraid to be around them.

9. Too many toys, clothes, gifts. If you've ever watched a child with too many toys the first thing you will notice is they don't play with many of them. Most are left untouched and unappreciated. It's the same for children who have so many clothes their room looks like a Target shop for kids. They open their wardrobe or drawers and there are so many clothes the choice is overwhelming. No child needs that much stuff. Go easy, save your money or spend it on more important things, and buy your children only what they NEED (not what you or they'd like to have).

10. Too much junk food and instant food. My partner and I disagree on how much junk food is ok. My partner says every so often is ok which equals once a week, while I think once a month is too often and a couple of times a year is more my style. Aside from the fact that it's important children know how to cook and how to look after themselves when they leave home, it's equally important that what they're eating is nutritionally good for them. You may have children who are slim and you think that them eating junk isn't doing anything bad to them because they're slim (which is what my partner thinks). Foods high in sugar and fat do things to our bodies internally and we can't see that damage, until we're older. Also eating this type of food when you're young sets you up for bad habits when you're older. Give your children a healthy start in life.