THERESA: Hooray for the Philadelphia School District for banning sodas, iced teas and other sweetened drinks from vending machines and school cafeterias. No good comes from kids drinking that stuff. If every parent in America swore off buying soda, ever, for their children, kids would be way better off, and could get used to drinking water to quench their thirst instead of empty, sugary, tooth-rotting soda.

On a related note, I saw Terry Brazelton on the Today show this morning, promoting his new book about child nutrition, "Feeding Your Child the Brazelton Way." He notes that "feeding a child is a sacred mission for a parent." That's true, but man, it can be difficult, as every parent knows. When my kids were small, we got off to a good start-- I actually used to make their baby food from my own garden-grown vegetables! But the kids learned to crave fast food, chips and sugary junk food anyway, and I wish I'd been more diligent with them about good nutrition. I bought healthy groceries, I cooked healthy food, but I took them to McDonalds plenty often too, and I look back and wish I'd done better.

What tips can you suggest about getting kids to eat right?

JILL: I think you made the point right there, Theresa, that it's an uphill battle given the larger community we live in. I, too, fed my son all the right things, refused to let him drink soda at home, etc., etc. And he wound up also craving the junk that's so readily accessible. He eventually told me that he didn't even eat the nutritious lunches I packed, but dumped them in the trash (or one year, left them accumulating in his locker. . .yecchhh), and ate chips and candy for lunch. We can set the right example, but then they're on their own. And actually, sometimes, making something forbidden only increases its appeal. We can just hope that when they grow up, some vestige of our influence resurrects itself and they'll discover good nutrition.

WENDY: Honestly, I feel like such a failure on this point. My five-year-old doesn't eat a lot of junk -- we usually don't have soda in the house, we're so careful with candy that we're still eating Halloween's bounty -- but we are so busy that mealtimes have just disappeared. And my kid has a diet that consists of Berry Berry Kix, school lunch, Fluffer Nutter Sandwiches and carrots. Like everyone else, I try. The Fluffer Nutter bread is whole-wheat and I usually mix wheat germ in for "crunchies." She loves milk and, because she's not overweight at all, it's still full-fat. But I can't stand how limited her diet is, and she REFUSES to eat vegetables. My pediatrician says not to worry, but I CAN'T HELP IT!

Everything that I have read says that the key is having a normal mealtime where kids are served a variety of foods that they see their parents eat, and that you keep presenting new foods over and over again. So I ask: WHO THE HECK HAS TIME FOR THAT? I am lucky if I have eaten dinner myself -- even a Lean Cuisine -- by 9 p.m.!!

JULIE: Wendy, don't beat yourself up so much. You are doing fine. My biggest suggestion is to try to wean her off sugar as much as you can. It's "kiddy cocaine" and there are other alternatives. I've been lucky because my kids love vegetables, but they also love their "treats." My rule is "you don't get a treat unless you eat your healthy food first." And I really stick to it, unless it's a special occasion, like a birthday. It really has worked. Sure, they cry and fuss sometimes, but I don't give in and they know it, so eventually either don't eat and don't get their treat (which is fine), or they do eat their healthy foods and then get their treat.

So, along with the sandwich, give her some cucumber slices and bananas. Also, give her water or milk instead of juice (which has lots of sugar). The other thing that helps me with the so-called "normal" dinnertime foods is that I take part of the weekend to cook a bunch of things that can be warmed up easily. Like, I'll cook a whole pound of pasta (white mixed with whole wheat, they don't even notice!), a container of ground turkey (which can be made into sloppy joes, mixed with pasta or squash, etc.); a roast chicken and some baked potatoes. I microvave a whole bunch of broccoli and cauliflower and put it in a ziplock bag. All my husband has to do is put some chicken, broccoli and rice in the microvave, and that's it. When I'm in a pinch, usually once or twice a week, it's healthy chicken mcnuggets (try to find a lower-fat one, trader joes sells soy ones that are wonderful!), or veggie burgers....Also a simple can of baked beans with rice is a good, healthy dinner.

Most of all, you have to try to eat healthy, too! You can't be a working mom, wife and work the hours you do without staying healthy, yourself! Good luck!

APRIL: I'm with Julie. It's hard for anyone these days to have a dinner hour when kids are exhausted and parents are working. A few "sneaky" foods I like for those non-meal evenings are pasta with cheese, any veggie with melted cheese, crackers and peanut butter, or low-fat chicken tenders.

LAURIE: You can take a kid to broccoli, but you can't make him eat it! My son always seemed to reach for an apple rather than candy when he was little (hmmm, could he really be MY son?), but he refused to drink milk once he got old enough to voice an opinion. Thank goodness for calcium-enriched OJ. Today, at 19, he still eats surprisingly healthy stuff, but like all his friends seems to be hooked on those ice tea drinks. It's always something.

One shortcut to healthy food choices I used when my son was small was to cut up raw veggies and fruits and just put them on his dinner plate. He usually would sample the stuff in front of him. Except the broccoli.

JENICE: Part of the question is what does "right" mean? For example, most parents think they're doing the right thing when they give their kids big glasses of milk instead of soda. But are they?

THERESA: No one on the planet could argue that soda has any nutritional value. A vegan wouldn't give a kid cow's milk, and it's probably best not to serve your kid whole milk as opposed to low-fat or nonfat milk, but milk and other dairy products do contain calcium, vitamin D and complex carbohydrates that are far better than the refined sugar and caffeine in soda. My 19-year-old son drinks about a half gallon a day. It's his one healthy habit!

YVONNE: Easy for me to say because I don't have kids, but I think the same thing we do for ourselves can be done for kids -- don't bring the evil into the house. And I know kids beg for the stuff in the store so whenever possible, leave them home.