Sibling Rivalry and The Hidden Dangers of Fast Food

Today on the way home from school Jacob said something along the lines of “my brother isn’t growing as fast as I did.” I said, “actually, he is growing almost exactly the same as you did. You were both about the same size at this age. He may even be a little bit bigger than you, but not much.” Jacob’s response? “Yeah, well, I’m smarter.”
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Later, Jacob wanted to eat dinner at Burger King. I’m not a fan of fast food, but I do allow Jacob to have it more often than I would like to admit. On our way to the drive through, I tried to explain to Jacob that fast food isn’t good for you all the time. “Why not?” he said.
“Because it’s loaded with fat, salt and preservatives.”
“What are preservatives?”
“Chemicals put into food to make them stay fresh longer, taste and look better longer.”
“Chemicals!”
“Not bad chemicals, just things they use to preserve food. They’re kind of like sugar, in that they are OK for you if you eat a little once in a while, but not all the time. It’s about moderation.” Then I went into this big detailed explanation of moderation, preservatives and the difference between sugar, salt and fat and what each does to your heart and body, knowing that he can't possibly be comprehending half of what I've said. After all of it, I asked him if he understood a word of it. “Yeah. I understand, but pretty much I only go for the toys.” Touche! This is just another example of how I complicate even the smallest things!