DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a mother of a 7-year-old who loves pork. I haven't eaten pork or red meat since my mid-20s because I don't believe it's healthy; I was even a vegetarian for a few years. Needless to say, I've been trying to keep my kid away from pork and red meat, too. So, how might I have come to have a 7-year-old who loves it, you ask? The problem is that my ex-husband does not share the same ideals I do. Whenever he goes over to his house, he eats pork -- or "real bacon," as he calls it -- or eggs with ham. I don't want to seem like too much of a stickler, but I'm not happy about this. Is this something I should speak to my ex-husband about? -- Vexed Ex-Vegetarian, Syracuse, New York
DEAR VEXED EX-VEGETARIAN: It can't hurt to speak to your ex about your son's diet and your choices about what you allow him to eat. You can certainly ask him not to give pork to your son when he visits. I have done something with my daughter that you may want to consider: I allow her to eat foods that are not part of our regular menu of options on occasion, so that she knows what they are and how they taste and so that she doesn't develop an unhealthy attraction to anything. For me, this includes fast food and unhealthy snacks. Occasional bacon won't likely hurt your son's body. Forbidding it entirely could drive him to want it more and to lie about what he eats at his father's house.