Does anyone else think that everything about a baby and a toddler revolves around food? I feel like Annabelle is constantly having to eat, and I am just talking about the three meals a day. I am not real big into giving her "snacks" during the day as I've read that toddlers don't really need "snacks" until they truly understand that we eat three meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Apparently, according to this pediatrician (Dr. Brazelton), if you feed them snacks during the day while they are still learning to try new foods, then they won't even really bother eating what you're trying to get them to eat (like the green beans, broccoli and carrots). And, yes, Mother, I know you probably don't agree with me on this one, but the pediatrician you loved so much is the one who wrote this little bit of advice. It sort of makes sense to me. And, she doesn't seem hungry for the snacks unless she just happens to venture into the kitchen when I open up the kitchen cabinet where I store her Goldfish and Animal Crackers. Then, if she doesn't get her Goldfish or Animal Cracker right then, she goes into "Meltdown Mode."
So, you think I'm a mean mom...I'm really not (well, not when it comes to the good old junk food). Actually, my theory (right now) is that as Annabelle gets older, we will have junk food available for her if she wants it. If she wants a cookie before dinner, she can have it. If she wants tea or Coke with dinner (instead of water), she can have it. I personally believe that children will eat less junk food if they aren't kept from the junk food all of the time. I think they need to learn the difference between the empty calories and the healthy calories, however.
I had a friend in elementary school whose mom told her she was allergic to chocolate. However, she quickly learned that she was not, and whenever she got a chance to devour a piece of chocolate, she went nuts!
So, that's my theory! I guess we'll soon see whether or not I follow it a few years from now. I am hoping that allowing Annabelle to have whatever she wants whenever she wants it will prevent her from craving junk food all of the time. And, my goal is to teach her the proper foods to eat for a healthy diet.
So, anyhow, back to my original question...Does anyone else think that everything about a baby and a toddler revolves around food? I feel like the majority of my day is spent in the kitchen preparing the food and then cleaning up after the meals or in the dining room sitting with a toddler waiting for her to finish her breakfast, lunch or dinner. And, I am not even counting the time spent in the morning, afternoon and evening nursing her. Everything is all about food!
And, it wasn't any easier when she was an infant as she still needed to nurse every three hours (and sometimes less). Crazy! How much nourishment do these little things really need?
2 years ago
1 comment:
I totally agree with you about the food. Sometimes I think toddlers eat as a source of comfort, not necessarily because they are hungry. That's just my opinion, though.
Your theory on giving Annabelle junk food whenever she wants it reminds me a lot of the "Beer Theory" in Germany. Technically, Germany's legal drinking age is 16, but bars will serve beer to anyone who is tall enough to take the beer off the counter. You know what? Germany, even with all those teenagers drinking, has very few DUIs and DWIs. Kids grow up drinking beer and though it's a lot of fun, *MOST* people don't let it get out of hand. Yeah, there are alcoholics there just like everywhere else, but the percentage is relatively small.
Unfortunately for us, diabetes runs in both my and my husband's families, with several people in my family dying from the complications of this nasty disease. For this reason, I have a special love/hate relationship with junk food and have to proceed with caution when my Annabelle starts wanting junk food. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that one, yet.
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