Ice cream on holiday

[Alalalalalongalalalalalonglonglilong]

If you were on a sun holiday how often would you allow your kids have an ice cream or treat? Just curious, am having a disagreement with DH here.

If I'm paying, then once a day. If it's all inclusive,then as many times as they want.

I never agree with unlimited. I teach DC portion control & enjoyment of food, but there's never a reason to go mad with treats.

BUT, I'm constantly fighting the tide of sugar & junk that is DH. If I disappear for an hour the DC are eating massive sundaes or chocolate bars or serves of chicken nuggets, regardless of what I tell him (DH is morbidly obese). It's part Disney dad, part can't see how it's bad, part keeping the DC quiet so he can bugger about uninterrupted.

Holiday isn’t the time to kick this off, you won’t make things significantly better or worse over a few days but you can ruin everyone’s holiday. If your DH is slim and always has been he may not ‘get it’ and I’d be having a calm conversation about ways to address it without causing harm mentally to DS. Me and DH are obese and have significant food and esteem issues relating to some questionable / ignorant parenting. So I’ve been very cautious about walking the line of keeping my children healthy and avoiding food shaming etc since they were young . DS is 12 and has put on a bit of weight this year so I have discussed it with him in the context of balanced eating - reducing sugar and increasing protein to support him to be healthy during the imminent growth spurt. He has suddenly got a huge appetite - for all food not just treats and has gone up 3 shoe sizes in 4 months - so I don’t want to be restricting healthy food portions if he is genuinely hungry / growing but sugary things won’t be coming in the house. That benefits everyone.
Practically I’d steer everyone towards one ice cream per day but still allow a second ice lolly / sorbet / fizzy drink if that particular day felt like it, see the GP when you get home for support / dietary guidance and do not single out your DS for different treatment from his skinny siblings. oh and be very cautious about discussing this in ear shot of your DC.

If your son has had sudden significant weight gain I'd be taking him to the drs for blood tests to check his thyroid. It's not normal to gain a significant amount of weight in a short period unless his diet is horrific but based on your husbands strong views I doubt that's the case. But to answer your actual question 1 to 2 a day if paying whatever they wanted within reason if all inclusive

Hi Op, re the ice cream - Yep as and when they want it on holiday.

At home rules are different.

My kids aren’t very sporty but they do love swimming so we have a passes for local pool and they go at least once a week. In the school holidays daily. It’s a really good way to burn of some extra calories and fun for them - we invite friends to join them so I can sit and have brew. Maybe this is something you could encourage - or your husband seeing as though it seems a bigger issue for him.

This. No one - child or adult - needs more than one ice cream a day. It's plenty.

Ds was always quite short but very skinny until he seemed to start eating and eating. He put on about 2 stone and was looking quite pudgy. Then within about 3 months he shot up 5” in height
Dd had this and grew 6” in 6 weeks and suddenly towered over me.

If he is due a growth spurt then an ice cream here or there isn’t going to matter

No one needs beer or wine or a week in the sun or to eat out every night or to see somewhere new or spend hours in a museum. Holidays aren't about needs.

You do need to address your DS diet/exercise but the time to do that is when you’re back home, not when you’re on holiday.
My DS (13) was a bit of a couch potato who loved pizza, but we got him into weightlifting when he was 10 and it completely changed him. He still loves a pizza but he’s lean and super fit. Find the right sport/exercise for your DS, something he enjoys and don’t make it about losing weight but about getting fit and healthy.

But there are lots of thing we don't 'need'.

And I don't see the difference between having two ice-creams a day on holiday, and then a couple of weeks at home with no ice-cream, to having an ice cream a day on holiday and at home.

If I was at an AI they'd be having them all the time!
At least once a day, I also would let them have it for pudding without question if we were out to dinner.

I hope your have no more then one alcoholic drink a day on holiday then as it's not needed ones plenty 🙄

I agree that there are some occasions (Christmas/holidays etc) where it's usually good to let children have free reign and have whatever they want, and it doesn't really matter if they go a bit overboard and feel a little sick as a result of overindulging. It's a good life lesson on how some of the things we like aren't good for us in large quantities and part of learning self-moderation.

I let my older DC have free reign on the Christmas chocolate, and last year he stopped after half a medium Lindt bunny and some chocolate coins and asked for fish fingers.

I don't, but yeah. Everyone can do with they want with their kids. OP asked, though. And I can't imagine it's fun being an overweight child, on holiday or otherwise.

Usually a very small treat item with some fruit at lunch and/or dinner and an ice cream mid afternoon. We go all inclusive so the ice cream is usually a
tiny tub. It’s generally a 2 week period once a year so i don’t feel like it’s going to cause any massive issues for them, it’s not like they eat like this constantly at home.

That's all sensible.
Your DH should take the hedgehog 🦔 out, though, the one he seems to have wedged sideways.
It's a holiday.

By 'holiday' do you mean you are on a week-2 week holiday or the 6 weeks summer holiday?

Because if you were planning on letting him eat what he likes for 6 weeks, thats pretty shocking.

Your holidays sound a barrel of laughs. A week a year will not cause weight gain if a adult/child eats a balanced healthy diet for the other 51 weeks. The reason holidays are fun is because your not doing what you do for the rest of the year. What is it on holiday you do to let your hair down, relax and make it different to the other 51 weeks

A small scoop of ice cream every other or third day?

Wow.

🙄

But the child is already overweight. Anyway, I'll bow out of the thead. Apparently different opinions weren't wanted. I should just have agreed the husband is an arse, I guess.

teaching them to binge on holiday

FFS😂

In our family it would be every day, but if the child is overweight then I would suggest less often would be better.

And you think during a holiday is the time to address this, he will still be fat in a week when they get back so that's when it can be dealt with

It's not just ice-cream though, is it. Creating an issue over ice-cream and making him more self conscious about his weight when they're probably eating out at least twice a day, regular pizza etc is pointless. Plus there's two other DC who are healthy weights and on their holiday too, and if you're going to restrict for one you need to restrict for all.

It's a problem for home and regular routines.