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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not mind my 18month old ds have an ice cream or lolly if its hot/social occasion/on the beach

128 replies

peanutdream · 27/03/2011 18:33

me and my dh are having a right old 'debate' about whether ice cream for under 5s is ok.

i think it is basically harmless to have as a treat. dh thinks it is unacceptable. i think he is being a bit ott.

aibu or is he?

OP posts:
FourFortyFour · 27/03/2011 19:04

I am the fussiest person ever and mine had ice cream before 5. I would just not be making certain foods as treats, makes them too tempting when it seems they aren't allowed at times.

Original poster
peanutdream · 27/03/2011 19:06

dh
wow, I'm convinced! With all this overwhelming evidence from such a broad range of impartial experts i need to completely rethink my views.........

Let's please not go crazy. It was just a comment in passing that turned into a wider discussion.

A shed load of overcompensation out there! I get it, you're all great parents

OP posts:
exexpat · 27/03/2011 19:07

Who says icecream has to be full of e-numbers? There are lots of lovely organic icecreams or real fruit sorbets around that don't have an e-number in sight.

The snack place in the park where I took DD this morning sells Marshfield Farm icecream - I really don't see what is wrong with that, unless you are trying to bring a child up on a totally sugar-free diet.

I can sort of understand not wanting to get a toddler into the luridly coloured lollies or artificial Mr Whippy type stuff from ice cream vans - but even that won't hurt as an occasional thing on a hot day.

SardineQueen · 27/03/2011 19:09

We go to the seaside for holidays a couple of times a year. DD1 has an ice-cream and DD2 shares daddy's. DD1 is 3.5 and DD2 18 months. It makes them very happy. Who would deny a small child an ice-cream after their donkey ride at the British seaside? Shock

Incidentally if you look you can get plenty of delicious brands that are not "packed full of e-numbers" and synthetic.

We usually get something called childhay - my fave has clotted cream and whole strawberries in it

thinkingkindly · 27/03/2011 19:10

I'm with the DH, kind of. DD1 didn't get her first ice cream until she was almost three. DD2 got one at about 18 months because that was when she noticed DD1 ate them. Given the choice I would have held off giving them sugary stuff for longer.

Five is probably pushing it but it is worth holding off until it becomes an issue because not having sugar helps your child to develop a good palate.

exoticfruits · 27/03/2011 19:11

I am a bit perplexed by the whole thread-there are so many different types of icecream. How can it be 'unacceptable'?

amberleaf · 27/03/2011 19:11

After reading the entire thread i think its not even just the ice cream issue....peanutdream your husband sounds like an arrogant twat TBH...a joyless twat.

TheSkiingGardener · 27/03/2011 19:14

Peanutsdh, are you prepared to actually debate with us and answer our questions or comment on our suggestions.

Or is that below your lofty self?

exoticfruits · 27/03/2011 19:21

I suppose it is one way to produce a DC who is desperate to eat ice cream at every opportunity!

nomoreheels · 27/03/2011 19:29

What about other sugars/treats? Where do you draw the line? Why the ice cream vendetta? Do you eat it yourself? And why 5 years old? Grin

We only eat good quality ice cream & mainly home baked treats in our house. When DD is here & old enough (prob a year +) I imagine I will let her start trying the some of the same foods we eat & this will include ice cream, alongside a well balanced diet.

Dolcegusto · 27/03/2011 19:30

Why don't you get some lolly moulds (about £1 from ikea for 8) and fill them with apple juice/ milk and pureed fruit and freeze?

My dds love them, eat them all year round.

Ormirian · 27/03/2011 19:32

Ice-cream is a rite of passage. One which is best passed as young as possible.

SardineQueen · 27/03/2011 19:32

I reckon a good quality ice-cream is fine. Ditto rice pudding and decent jam (especially my mum's).

What you want to avoid is foods that have been fucked about with.

MavisEnderby · 27/03/2011 19:34

He is being ott.The odd ice cream here and there isn't going to hurt:)

BornToFolk · 27/03/2011 19:35

DS is 3.5, has never watched a commercial in his life and his favourite thing is chocolate ice cream! A bit of good quality ice cream as part of a balanced diet is fine. Actually, a bit of bad quality ice cream as part of a balanced diet is fine too! Having said that, I'm not keen on him having a Mr Whippy style ice cream from a van as a) it's full of rubbish b) it tastes like rubbish and c) they are notorious for causing food poisoning.

Peanut's DH - what's your position on homemade lollies? Or homemade ice cream for that matter?

squeakytoy · 27/03/2011 19:41

peanutsdh, has anyone ever told you that you are a condescending, sanctimonious pillock? Grin

Way to go in ensuring your child gets laughed at by his peers or feels left out because other children are allowed treats occasionally and have parents who dont monitor their childs sugar intake as if it were heroin. Hmm

Bumperlicioso · 27/03/2011 19:44

Hmmm, I'm in two minds. I became less of a foodzilla once dd1 turned 1. She doesn't even like ice cream now at 3 (can't be my child! Doesn't like cake either Shock). Given that it is likely that your dh will consume the best part of a tub of sudocreme/cat biscuits/lord knows what else over the next few years of trouble making I would say an ice cream is the least of your worries. However my dd's lack of liking of cake and ice cream is great for me as I never have to share, whereas dh can't eat a packet of crisps without dd hanging around him begging like a dog!

That said, I draw the line at my mother who, when dd2 (6 mo) was eying up my ice cream today, suggested I give her some Hmm

Rosebud05 · 27/03/2011 19:44

My pfb thought that the homemade lollies that Dolcegusto describes or frozen yoghurt were fantastic treats until she was 3.

I wasn't being mean - aside from the 'they don't need sugar' stuff, I also don't need every trip to the park to be accompanied by someone asking for ice cream.

Her younger brother is coming up for 2 and is just on the cusp of not being fob-off-able with a smoothie when she has ice cream.

I actually don't see the problem in holding off all sugar/sweets/crisps for as long as possible, as there are plenty of years ahead of them, but not in a 'you are forbidden' sort of way.

ShinyMoonInAPurpleSky · 27/03/2011 19:47

I'd give an 18 month old one of the milk lolly things (can't remember what it's called but it's something along the line of a milk ice cream something or other) they're only small too. Your DH is BU about this, it's called a treat for a reason.

naturalbaby · 27/03/2011 20:29

i was just thinking, as above, where do you draw the line?
would be interested to hear peanutdreamsdh's views on chocolate, crisps, cakes, biscuits, chips, kebabs, processed cheese marketed at kids lunch boxes .....
if you're going to not allow your dc to eat certain foods then that means you can only have them when they're not with you - which is how ds2 managed to get his mucky little hands on a wide variety of foods i wouldn't allow ds1 anywhere near at a similar age. dinner tonight for him (19months) was chips and chocolate. the fish finger, veggies and yoghurt were all pushed aside in disgust! (what have i created?!?)

CPtart · 27/03/2011 20:48

Peanutsdh.....your first child I presume????????

Good grief, you've a long road ahead if you're going to get het up over a bit of ice cream!!

bristolcities · 27/03/2011 20:49

Sorry is his argument about e numbers or ice lollies? Can't you just make your own? Could actually be a serving of fruit. Sorry if it's already been said.

Besides calories are burnt much more quickly if running around in hot weather than cold. So why not have an ice lolly???

KeepCalmAndCurryOn · 27/03/2011 20:54

Do you drink alcohol, Peanutdh? Just curious ...

TattyDevine · 27/03/2011 20:58

Leave him

LadyOfTheManor · 27/03/2011 21:01

I'm on the "No sugar" brigade. However yesterday at a BBQ he had a home made lolly and thoroughly enjoyed it...great for teething too (he's 1).

As a one off it can do no harm.

Fruit shoots will be banned forever though...