To not want my dd to have sugary food?

[HairyToothbrush]

I admit I'm quite strict about what I let dd (13mo) eat and I do not let her eat too much 'junk' but I do let her have the odd bit of cake, crisps ect. But I'm so fed up so friends and family saying
'aw don't be mean, just let her have a bit'
'a small bit won't hurt'
'she's missing out'
'when she's older she'll resent you'

Is it so unreasonable that I want my dd to eat healthy food? I really don't understand why everyone wants me to give her chocolate and sweets all the time. My mum is the worst. She doesn't understand why I don't feed her chips and sausges everyday. My dd likes fruit and vegetables! surely it's a good thing??? Am I just the weird one?
Sorry got a bit carried away there but I'm still angry at my mum giving dd a whole donut for breakfast!

She's still a baby, I don't think anyone should be feeding her cake..,.unless they happen to be eating it right in front of her and she really wants some - in which case a small bit really won't hurt.

Why is your Mum giving her anything for breakfast?

YANBU to want to watch what your DD eats, but I wouldn't let the silly comments get to you.

agree she's still a baby.
sugary things are fine but should be a treat = very very occassionally

I was going to say YABU until I saw that she is 13mo and you let her have the odd thing occasionally.

Smile and nod. Smile and nod.

YADNBU. I get this all the time because I have always adopted the attitude that if my DD(5) would like to try a sweet or a fizzy drink or a macdonalds then she would ask me.
Why push stuff onto children that they are not even asking for?
If and when she asks me for something I let her try it and because it has been this long before she has tried it her taste buds aren't used to the sugary taste and she doesn't really like it anyway....result!
Even if she asks for chocolate she will have a little bit and then completely forget about the rest of it.
I have had the 'looks' off family but I don't give a rats ass. My DD hasn't got a weight problem and she is always being remarked about as having unusually white teeth (which I put down to no fizzy drinks).
Yes, I am smug about this and there is always a chance she will completely change her eating habits as she gets older (peer pressure) but for now I am happy I am keeping her healthy.

yanbu.

I get this too as my DS does not have squash, sweets or fast food etc etc. What really gets my goat is this is such an important thing. It's about healthy longevity. I am making food choices for him to promote a long and healthy life, avoiding diseases like cancer, diabetes, obesity etc etc. It's not a trivial matter, he doesn't miss out as he doesn't know anything else and I love it that one of his favourite foods is marinaded tofu! The food industry have a lot to answer for IMHO.

I agree with you OP, they get to all of this stuff eventually so why push it on them? I take the same attitude with tv, branded clothing, hyper pink fairy stuff, DD is going to get there at some point and ask for this stuff and when she does it won't be a problem but I'm not going to push her towards it.

And a doughnut for breakfast - wtf? You wouldn't give that to an adult!

I think you're going to need to lay down the law a bit, a nibble here and there you can overlook but I think giving your DD a doughnut for breakfast sounds like it's just being done to piss you off and push your boundaries.

Totally agree. I don't let DS (2) have squash, sweets, fast food. I don't have any of these myself so it's not hard to avoid. He does have a biscuit now and then and a bit of birthday cake but it's a treat.

I actually feel like it's important to not train the palate to expect sweet things. When I had gestational diabetes it amazed me how much sugar was in EVERYTHING and also how going without really made overly sweet things taste really really sweet (especially cereal).

I actually am more concerned about the insidious nature of sugar in everything and normalising eating empty calories and jumk.

I am v chilled about all other parenting things!

YANBU
Also, perhaps you need to talk to these friends and family and ask them not to undermine you in front of your DD. She will need to know that Mum's word is authoratative and boundaries are not variable.

What would you do if someone gave ur dc an apple?

They are a fruit but very sugary & bad for your teeth.

Are you seriously comparing an apple and a doughnut?

Totaly agree Ozzie. The food industry knows how addictve and powerful sugar is as a food additive. Combine this with powerful unregulated marketing and you have an obesity crisis.

Yanbu. However, some parents in my experience seem to overstate their healthy eating approach and sound overtly preachy and judgemental about it. Unless asked, I smile and nod and get on with doing things my way. It does get irritating when people make you feel like a meanie about it though.

No im not comparing them but the title says sugary food not fatty unhealthy food. There is a difference. An apple is sugary and a donut is fatty & unhealthy. Neither are really good for you. But because an apple is a fruit people think they are good for you.

I hate to break this to you Wilworld, but an apple IS good for you. Without picking over the post, you might assume the OP meant processed sugar.

It sounds like you have a pretty decent balance. I let DS eat most things in moderation and don't agree with banning most foods but donuts for breakfast is just daft.

Although the donut probably has no more sugar than some of the 'children's cereals' but they are my biggest food bug bear!

With my first one I was quite strict. I think there is nothing wrong with that. It was harder with the second one.

Incidentally, he does not really have a sweet tooth anyway, now he's bigger. Not all babies or kids are crazy about sugary stuff.

So why let kids hooked on refined sugar so early on?

just do what you want, and don't talk bout it or justify yourself. Just quietly do it your own way is my advice!

Sorry but I really don't know how you can say an apple is comparable to a donut. I'm sure you can see what I meant when you read my post.
I also get remarks about not giving squash to dd. At the toddler group I go to, I have to ask them not to put squash in my dds cup and I always get looks from the other mums. Makes me laugh really. I don't normally let it get to me.

Nowt wrong with your viewpoint, just remember though, that sugar is way better than artificial sweeteners.

Yup HairyToothbrush - me too! I have to take a bottle of water with me to playgroup so DS can have a drink that's not squash. You'd think I was giving him bleach the way the other parents react. I really really don't understand. If you want to feed your kids refined sugar and squash, then jolly good for you, but don't judge me on my food choices!

WildWood of course an apple is good for you. Yes it has sugars in the form of fructose (which is a monosaccharide and chemically different to sucrose - whilst fructose is still a sugar is is not refined in the way sucrose is).

An apple also contains fibre, water (85%), antioxidants and many other vitamins and minerals - when you eat an apple all these components are used by the body in a positive way.

Compare this to a donut - refined flour (ie no fibre), gluten, sugar, salt and fat. So beyond a supply of bulk refined carbohydrate, the content of minerals, vitamins, fibre, etc is very low.

Your body gains something nutritionally from eating an apple.

Your body loses something when you eat a donut - the process of metabolising the fat, refined flour and sugar will use up more vitamins and minerals that the donut supplies to the body. These will be taken from your body's 'reserves'.

Nope I agree with you, one time my FIL was giving his GC, not just mine, loads of them. Whilst I am fine with a few, this was going over the top. My SIL (his daugther) was starting to get cross too and we asked him to stop. He then fed them chocolate covered raisins, apparently they weren't sweets but fruit. Doh! MY PIL buy them a lot of sugary sweets, I put them in the bin later, there is too much stuff.

*oops missed a sweets out of the first sentence.

God this really gives me the hump!

Wildworld- fructose, fruit sugar, is an essential source of slow release energy. The body requires these natural, simple carbohydrate sugars. It doesn't need refined sugar.

Op YANBU. My daughter is 11 months and I have the same problem. She happily eats her body weight in fruit and is oblivious of the white death refined sugar but apparently I should be giving her ice cream and haribo.

Ooh hip hop you were quicker than me!