How much do you relax on young childrens diet on holiday?

[Cloudybutwarm]

Yes of course there's going to be more ice cream and puddings and treats etc but I think that actual meals should still be vaguely healthy?

Ds4 has chosen some terrible 100% sugar cereal as a treat for breakfast and I've just got out of the shower to find that Dh has deemed it acceptable for our 20m old to basically pick the marshmallows out of his brothers cereal and eat them for breakfast. And it's ok because we're on holiday.

I may be slightly biased because Dh is rubbish with their food when we're at home as well, doesn't give a thought to balanced meals, fruit, veg etc that's all down to me, but surely even on holiday on holiday marshmallows for breakfast for an under 2 is a bit much?!

Pancakes with chocolate spread every morning, toastie for lunch, ice cream and ice lollies through the day, lemonade but no coke etc and dinner is whatever we can pick out, usually chips with some kind of meat/fish and some veggies. I've given up caring on holiday as its been a source of tension and its not worth it. As long as kids are having fun.

Fruit Loops and Reeces anything are a step too far no matter where you are. I've lived in the US for nearly 10 years and holidayed all over it but I find those cereals are just a recipe for disaster.

I don't really relax our diet on holiday - luckily DD1 eats anything and has a v. balanced diet with plenty of fruit & veg. DD2 is a bit more picky - I still make sure she has fruit & veg but if we go all inclusive abroad she says the veg tastes funny! So when we went AI to Tunisia 2 yrs ago she pretty much lived on chicken nuggets & chips. It was all I could get her to eat for lunch & dinner. I just made sure she had lots of melon/orange/grapes etc. This year I have said she must try something different for each meal now that she's older. I think it's important to still have a balanced diet even if you're on holiday

We all eat what we want on holiday. Normally that is still pretty healthy but if they want something sweet they can have it. Maybe if they went completely mad and only ate sugar I would worry but they don't so it's fine.

It's never occurred to me to 'relax' what we eat on holiday. Yes, you might be (much) more likely to eat an ice-cream on any given day, but why would you change what you eat normally for example for breakfast? Maybe we're just creatures of routine here!

Totally relax. The DC is weird and won't eat ice cream or sweets to drink pop. So if he wants sausage beans and croissant off the buffet 3x a day so be it. He doesn't sit down the whole 2 weeks so I'm confident a hes burning through the calories.

When DD1 was 9mths we went to the US. She are fries, watermelon and gram crackers for 10 days. She's now 14 and 5'10".

Also, there's literally no such thing as a sugar rush. There's science about it and everything. Relax...

I think it depends a bit on the child (and I'm sure on the parents!) I went on a self catering holiday with my sister once when our children were small. On the way she asked me to pick up some cereal. I picked up some multipacks because in my mind it was a holiday and that's what was fun for holidays. She was horrified, and I was a bit non plussed about her reaction (lots of sugar rush comments were made).

However then I saw that our children's attitude to breakfast were just very different. Mine have never really been into eating much in the morning, and I'm usually pleased if they eat anything even vaguely substantial. Her children on the other hand really went to town. It was I think their biggest meal of the day, and so obviously mattered much more to them.

Last holiday we went on ds was delighted to discover he could eat curry for every meal, including breakfast!

Under 2 nothing is a one-off, so only say yes to things if you're happy to say yes everyday, holiday or not. My mum advised me to not even break routines or feed junk when they were ill either, as it would be a pain getting them back into any good habits after, and (dammit) she was right (colds and sniffles, obviously, we were lucky enough to avoid any serious illnesses when they were little). When they're bigger they can understand that some things are treats because it's a holiday, or Saturday night, so fizzy drinks, chips, pretty much anything they fancy when we're on hols now, and weekends are more relaxed. They came back from Scotland addicted to Irn Bru, which they had previously never had, but discovered it there as a 'local delicacy'. Not touched a drop since we got back.
So I don't think we're hugely precious, and we enjoy our holidays very much, but I would be narked with DH if he normalised marshmallows for breakfast for a toddler. Sorry.

I'm quite relaxed, we go AI and I'm happy for DS to drink fizzy pop but he usually chooses apple juice which isn't that much better. Breakfast is usually just fruit and maybe some bread and butter, lunch is usually buffet style and will invariably include chips, tea is either buffet or on onsite restaurant, again usually chips, bread salady bits, ice creams I'm relaxed with too but DS wouldn't eat more than a couple a day and half of it seems to end up on his Tshirt so really only 1 our holiday starts as soon as we finish work the day before so usually a meal out or takeaway, meal in airport, lots of snacks for the plane, airline meal etc, I worry more that he doesn't eat enough as he's never still

We throw the rules out of the window on holiday. We recently had a week in Portugal where 4 year old DD lived on icecream and slush, and her 22 month old brother on crisps and chips. Once home we reverted straight back to our normal healthy habits - no crisps, no soft drinks, lots of fruit and veg and chips and icecream only as occasional treats.

It doesn't seem to have done them any harm.

Well we generally eat healthily but im not dead strict about treats. My dcs have plenty of fruit etc so i dont nind them having crisps and choc too. This is at home. We have limits of course. Six chocolate bars would be ok unles its xmas or easter!
In holiday abroad we usually go BB. Kids have what like from what is on offer at brekky. Usually cereal toast and jam or choc spread. Maybe boiled egg and continental meats and cheese.
Lunch would be what they want-burger pizza etc.
Mainly water all day as its so hot. But they like water. They are allowed fizzzy pop too. Probabbky a few glasses a day.
Evenings agian choose what they want from the menu.

Probably have a couple of ice creams a day and ice lollies too. What they want basically.
We havd been inclusive too and ds 2 then runs a bit riot. He likes healthy food but is also greedy and will eat non stop. Dont care too much as they are tunning around swimming etc
When we holiday in the uk its usually self catering and i cook same things as at home. Lots of nibbles on the evening too plus sweets ice creams etc as well.
OP the marshmallows in those cereals are miniscule. Lighten up. Unless my dcs only ate marshmallows all sugary cereals for every meal(including if they were toddlers)they can have what they like.
My dcs all have good healthy appetites and nothing has ever been off the menu.

I let them eat what they want on holiday, it's a holiday! They naturally gravitate onwards fruit and yogurt for breakfast same as at home and love vegetables and salad so the junk that goes on top is fine - they spend most of the day swimming so burn it off.

I don't think I could get annoyed about marshmallows for breakfast - give them a banana later if they're hungry.

I relax a lot but do try to keep them having their 5 a day to prevent constipation really. And they both will only eat weetabix for breakfast anyway.

I,on the other hand, devour carbs like they are going out of fashion (I normally limit myself) then wonder why I am bloated, constipated and half a stone heavier when we get home

Reminds me of a programme called Holiday Swap where families tried each other's (very) different holidays. There was one woman who insisted on going to the same self-catering cottage every year, and having the Tesco shop delivered completely as normal, and cooking the same meals as at home and keeping to the exact same routine including bedtimes. When they swapped with some more free and easy types, it was carnage! The dh and the dcs loved staying up late and eating muck, and the dw sat there with a mega cat's bum face.

There's moderation in all things, but a holiday's not a holiday if there's a killjoy present demanding that you have to eat bran flakes instead of Count Chokula cereal (of which my dcs ate bowlsful on our last US trip).

Count Chokula cereal sounds AMAZING. As does staying up late and eating muck

Hand over the toddler until lunchtime and go out, far far away. It will be the last time he thinks that marshmallows only for breakfast is a good plan.

Not your circus, he's made his bed.

Ideally I'd love to just let dd eat what she likes on holiday (most likely chocolate ice cream all day).

But until I have a 24 hour nanny guaranteed to deal with the sugar come down tantrums/whinging/grumpiness I try to balance it out a bit.

Oh and dd gets completely constipated too which obviously adds to her joyous mood.

We relax the rules but don't disregard them entirely. So ds will normally have a dipping egg and toast and piece of fruit (at his request) for breakfast. He does 'graze' more when on holiday, doesn't get as much veg but would eat fruit all day if he could. He does have more junk food and sweets etc but will also have healthier things. We also tend to have more barbecues on holiday and 'picky' stuff like cold meats, cheeses, dips and olives etc.

He also loves tomatoes and raw yellow/ red pepper which makes eating healthily much easier.

By about day 6 I ease my guilt by chucking a grape or two at them, other than that anything goes.

I relax a bit more but still try to eat healthily.

Might have a few ice creams, treats etc but still veg etc.

I don't see the need to eat junk at every mealtime. A treat might be an ice-cream each day and otherwise eating normally. There is no place for marshmallow cereal!

coornishglos

Take that back!

Life is too short!

At an AI then we tend to allow free choice but ask for something healthy to be consumed at every meal. It works for us. It might not be 5 a day but 4 or so isn't too bad.

Mine love milk and eggs and chicken and fish and not so much the accompaniments unless it's pasta. So they will carb loads at breakfast with bread/cereal/pancakes/pastries as well as eggs a piece of fruit and fruit juice. Lunch will mainly be either chicken or fish with not much else other than a piece of fruit and maybe something else like a bowl of cherries or watermelon at snack time together with ice-cream/cake. Dinner might be more meat or fish with pasta/noodles and some sort of veg and whatever they like for pudding. So free choice but including a bit of fruit or veg.