About what I feed my child

[Sunshineonacloud]

So at a recent 2 year olds party I noticed other kids eating and drinking stuff that my dc doesn't. I've noticed it a lot on playdates recently too..

My dc is 2.5 years old. We just give him milk and water to drink and veg puffs lentil chips and baby oat bars as snacks lots of fruit and veg. Occasionally chips or a slice of margarita pizza. The odd mini milk or lick or bite of our ice cream.

I've noticed children same age snacking on walkers crisps, drinking strong ribena, eating cupcakes, grown up biscuits like bourbons and nice's, midget gems etc.

I've also noticed my 2 year old being offered sugary biscuits and mini Cheddar at playgroups and when I decline I can tell people think I'm snooty. I'm not, I just thought I was supposed to follow guidelines. I'm a first time mum so enlighten me.. do most people let their kids eat whatever? Tbh it would make my life a lot easier 😂

These debates are sooooo tedious. OP and others judge parents at a party based on 1-2 hours ‘evidence’ and deduces that is all the kids eat every meal for the rest of their lives.

Yawn.

The flour in the bourbon would be fortified actually.

Giving them 4 or 5 kettle chips isn't breaking the salt bank, and would be better than a pack of higher processed shaped ones

I tried to be a bit like this but have the fussiest eater ever, who won't touch veg even before crisps & chocolate were on the scene.
He has a fairly balanced diet minus the veg but I try to make sure he has some fruit with most of his meals.
I gave up fighting him about it. He has fruit shoots, quavers and chocolate buttons etc but not all the time. Sweets are a no no at the minute, i know once he starts that he will probably abandon fruit. 😂

@ClocksGoingBackwards have you actually eaten one? My DP got some in for our nearly 2 year old; I tried one as balked at the sugar listed and it was SO sweet, sickly so. Kept them as my own sweet treat staff as no way was I giving that to DC when no real nutritional value / he is a fruit fiend anyway.

*sweet treat STASH

My twins are 2.5 and I've been pretty strict with what they eat. I cook everything from scratch, and never buy baby crisps/biscuits. They're great eaters and eat everything they're given.
In the last month or two, I've relaxed a bit, and in Granny's house they've had ice cream and the odd biscuit. My childminder also gave them a magnum and cornetto. One twin loves the sweet stuff and the other hates it.
I can see it would be much harder to be strict if there were older siblings.

My first, I was very particular on what they ate and I do think it makes a difference.
I was more relaxed by the third but he had had first drink if Pepsi at 3 or 4 and had an allergic reaction and had to go to hospital.
His little body just reacted to some of the chemicals.
Weird how some things affect people and others not do much.

*had his first drink 🤦‍♀️

*so

grown up biscuits like bourbons

Corr, we used to be allowed a small cup of milk and a bourbon or custard cream to dip in it once a day, alongside a piece of fruit, at nursery snacktime in the early 00s 😂

To be eaten while watching adult movies

Thank you @Cheeselog 😊 sometimes it’s so hard to know what to give them as healthier snacks. I think maybe just a healthy balance of everything! I have tried to stay away from biscuits, ‘adult crisps’ 😂etc but I’m guilty of giving him organix snacks instead sometimes.

If you say so..

You think it's better to give a child a highly processed and formed food, over a slice of fried potato?

alot of that stuff has the same content as ‘adult’ snacks. You’re just being sucked in by marketing.
another example is cereal : 30g of coco pops has 113 calories and 5g of sugar. Shockingly 30g of special K also has 113 calories AND 5g of sugar!! Most people will have 90gm of cereal so 3 times the calories and sugar

lesson being we should check ingredients. So baby oat bars are prob similar to a mars bar

I think this is very common for PFBs, and I speak from experience as it's exactly how I treated my own PFB with food! However my youngest was born just after my eldest turned 2, and things slid from there!! They are 11 and 9 now and eat pretty much everything and anything, including all vegetables. They aren't fussy and understand the importance of healthy eating (one has a sweet tooth and the other doesn't) but also enjoy occasional sweeties etc - everything in moderation we say :-)

I grew up needing a mouthful of fillings and I was determined any DC’s I had wouldn’t be allowed the access to the amount of sweet stuff and crap my DP’s allowed me to have.

In my opinion, that worked well until the fast food birthday parties started to happen, and eventually DD didn’t want to go to those which I felt sad about although I believe there are better options offered now than in her day.

you do you, but there’s also no harm in a little bit of something. The balance is ensuring DC are eating and drinking properly for their main meals and good oral hygiene care.

My DC still have no fillings. 😊

Mine was drinking squash from about eleven months. And eating things like mini sausages and cubes at cheese at parties. This is a party so be a bit more relaxed about what they eat. POM Bears are far worse than mini-cheddars! Just be careful about salt intake for under threes. Mine was eating Chinese takeaway with no salt or MSG at about two 😂.

The odd mini cheddars or biscuit at a kids party is fine. It’s all about balance.
some of the oaty ‘healthy’ biscuits contain more sugar than a regular biscuit.
I have adult children and am a professional nanny. If u deprive the child they may actually crave for the ‘rubbish’food

He he... you sound just like me with my FIRST. It relaxes by the second generally. 😀

After having kids I don't judge anyone on what they feed their kids from 2+ because toddlers and children and such hard work at times and it doesn't matter what you cook for them, they decide what to eat.
Parties will generally have more universal foods so higher sugar and salt content is likely and it is party food at the end of the day, not all day everyday food

I think at events like that with lots of different kids involved generally people find it easier to let go of some rules for the sake of children having a fun time and reducing stress. If we're at a party or playgroup etc I let my 2 year old eat whatever the other children are eating (as long as she asks for it. I don't "offer" her these foods. If she sees another child eat it and wants it I'll let her have it so she doesn't feel left out). Some of the things you listed are just well branded bad food too tbh. At home we do our very best to keep to a well balanced healthy diet,and sometimes the terrible parent that I am I give her a few chocolate chips to coax her into doing what I need her to do like get in the pram if we're late

In my opinion they’re healthier

Its your choice what you feed your kid!

(even with out guidelines its known that the salt content on the snacks might injury the kidneys BTW, i wish my mother had been more strict! My right kidney would have appreciated it)