Who gives a 16 month old chocolate every day?

[456FTMCoffeeDiet]

Just read a recent government statistic that HALF of toddlers in the UK between 16 and 18 months old get a treat daily (i.e. chocolate, ice cream, crisps, cake). WTF? Who does that? I have every sympathy re weaning and feeding toddlers, my toddler has dairy, egg and a few other random allergies so my head is about to explode trying to cook food and snacks for him every day. It's a gigantic pain and source of stress. And I have nothing against an ocasional treat. But cake and ice cream daily when they're under 2?

I get there will be a small number of very fussy eaters and you just need to give them some calories ? But that doesn't explain half of toddlers, no way. Anyone here who does this, why do you do it?

AIBU to be shocked?

Honestly, though, I don't want to rain on your winnings parade, it sounds great...but...
I was brought up in a similar way, mostly because sweets were expensive. I very rarely had them, but it turns out it did nothing to prevent my sweet tooth.

The minute I had my own money, I got sweets. Ate them in secret at home, etc. it's stayed with me for life. I am 51 now, and sweets are still the thing I struggle to give up. It's still my favourite thing, desserts are the thing I cook the most.

I don't know, I'm not expert, but I think some folk are just sweet and some are savoury, regardless of what you get at home. My sister is savoury and we had the same restrictions.

I still think it's right to do what you and my mother did, I just don't think it quite creates the habits we think logically it should.

Sure, but that's largely a matter of personal preference. I'm a pretty moderate eater, I like a Michelin starred restaurant, but I also like sweets. My husband doesn't have a sweet tooth. My kids had some junk and mostly healthy food and are all good eaters. But going overboard on demonising and banning some foods is like teaching abstinence in sex ed, bound to fail.

What you really want is to help them become people who can walk through the world of temptations self-moderating and making good, healthy choices.

Strange.

All the parents I know with overweight kids go on about how a sausage roll won't hurt them. Obviously a single one won't but a sausage roll habit will!

DS had a cow's milk protein allergy, one of the milks he was prescribed (by the NHS) has glucose syrup as the first ingredient. Not only did I feel shite about not being able to breastfeed him, I then felt extra shite that the formula I was giving him tasted disgusting and was made with awful ingredients (we went from Kendamil to Althera then Alfamino.) The latter two are yuck and he refused to drink the Althera for ages, I was mixing it with Kendamil for weeks, all while worrying about making my baby ill but not wanting him to starve.

And unless you're making everything from scratch (including bread) then there's going to be a bit of added salt or sugar in things. I was told (by an NHS dietician) to not buy the sugar free oat or soya milk because DS needed the calories from the ones with sugar. (I used oat milk until I got him onto dairy, he now refuses to drink milk at all though.)

I didn't but as long as their diet is balanced overall I don't see an issue. Having pudding after a main meal is not a new thing. You might argue that regular snacking is a new thing and is a problem.

Anecdotal of course. Much like your point was too. Nobody I know has dessert everyday.

Mine go to nursery and have dessert daily there. It doesn't really bother me, especially as it's not like it's a massive chocolate cake.

I was very careful with DC1, but DC2 had health issues and couldn't digest fruit or veg until she was 3. Her main source of nutrition until she was 18 months was breastmilk, and she wasn't completely weaned until she was 3. The NHS dietician told us to pop in a couple of chocolate buttons several times a day, as they melted in her mouth and were a digestible source of calories.

She's in her 20s now, fit, healthy, excellent diet and has never had a filling. Obviously it's different when you are giving chocolate on the recommendation of a dietician, but it really has not done her any harm.

Lol this thread. You can have a daily treat AND be healthy. It's stupid to ban all treats until age 3 or whatever. Treats are everywhere. It's more important to learn about moderation. I personally want to teach that all foods are okay, we just need different ones in different amounts. Most adults have a treat everyday. In an otherwise balanced dietary, a bar of chocolate or a biscuit each day is absolutely not going to harm you, FFS.

Today my toddler had:
Porridge with honey and fruit, cucumber and cheese, a jacket with tuna and sweetcorn, a banana soreen, and then spag bol (with mushrooms and carrots added) and a yoghurt for tea.
Yesterday she had: Wheetabix and fruit, crackers and cheese, Avacado and egg on toast, an angel cake, sausage casserole (made with mixed beans, chopped tomatoes, rice, onion) and a yoghurt.

She eats a healthy, balanced diet, but most days one of her snacks will be some cheese snips, a small cake, a biscuit, or etc. She loves all those things, but equally is obsessed with fruit, and will always pick up veg first from a plate (she can't possibly be related to me 😂)

She doesn't have chocolate, but it would bother me if she had it every now and then. Her treats are more a little rice pudding pot, a biscuit, a handful of quavers, strawberries and ice cream, etc.

As she gets older, she likely won't have pudding, as we don't eat it, but at this age I'm keen to make sure she's getting enough calories and pudding is part of that 🤷

They weren't fat at playgroup, just fed badly. They are fat now, 15 plus years later.

When I was a little.girl, everyone bought me sweets, we were allowed sweets at school, I had a cupboard full of sweets, we had antuck shop at school. I wasn't particularly bothered about sweets. I was allowed sweets whenever I wanted. I was as skinny as a rake.

DH and his sisters lived in a worthy, church going home where ITV was frowned upon and sweets were a big deal, counted out and generally rationed.

DH's sisters are very greedy with food, one is obese, and to this day, he's 64, I still find crafty Mars Bar wrappers in DH's pockets. Whereas I can't remember the ladt time I ate chocolate.

All.good things in moderation.

Well, my parents, in their 90s, have always had dessert every day, as do I. We are all very slim. It seems very odd to just have a main course and just…stop. There’s a reason why schools and nurseries have dessert - because it’s part of a meal. Likewise, children in France have three courses, I think, for school lunch. If you are invited to eat at a friend’s, surely you are offered a dessert. Or going out to eat in a restaurant?

I agree, and this is how it was when I was growing up in the 80’s, we had dessert almost every day, things like rice pudding, sponge and custard or apple crumble. My mum always had home made cake in the house too for people visiting or for our lunch boxes. None of us were ever over weight (I was quite skinny), we were all pretty active. Things like chocolate bars and sweets were a treat, we were allowed to buy something each Friday after school. I did have a friend that had a drawer in the fridge full of chocolate bars and they were allowed to pick something each day from it, I loved going to their house.

But yes, dessert is and was a part of a meal, which is why schools/nurseries serve 2 courses, they do try and make things with lower sugar content. I don’t see sugar as a bad thing, everything is fine in moderation.