Chocolate for 3yo - how much is too much?

[grommit]

My dd is a complete chocoholic which has become worse since Christmas. She has chocolate every day - often just a couple of choc fingers or a milkyway bar - usually nothing more (unless dh is left in charge). She eats healthily otherwise and I ensure she eats fruit every day. Should I cut her chocolate intake to just weekends?
When she was a baby I planned she would live her toddler years with ricecakes and raisins as snacks - oh how we change

Hi grommit,

I would say limit to a treat on the weekends. Especially the candy. There will be less of a chance of cavities if not eaten everyday. I do know what you mean though. My 2 older ones like chocolate and will sometimes leave candy when they do have it on the counter in reach of my 2 yr old. He sure knows what chocolate is now. If he has any chance of getting his hands on it he will eat it. I cant leave it on the counter because he will slide a chair to the counter when I'm not around and will reach for it and just open and eat it.

Grommit - my DS is the same, I do try & ration it to two or three chocolate coins (left over from Christmas!) or similar a day - I personally think that chocolate is better than sweets/crisps which a lot of children have (or am I trying to kid myself!!) - I know what I'd think if my intake of chocolate (not too mention alcohol) was restricted!

IMO if it is part of an overall well balanced diet then that's OK.

Hi Grommit, my DD is the same too and we are also still working our way bravely through the Christmas supplies - well it's a hard job but someone's gotta do it.

Personally so long as she also eats her proper food I don't mind too much - so she's only allowed choccie after meals (officially anyway !) - I agree that it's part of a balanced diet - a big part of my balanced diet really !!

If your little one isn't tending towards being overweight I wouldn't worry ! If you kept them off choc it would only become forbidden fruit after all.

My DS1 has abit of chocolate in one way shape or form on most days of the week. He has always been a fussy eater so we use it as a bribe for eating his proper meals and Thankfully after nearly 4 years(he'll be 4 in april) he's finally got his head around this arrangement and eats virtually every bit of every meal.
So as most other people have said if it's all part of a balanced diet and they clean their teeth every day then I wouldn't worry. I only wish my own diet was as balanced!

My boys don't have sweets or chocolates on weekdays, (except when there is a mountain of stuff post-Christmas to get through!) They only have fruit at school/nursery, (no biscuits, sweets, chocolate or crisps allowed). They do have cakes, muffins, and 'puddings' every mealtime (at home too).

So far (they are 3.5 and 5.5) we have found many benefits of restricting goodies like this. It means they are VERY powerful bribes/rewards! And they appreciate them much more. They also eat their meals very well, and they don't whinge or whine for stuff when we're out shopping. And their teeth are good of course too.

... On Christmas morning they chose a 'favourite present' to take to church with them, and both of them chose to take some goodies they'd had!

It's a matter of personal choice, and our decision is certainly not going to work for everyone, but I am sometimes shocked at the amount of sweets and chocolate some tiny children have.

I was determined that chocolate would be avoided for as long as possible - not possible with a grandmother who thinks all children should be fed cakes and sweets!

My dd (3) has a little bit of chocolate now and again after meals - M&S are selling off their solid choccie Xmas tree decs. One is ideal for satisfying the desire for chocolate.

How we lived in the ideal world eh?

grommit, if you think she's eating too much then just don't have it in the house (or tell her there isn't any). If it isn't there, she can't eat it.
I agree with everyone else who says that if your child is eating well then a few sweets or a bit of chocolate is not really going to do them much harm.
I was extremely restricted as a child and as soon as I was old enough to get pocket money, I just bought sweets and chocolate because they were so exciting and forbidden. So I'm not in favour of very stringent bans but the weekend idea is a good one.

I try not to give ds chocolate every day, but I know his Gran (who looks after him 50% of the time when I'm working) will give him white chocolate buttons between meals. I'm not too worried as long as it doesn't interfere with his mealtimes, and he does like his veg (including mashed swede, would you believe) so I don't make too much fuss. And it only seems to be the white chocolate he likes, he turns his nose up at the brown stuff!

I sometimes open a packet of buttons between my two boys, put them in a dish and add a handful of raisins, this cuts it down a bit. They have taken to making raisin sandwiches, a raisin between two buttons !!!

I use to regularely give chocolate buttons to my (then) 1year DD... but now I wouldn't do it with my DD2... so we do learn

I think chocolate is soul food and therefore good for you. I can't imagine a world without chocolate. I read in the newspaper once about a woman who completely lost her sense of taste for chocolate and found it very depressing. I would, too.

CAM, I LOVE the idea of chocolate as soul food.
Can't argue with that.