Should Kids Eat Whatever They Want To?!
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Yeah. No can do with kids feeding themselves. Can barely control my adult self. ( eyeing Doritos hubby bought). Treats, fine, occasionally fast food, fine. Don’t have Littles myself, but did have super picky, elderly parents. Did I cook and puree numerous veggies and fruits and sneak them into their meals? Yup. Mom lived off ham sandwiches with chips. And spaghetti sauce full of onions, carrots and celery. She also got her favorite fruit cups, pot roast with taters and carrots. And maybe more than a few soups and meals with pureed veggies she wouldn’t have touched. Make it cute, small, varied ( snack plates) chips, fruit, meats, cheese, veggies if possible- not in my case. Veg and fruits can always be worked in. Think outside the box. Works with kids too. Also, for our elders, remember a strawberry daiquiri with tons of frozen strawberries/blueberries/ raspberries counts as a fruit. Just put the slightest amount of rum on top, so they think they’re being bad. Dress it up! Fancy glass. Straw. Strawberry on the rim, goofy umbrella etc. Kids get ” virgin style” or not, depending on how much they’re on your nerves. 😂RIP mom and dad.
I mean 5 year old always feels like eating cotton candy and chocolate for every meal. But if we take 15 year old and more we should let them listen to their body, but still tell them if their choices are not good for health( for example: if they are really immature and still want to eat fast food, you ofc have to let them know you do not allow it…But if they want to have a piece of chocolate every day it is ok)
We have had a long standing rule, eat the meal offered or choose a healthy snack when/ if you get hungry. They don’t normally eat anything.
We also have a snack bar that my boys can access and it has 2 rules. 1. Only 1 snack between breakfast/ lunch and only 1 snack between lunch/ dinner. 2. The snack bar is open between 9&11 am and between 1&4 pm. They rarely access it. It is mostly used for school. For reference, my 2 boys are 10 and 13 years old.
It’s easier to let them do whatever they want. Less problems. Of course, that’s not parenting.
I completely agree! Child of Mine was an incredible guide and helped me navigate sensible eating with my daughter.
Thanks
So should I just tell my 2 and 4 year old „no, I know you‘re hungry“, but you need to wait 2hrs until it‘s dinner/next snack time“?
Honest question, even if it does sound a little snappy 😅
My kids don‘t get to eat whatever they want and we do have fixed meal times, but snacks in between are usually whenever they ask for something or I notice them getting hangry.
But even if they had a snack at what I would probably consider „snack time“, they might still get hungry again before dinner.
What should I do then? Right now I always give them food when they’re hungry, but if it‘s a short time till dinner for example I‘ll give them something very light/small and tell them it‘s dinner soon.
That usually works, but if they‘re really hungry, maybe bc dinner is 15mins later than usual for whatever reason, I will give them more / a bigger snack, even if I know that they’ll probably eat less at dinner. I don‘t want them feeling like they have to go hungry.
But then I also want to do what‘s best for them, so again, I‘m honestly asking for advice 🙂
She has a full length video about it. She goes over it and her answer is just about what you said.
@@cutiebm Thank you for reply to the original poster, Ill checj.out her video
@@cutiebm thanks, I’ll look it up.
I saw another comment say in France they have a saying they tell kids who complain about being hungry. “Eat your hand and save the other one for tomorrow” 😂
@@cutiebm do you know which video? I looked at the titles all the way back until a year ago and didn’t find anything, so I’m assuming it’s mentioned in one of her videos about another topic.
I feel that open communication and structure are often beneficial. Like if my future kid was hungry I would ask that they ask before getting a snack because then we can talk first plus, why make your kids eat a few big meals and not snacks when their hungry? What if that’s just not how their body works? Obviously your kids would have to older for this to work but I find these strict rules restrictive.
TLDR: structure is helpful but shouldn’t become restrictive and communicate as these kids are learning how to respond to their hunger and fullness cues I find is very important and effective.
though I’m just a teenager so I guess working on building a proper healthy relationship with food using research and experience so i don’t have the parent experience yet.
This is SO true. I’m a speech pathologist and a mom of a toddler and this advice was what helped my kiddo to start gaining the weight he badly needed. Saying yes at all times to snacks is not helpful.
How do you get out of the habit of eating when you’re bored?
Find an activity that keeps your hands busy, like crochet or painting or something like that. Depending on the situation you could turn up the music and dance or go outside for a nice walk. The fresh air and a little movement are good for you. You could also call someone to Chat on the phone for a bit. Or maybe even take a nap if that is possible and right for you. Or you could read a few pages. All of those things have worked for me in the past. Currently if I happen to borefom eat something it’s clementines. I also noticed that really eating until comfortably full at meals decreases snacking of All kinds
A friend of mine growing up used to have to ask permission from their parents for a glass of fucking water.
W a t e r 🥺
(Made me ask, too.)
How do you feel about Intuitive Eating (ie. Eat when hungry, stop when full)
Mine can eat as much as they want – veggies 😂
This is so beside the point (which is fantastic and true, for the record) but Abbey’s EYES ARE STUNNING!!!