"Treats" for our kids

[MissStarshine]

Today I was doing my groceries and saw a cute little chocolate santa. So I thought: "I'll just get that as a treat for my daughter".

Later, while I was loading my stuff in the car i finally realized how crazy that was. I started NF about a week ago and am working hard on cleaning up my diet and getting in shape. Then I go and buy chocolate for my daughter as a "treat"? Wacky world!

Shouldn't I be working on giving my daughter healthy treats, teaching her the life lessons I'm just learning now, as a adult. Won't she benefit more from knowing how to take care of herself and keep herself healthy then a sugary "treat" to satisfy my need as a parent to make her happy.

I'm obviously still in the fase where I'm becoming aware of the choices I make and the reasons behind those choices.

How do you guys feel about treats for kids? Have any of you made a conscious change in your child(rens) diets? How did that go over?

Hoping for some wisdom :-)

[Kes]

I try to avoid using food as a reward or special treat in general.  I feel like it sets people up for having an unhealthy relationship with food later on.  Even when I take them out for fro-yo, I try to frame it as, "Let's go out somewhere and do something, and maybe we can get fro-yo while we're out."

 

My .02.

[BLACKBOARD MONITOR]

My daughter's only 8 months old, but I've got to admit I've not given this any thought. Kes, I really like what you've said about rewards being separate from food. Lucky that at the moment her favourite is broccoli and pear!

[MissStarshine]

Thanks for the replies. 

It does seem like a good idea to keep food seperate from treats. I totally agree!

However it seems like for me at least it has become somewhat of a habit to think of sweets as a treat.

And to feel like I'm withholding something from my daughter when I don't allow her to eat all the sugar she wants.

 

Something to work on

[TurtIe]

My two year old happily munches on cucumbers at the shops, my one year old smashes blueberries. All in all our treats are basically fruit or vegetables. The kids occasionally get little bits of ice cream and desserts at family events, but we're quick to stress that eating too much will make them "slow like Grandpa".

[girljen]

Just get her into Shopkins.  They're cheap and small and not sugar.  (Only somewhat kidding)

 

More seriously, though, I am in the process of limiting my eight-year-old daughter's sweet treats.  I don't keep candy or pop in the house. I buy Shopkins or Minecraft minifigs as random little surprises when I go to the store without her.  The big problems for me are Dad's house (I have no control there and I know this), and restaurant meals.  If we're eating at a restaurant, it's usually because it's late and I'm rushed or tired, and by that point, I'm not making the healthiest decisions for either of us.

 

My kid is old enough to know that she's heavier than most of her classmates. We talk about food, and how it affects our bodies, but her reaction to sweets is still more "I WANT IT!" than "I can make a healthier choice."

[calanthrophy]

I use raspberries, blueberries, or other fruits that we don't get very often.

You can buy 'em toys or other stuff instead of ice cream, it's more or less the same price-wise.

[Waldo]

Eh I'm in the don't make something a problem that isn't a problem camp.  Plenty of kids have grown up just fine without food issues that had sweets as treats.

 

I don't think learning to control your weight is something you learn at a young age.  General self control, sure, but weight control is more of a teens+ thing, where you can start to strategize your life choices.

 

Our (older) kiddo's diet is downright horrifying to an adult (very, very carb heavy), but then again he's a ball of energy and never stops moving; he needs the carbs.

[Prairieknitwit]

I've seen kids put on strict paleo diets from a young age develop really messed up relationships with food as they got older and mum and dad had less control over what was being eaten--if cupcakes were brought to school for a birthday party it would trigger a binge, food hoarding and stealing from snack supplies at friend's houses, etc.  I don't think demonizing or restricting foods is a good idea, unless there is a medical reason to do so.  We follow Cookie Monster's dietary guidelines at our house and certain foods are "always" foods, like fruit and veg, and cake and candy and ice cream are "sometimes" foods.  Neither good nor bad.   You eat always foods to make you healthy and strong, and sometimes foods because while they taste good, your body doesn't feel good if you eat too much of them.

 

I need to stop seeing food as treats and rewards for myself....I am really good at having that view with my kids, less so with me.

[Butternut]

For my kids, I just keep them informed about food. I talk about the way things are mass produced, how marketers sneak into you liking things, and even did an experiment with sugar in juices and pop (my son was 9 and I had him do the math to see how many grams were in a teaspoon, we then spooned out the amount of sugar into a cup that was in root beer and fruit juice)

 

My daughter (5) the other day had a "nutritional day" at school and she came home said "mom, they think fishy crackers, rice crispy treats, and subs are healthy!"  

 

I like what Waldo said that you don't make that big of a deal about it, but for me its just having them understand WHY we eat salads with dinner, WHY I put grilled veggies in their eggs from time to time, WHY we only have cereal on Friday and Saturday.  Cookies, cereal, muffins, etc. etc. are absolutely delicious to kids, I think if you force something from them, they end up wanting it more. I mean, how hard is it for us as adults to stop eatting it? We can't force our kids too. I believe when kids are informed they will grow up and make the better choices.