Feeding your kids

[fitmonkey]

How strict are you competitive, and/or clean eating moms/dads with your kids? I don't want to become overlly obsessed or overbearing with healthy foods, and deprive my daughter, but I want her to actually grow up knowing what healthy is, and enjoying it.
You don't actually calculate their macros or anything, right? It seems like every kid eats mac n' cheese, hotdogs, and sugar cereal. Would kids even eat chicken, vegetables and fruit all day if you forced them?

I'm just curious how and where healthy parents draw the line. Anyone care to enlighten me?

[Blondell]

I teach my kids that treats are okay in moderation. I don't expect them to eat 'clean' all the time, but do feed them the same foods that I eat, most of the time. I get them the occasional fast food meal and/or candy etc. But, they know how to eat the appropriate amount and save the rest for when they'd like a bit more. I've taught them this way since they were toddlers.

[liberty]

My kids know that we eat homemade food 90% of the time and that includes cupcakes and cookies. NOT all kids eat hotdogs and sugar cereal nor do they think they are treats. My dtr. gags at the smell of hot dogs. The "everybody eats it" argument is kinda like the "all the kids drink when they are 16" so why not be the parent that buys them booze, you don't want to deprive them of that experience right? Just make their treats yourself and they will never be deprived and you will know what goes into the icing and cookies and granola. Kids like good food just like we do. Fresh meats and vegetables and fruits are yum make them food snobs hehehe
C

[Aaron_F]

Just watch them

Feeding them chicken fruits and vegetables is a great way to minimise caloric intake, which is not always the best thing for people who are growing as fast as they ever will...

Tracking their weights/heights helps understand what is happening

if you dont have growth charts, click here (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/growthcharts/set2clinical/set2color.pdf) for a collection of standards for height, weight and BMI in a variety of age ranges and both sexes.

Absolute weight is unimportant, unless your child is >95th percentile (5% of kids will be there, but they are starting to be rather away from the 'norm')

Track their height and weight over time. If one of them takes off (or drops in terms of weight) it may worth taking extra note of it. In terms of them getting fat, their weight will increase at a faster rate than their height, and on the chart, the child will move percentiles upwards on weight rather than increasing with the percentile and age.

You can also do the visual test, but that doesnt compare them to normal (as you can also pick up stunting with the height charts (height will level off).

If the child is gaining weight too quickly, cut back on any treats, if the kid is gaining too slowly, be a bit more liberal with the calories (doesnt have to be 'junk' but kids will start to learn to balance food intake).

When you have multiple kids who are different shapes, it can get a bit frustrating if one is allowed stuff that the other is not, but that is what life is like. We dont all get to eat like a Tour De France cyclist.

[Fet]

Great stuff, Aaron.

In my house, they can't eat what we don't have, and I do the shopping, so they pretty much have to live with what I buy. I'm mean that way. If they want extra crap, sometimes I'll give them the $$, and they can bike or walk to the store (burn up a few cals!! - sneaky mom) and get that treat.

I remember when I used to come home, find the milk container empty and rant at the kids about leaving some milk for the rest of us. Recently, my 15yr old ds has hit 5'11 and 145 scrawny lbs, so now, if I come home and he hasn't had his typical gallon of milk per day, he gets an earful. It helps too that his hockey trainers are really emphasizing nutrition and fitness - I guess that raises the "cool" factor for him. :sad:

What do I want to teach my kids? That they have to fuel their body first. Get the vitamins and nutrients into them first, then "snacks" can be considered.

I want my kids to have perspective about food, and, (this might not be a popular view on this board) I want them to know that sometimes food is love. That sometimes a hug and a slice of grandma's homemade apple pie can be the best thing to happen to you in an otherwise shitty week. I want them to appreciate events when family/friends come together to celebrate, and that great food prepared with care and love can be a healthy part of that.

[mich56]

When you have multiple kids who are different shapes, it can get a bit frustrating if one is allowed stuff that the other is not, but that is what life is like.

This is us to a T. Casey, my little girl is going to be 4 in June and weighs in at 29lbs. She is tiny. She was always that way. I give her plenty of food choices, but she pretty much always wants to eat just the veggies. I would consider her to be a BIRD eater. It is rather tough to give her more "free" foods, when my son who is 2 1/2 is almost 40lbs and wants everything that she gets (and vice versa) He is a big boy, and he seems to be addicted (I use this term loosely) to carbs already. But he also loves to eat eat eat. I think he would sit and eat all day if he had the choice. Good thing he loves his veggies and fruit too!!

I do the purchasing of foods, and as Nutritionist, I am very conscious of what we are eating. But I also allow for treats on say a Friday night when we do a family movie night. I am continually educating them on the importance of foods, and will even say "Do you know what carrots are good for?" And they get to tell me, and it makes a great little game at the dinner table. But I still do give them mac and cheese - I love it too (but it ain't on my plan)

[liberty]

This is us to a T. Casey, my little girl is going to be 4 in June and weighs in at 29lbs. She is tiny. She was always that way. I give her plenty of food choices, but she pretty much always wants to eat just the veggies. I would consider her to be a BIRD eater. It is rather tough to give her more "free" foods, when my son who is 2 1/2 is almost 40lbs and wants everything that she gets (and vice versa) He is a big boy, and he seems to be addicted (I use this term loosely) to carbs already. But he also loves to eat eat eat. I think he would sit and eat all day if he had the choice. Good thing he loves his veggies and fruit too!!

I do the purchasing of foods, and as Nutritionist, I am very conscious of what we are eating. But I also allow for treats on say a Friday night when we do a family movie night. I am continually educating them on the importance of foods, and will even say "Do you know what carrots are good for?" And they get to tell me, and it makes a great little game at the dinner table. But I still do give them mac and cheese - I love it too (but it ain't on my plan)

Aren't most 2.5 year olds crazily active and need a load of carbs? It is like their day is made up of 2-3 marathons and they need to carbo load to make sure they have enough cals to grow, at least this was the case with my kids. We went walking to a "new" park yesterday and the total mileage was 6km for a 4,7 and 10 month old (the last one was in the buggy) that night they each had two plates of spaghetti and slept for 14 hours. Life is a marathon for active kids:lol:
C

[donnajo]

My 2.5 year old prefers vegetables and fruit over candy and junk. If given the option of both she goes for the veggies. She loves pasta too and pretty much eats healthy. Treats and such are occasional and in moderation but the bulk of her diet is fairly clean. Her health is important to me and I want to establish good eating choices now. She does not even like fried foods. NO chicken fingers or french fries. She won't eat em. I guess I am lucky. But my husband and I introduced her to the healthy stuff first. So she never missed the junk.

[Cass]

I want my kids to have perspective about food, and, (this might not be a popular view on this board) I want them to know that sometimes food is love. That sometimes a hug and a slice of grandma's homemade apple pie can be the best thing to happen to you in an otherwise shitty week. I want them to appreciate events when family/friends come together to celebrate, and that great food prepared with care and love can be a healthy part of that.
:love:

[Brandy]

:love:
:yeahthat:

[Aaron_F]

This is us to a T. Casey, my little girl is going to be 4 in June and weighs in at 29lbs. She is tiny. She was always that way. I give her plenty of food choices, but she pretty much always wants to eat just the veggies. I would consider her to be a BIRD eater. It is rather tough to give her more "free" foods, when my son who is 2 1/2 is almost 40lbs and wants everything that she gets (and vice versa) He is a big boy, and he seems to be addicted (I use this term loosely) to carbs already. But he also loves to eat eat eat. I think he would sit and eat all day if he had the choice. Good thing he loves his veggies and fruit too!!

mine are the opposite

My 7yo girl is larger, taller and likes her food. my 5yoboy is skinny (~38lbs), with abs and dislikes to eat unless its on his terms.

I give him as much good stuff as he will eat, then top it off with crap. Fussy little monkey that he is. I typically give them low fat milk, but with his breakfast I will add in some cream, to give him extra calories. I do the same thing when I make him a shake to bulk out his calorie intake.

My girl would destroy the entire house for food, and then ask for more. So my aim is to get her to eat fruit and veges as much as possible, and cut back on any additional treats.

I also try and get her to move more often.

[fitmonkey]

Lots of good insight, and I guess its pretty much what I expected. My daughter has been in the 5% for this first year of her life. Shes go, go, go, and sometimes I have to remind her (she is still very young) that she needs to eat.
As a first time mommy, I don't want to freak out anytime she has a cookie. I hate to be overthinking things, so I often wonder if I'm overly paranoid about making sure there are different color fruits and veggies in her diet everyday.
Mac n' cheese and hot dogs gross me out.

[abbatoir]

DEFINITELY let them have treats! I'm seventeen years old and up until about a year ago I'd been eating steamed veggies, chicken/tofu, and rice because that's how my parents ate. At 5'6" I'm shorter than both my parents and after puberty I stopped gaining weight in grade eight. :(

[liberty]

Lots of good insight, and I guess its pretty much what I expected. My daughter has been in the 5% for this first year of her life. Shes go, go, go, and sometimes I have to remind her (she is still very young) that she needs to eat.
As a first time mommy, I don't want to freak out anytime she has a cookie. I hate to be overthinking things, so I often wonder if I'm overly paranoid about making sure there are different color fruits and veggies in her diet everyday.
Mac n' cheese and hot dogs gross me out.

Ok, hot dogs are just noses and butt holes but don't be hatin on Mac and cheese. No one says you have to make the boxed crap make real mac and cheese with real cheese and milk and butter not that package of orange "what the hell is that" dust. Love in a pot!:cheat:
C

[Sarawithanh]

Ok, hot dogs are just noses and butt holes but don't be hatin on Mac and cheese. No one says you have to make the boxed crap make real mac and cheese with real cheese and milk and butter not that package of orange "what the hell is that" dust. Love in a pot!:cheat:
C :oops: I loved cut up hot dogs & baked beans when I was little...I also LIVED off of Kraft box mac n cheese - easiest thing to make when mom was at grandmas for the day :sad: or I'd make box beans and rice which I loved too

:shhh: no wonder I was fat..

moving on....HOMEMADE BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE IS THE SHIT. my dad uses the recipe off the back of the macaroni box. and despite loving the Kraft box shit..I always always had an appreciation for dad's baked mac and cheese - it was served w/ frozen peas & corn OR green beans OR sugar snap peas - which always ended up getting mixed together in the bowl after we served ourselves LOL

:girly:

[homeschoolmom]

In general, my kids eat what DH and I eat except that they get some WW mac n cheese and other whole grain cereals which DH and I generally avoid. They also get occasional treats etc because if you make a certain food taboo, it becomes more appealing. My parents never let me have junk food growing up. Hence as soon as I was able, I gorged myself on chips, sugared cereal and cookies. All I have to say is...moderation, moderation, moderation.

[3sweeties]

I think with kids moderation is the key. There are no taboo food in our house. I keep plenty of healthy foods around and Sunday morning is donuts. ;)

My oldest is driving me nuts though. She wants to gain weight and thinks ice cream is a great way to get extra calories in. :huh:

[Espi]

It IS a great way to get extra calories in, just not a good way :)

[Inatic]

I think with kids moderation is the key. There are no taboo food in our house.

our's either. :)

[Aaron_F]

My oldest is driving me nuts though. She wants to gain weight and thinks ice cream is a great way to get extra calories in. :huh:

if everything else in her diet is fine, who cares?

[liberty]

We had a health-nut home while I was growing up too and I did go crazy when I moved out but it was not for long. I got my fill of sugar cereals, white bread, chef boyardee and smooooth un-natural peanut butter then I went right back to eating how I was raised. My comfort foods from my childhood are all homemade things that are delish not Mcd's
C