Can you just not offer prepackaged snacks?
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Anonymous
+1 I was a picky child and so were my kids, one more than the other. It really isn't something I could control. I didn't like being the difficult child and I know my kids didn't either. Things just tasted awful. My kids are older now and mostly outgrown it but there are still things they can't eat. DD keeps trying to be able to stomach beans since she finds not liking them to be limiting but they still make her gag. The only things IMO that really help are empathy, flexibility and not getting dug in on a position that they MUST eat XYZ. |
Anonymous
| Of course you can skip it. Just be aware that they will be offered it from other sources way earlier and more frequently than you expect and its generally not a battle worth fighting to always say no. |
Anonymous
| Yes you can if you have the time. It takes more planning and prep work. And more clean up but if that is what you value for your child, then go for it! |
Anonymous
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I can't tell if you're asking if you can skip these foods as part of the weaning process or if you can ban them from your house forever. The former is much easier than the latter. I never did specialty baby food ever; both of my kids ate naturally soft foods or foods mushed up as they learned to eat. This took me virtually no extra time or effort; I wasn't making "homemade baby food," I was steaming the broccoli for like 30 seconds longer than I'd do for myself, or opening a container of plain yogurt and mashing some strawberries in it. Very very occasionally, like on a road trip or at a party, I'd buy a pouch to have on hand just for convenience.
But banning snacks as your child grows into school age is not for the faint of heart and will likely backfire on you. You COULD do it, but you're likely to end up with a kid who steals snacks from his friend's house and hoards them, or is obsessed with getting snack food once they're old enough to have their own money. Just buy snacky stuff in moderation and expose your kids to real homemade food for most of their meals. |
Anonymous
| Of course! This is how most of the world eats. Of course my kids get exposed to all types of foods outside the house but so far “we don’t have those in the house” has worked fine. |
Anonymous
Same! We avoided all of that stuff and my kid is still picky in different ways— and we even accidentally made her snobby about some foods! So while I think this is not a bad plan, it won’t prevent your kid from being a weird eater. Some kids are just like that. |
Anonymous
| Absolutely. My kids were still picky, but at least what they ate was healthy. |
Anonymous
| What are some healthy alternatives to pouches for toddlers that won’t chow down on steamed broccoli? How about a toddler that loves his cheese sticks? |
Anonymous
| I know kids with diets that are restricted to a handful of uncommon things. Parents were careful not to eat “kid food” and ended up with a toddler or preschooler who only eats goat cheese, olives, and baguette or something like that. |
Anonymous
Cheese sticks -> buy a block of cheese they like and cut into sticks/cubes Pounches -> buy whole fruit/vegetables and slice longways (and microwave until soft if you’re still worried about chocking) Crackers -> toast bread and slice |
Anonymous
PP back to add: avoiding convenience food is kind of inconvenient; that’s what you’re paying for after all. I don’t buy convenience foods very often because I like to cook and they’re expensive and I worry about highly processed foods but they’re absolutely a staple when we travel for example because that’s a time the convenience outweighs the potential negatives for me personally. Other people who have different needs (picky eaters, low weight kids, no time/interest in cooking, etc) will have different limits. |
Anonymous
Ha, I so relate to having the picky kid who is also super snobby about some foods due in large part to our efforts to serve her healthy foods. She wound up picky anyway, but also avoids most processed foods because we never fed her those as a baby/toddler and she genuinely prefers whole foods. What this means is that we have a healthy eater who eats an incredibly narrow range of foods (she's vegetarian but hates 99% of all vegetables, so her diet is heavy on nuts, dairy, whole grains, fruit, and then the two vegetables she'll eat). Healthwise it's fine, and it's not even that hard to accommodate at home, but it means it's really hard to go out to eat with her. She won't even eat pizza! But also won't eat a salad at the pizza place. Sigh. |
Anonymous
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Yes, for my first we just didn't really do that but as you said it becomes a whole different ball game when the kids are older. My younger one has more of that I'm sure than older one did. We still don't do a ton of it at home, but out and about at birthday parties, wherever we go with the flow. And sometimes I will buy cheez its etc for home now, you don't want it to become tooo much of a forbidden fruit thing. We followed Ellyn Satter as well.
Both my kids are great eaters generally, but I will share to please know it isn't all in your control. You may do everything that Ellyn Satter and Kids eat in color (recommend following her on instagram if you don't already) recommend and your child may still be picky for a time! Most kids go through at least some phase where they are a little more selective. Even my very adventurous older one had a little time period between 3-4, now he eats most things and will try anything. But a lot of that is his personality!! Not because I did anything perfectly, it is honestly who he is to be adventurous and flexible in that way. He has other tough traits! Just not that one. My youngest is definitely more slow to warm with foods and that is his personality generally as well. Pickiness does have some genetic basis, so again your kid may go through it. you just do your best, try not to stress and it usually works out eventually |
Anonymous
Ok dumb question (sorry) but what’s the difference between, say, Cabot Cheese Sticks and the block that you cut up? |
Anonymous
Convenience/price per ounce and maybe preservatives (check the label) because sticks/wedges have more surface area to mould more quickly. Pregrated cheese has a perservative that’s basically wood pulp for example. Sometimes the convenience is worth the extra cost for me but I try to avoid the preservatives if I can. |