how do you deal with junk food?

[taramoon13]

ds got his first b-day party invitation. i'm 99.9 % sure there will be lots of junk food there. he eats very healthily normally. NEVER has candy or processed junk food of any kind. on a few special occasions he's had a few bites of nice homemade desserts. i don't want to be totally anal or come across as a weirdo about it, so is it better for me to allow him to have a little junk (NO candy or sugar drinks) on this special occasion and learn it's for special times only? i don't want to come across as a rude or a weirdo (if i were that worried i wouldn't take him to the party). i want him to be social and unfortunately most people around are not into our way of eating (or living for that matter!), so i just have to suck it up. what have you done in situations like this?

[DogMomforNow]

I don't have kids - but I think I would explain before you go that since it's a really special occasion there will be foods we don't normally eat. He'll enjoy the party, and you can rest easy that he'll learn those are just for special occasions at other people's houses Maybe I'm totally off base though!

[kay4]

Pretty much ditto the PP. Let him know that there might be food he isn't used to eating and encourage moderation. We are not the healthiest eaters although I try my best and my kids still get tummy aches when they eat too much junk or on the rare occasions we have fast food.

[taramoon13]

i should've mentioned that ds is 20 mo, so explaining things about food are really out of the question at this age. good idea for someone a little older!

[dogmom327]

At 20 mo then I wouldn't let him have any. If he were older (3, 4, 5, etc.) then I'd go with the letting him have some and explaining method. 20 mo is too young for those things anyway IMHO.

[taramoon13]

yeah, i completely agree that he's too young, i figured i would at least have to let him have some junky b-day cake, right!?!?

[Brigio]

DD is 20 months and I don't let her eat junk at this age. Birthday party or not. I bring her food (and make sure its her favorites) and she is usually very satisfied. When she is older I plan on feeding her a large nutrient dense meal before she goes so she is not as tempted and hopefully wont eat as much junk.

[alegna]

I have no problem with a reasonable portion of cake (possibly without icing- depending on the icing) at that age. Depending on how big an eater he is, a reasonable portion might be two bites

-Angela

[jpamama]

Seeing as he hasn't had sweets, he might not enjoy cake at all (my daughter wanted a dill pickle over cake at her first and second bday party) - a little won't hurt him and might be fun for him to try a bit and start to learn what treats are acceptable to you.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

When I have taken ds to bday parties (he's 21 months now) he ate what we would normally have around, pasta, crackers, pretzels etc. One party had cheese cake as the birthday cake and I let him have a few bites of that, because I figured the protein in the cream cheese would help with the sugar factor.

there were always foods I would allow at any party ds has gone too so far

[Llyra]

I always let mine have some junk at a party or for a special day. They do sometimes binge, but I don't worry about it. What they're eating, day in and day out, is good healthy stuff, so an occasional junky day isn't going to do them any harm.

[DogMomforNow]

Originally Posted by Llyra

I always let mine have some junk at a party or for a special day. They do sometimes binge, but I don't worry about it. What they're eating, day in and day out, is good healthy stuff, so an occasional junky day isn't going to do them any harm.

:

[lil_earthmomma]

We think that if 99% of what they eat is healthy, 1% junk will not hurt them. That being said, my ds is not a big fan of cake. A nice peice of chocolate, he's all over it. Ice cream, a couple of licks. Cake, one bite and he pushes it away.

[zinemama]

I follow the "When in Rome, do as the Romans" when it comes to junk food.

A couple of my friends have it at their houses: store-bought cookies, chips, goldfish, nasty popsicles, etc. I know it's not going to hurt my kids to have that stuff on an occasional basis. The main thing is that they know it's not good for them and they also know those things will never be seen in my house. Their diet is pretty darn healthy the rest of the time. These occasional treats won't hurt.

[rere]

Originally Posted by zinemama

I follow the "When in Rome, do as the Romans" when it comes to junk food.

A couple of my friends have it at their houses: store-bought cookies, chips, goldfish, nasty popsicles, etc. I know it's not going to hurt my kids to have that stuff on an occasional basis. The main thing is that they know it's not good for them and they also know those things will never be seen in my house. Their diet is pretty darn healthy the rest of the time. These occasional treats won't hurt.

This is what we do too.

I also don't tell my daughter that it's only for special occasions because I don't want to make junk a "prize".

[taramoon13]

Originally Posted by lil_earthmomma

We think that if 99% of what they eat is healthy, 1% junk will not hurt them. That being said, my ds is not a big fan of cake. A nice peice of chocolate, he's all over it. Ice cream, a couple of licks. Cake, one bite and he pushes it away.

i agree with this too
i feel very good about how he eats at home, so i'm not gonna sweat it for one special day. we had a special dinner w/ extended family tonight and while we were all eating dessert all ds wanted was icecubes, so maybe he won't care about the junk anyway!

[mamadelbosque]

Another that allows it when we're around it. We goto play group 2x a week where the snacks are provided and I just refuse to be the wierd one who brings her own snacks - I do make sure I remember his own sippy so we avoid the "juice" and choc milk, but otherwise I don't worry. I just don't think its worth the hassle/stigma of being the 'wierd family' who don't eat 'normal' food... And from the sounds of it theres at least a couple other moms who are the same way.

[mrs*kewpie*pie]

i just let it go for special occaisions....we do have dessert type stuff at home sometimes too though

i can definately tell when the kids have had more than enough behavior wise but we just kind of anticipate it and roll with it

[treemom2]

I don't stress over the food at parties. . .they are special occasions and what we eat at home is healthy. Yeh, I think you would look a little weird if you didn't allow your child to eat sweets at a child's party. I mean, you could try and limit the amount your child eats. . .but to say no sweet drinks or candy seems a little extreme (at a party).