My food issues Xposted in life with a babe...

[jojobee]

My daughter is 12 months old and really enjoys her solids. She’s exclusively breastfed and we’ve been doing BLW and some spoon feeding too. When she was spoon fed it was either food that I had made (yay magic bullet!) or organic jars. Obviously her days of being fed by us have ended (except for messy things like yogurt and soup etc). I’m pretty health conscious and have done a metric ton of reading about food and the effect food has on our bodies. All of this research and reading was done waaay prior to becoming pregnant. I’m a workout fanatic and like to maximize my workout efforts by eating the right things. So again, this research has been with me for a while. My issue is that I know I think about food differently than other people in my life….mainly my family, my boyfriend’s family and the ladies at daycare. And I’m struggling to not freak out when I read on her daycare sheet that my little girl had Cheese Nibs for a snack one afternoon. Or when I caught her aunt giving her ice cream. Or when someone has given her goldfish crackers. It’s just a couple tablespoons, right? It’s just 5 or 6 gold fish, isn’t it? Not the end of the world. But inside I am SICK. Sick to my stomach that my daughter was just given a bunch of sodium, artificial ingredients and preservatives. I plaster on a smile and try try try to let it go. But man, it’s hard. At daycare I bring my daughters food everyday but I let the daycare ladies know that if she’s still hungry and out of her own meals she can have some of the daycare provided snacks….hence the Cheese Nibs. And yes, she does have snacks that I leave at daycare. But sometimes they forget….or I suspect that it’s just easier to give everyone the same thing.

A rational person could point out that I make crappy food choices too. And that is true. But I guess my thinking is that if I get down on a Mountain Dew, pork rinds and a butter burger for lunch I know exactly what it’s doing to my body. My kid doesn’t. That’s why I’m there…..to make decisions that she can’t. I’m just finding it very difficult to get the point across to other people….especially without sound like a crazy food obsessed freak. Maybe I am. Anyone else struggling?

Sorry that this has been so all over the place…. and so long!

[dogmom327]

Our kids do legitimately have food sensitivities but really, you say the word "allergic" and everyone tends to back off. I'd seriously consider playing that card if people in your life aren't respecting your choices for what to feed your children. A few gold fish or spoonfuls of ice cream would ensure our children wouldn't sleep that night so I've had to get kind of grumpy with people but I've found that if I give a brief explanation and be firm we don't have further issues.

[velochic]

Just like when you were exclusively breastfeeding her (when she wasn't eating anything but breast milk), you still have a right to say exactly what goes into her body. You wouldn't let someone feed her formula, right?

It doesn't matter what other people think. You're the parent and you get to say what goes into her body.

The difference between adults and children is that children's diets build their bodies... as adults, our diets try to prevent them from breaking down. The former is more important than the latter.

Stick to your guns. We did, and we're SO happy that we did so. Our dd (8) has a true food intolerance. She gets severe eczema on her legs when she eats anything with preservatives, additives, etc. She is on an all-natural diet and the few foods that we don't catch (like at Brownie meetings) has caused such an itchy rash that she now has scars on her legs from scratching at night. And that is with being VERY DILIGENT. We found out about this intolerance when she was about 3 - 4 yo and can I just tell you that we are thankful that we never introduced junk food... no fast food, no foods with chemicals. There *are* all-natural options to snacks. Homemade cookies, ice cream that is just cream, milk and sugar, organic snack crackers, homemade yogurt, bread, etc.

I also think that kids' taste buds get accustomed to the chemicals in processed foods. My nieces children, who are my dd's age, can't stand even something as simple as grilled chicken and rice. They want McDonald's - and will not eat anything that is not very highly processed. My dd, on the other hand, loves freshly made whole foods. When she came home from school today, she said, "Mommy, I know that smell! You're making Indian tonight! Yay... I love Mattar Paneer!" Her favorite food is steamed mussels. This kid eats foods many adults never learned to eat. I attribute it to the fact that we didn't give her junk and instead exposed her to a wide variety of real food.

Go with your instincts on this. If you avoid the crap foods like goldfish crackers, you are teaching your child to appreciate *real* food. Put your foot down and don't let up. Good luck!

[inky leeuhhh]

tell the daycare ladies what you want her to eat, and make sure you provide it and try not to let it run out. make sure you are packing enough- the toddlers in my class can eat an amazing amount at snack time! if they have a director or someone above them, tell the director your wishes as well. not to get the daycare ladies in trouble, just to get everyone on the same page. as a daycare provider, i will say that it can be hard to keep track of all that stuff, but not impossible. could you maybe get a doctors note? that may help you look like less of a "food freak". she is still your child during the day, even if she is not in your care directly. we had a parent in my room who wanted to bring her son's own snacks because the ones at my center are unhealthy. well, the food where i work IS gross, so i thought "good idea!". she brought in a package of fig newtons. not much healthier than the canned pears and wheat thins and stuff we have to give the kids for snack.

[mamadelbosque]

I understand where your at. We goto playgroup and they have snacks there that are, well, not ideal - goldfish, pudding, ginger snaps, pretzels, crackers, chicken nuggets occasionally. And I considerd bringing my own snack at one point... but you know what? For us at least, its 2x a week. And its just not worth it for me to make a fuss and insist that my son gets something different. for me, its just not worth the hassle, or the explanations, or anything. But, I realize that I'm in the minority around here at least - we do goto McDonalds occasionally, I buy store-bought pudding occasionall, canned fruit, triscuit crackers and occasionally even frozen chicken nuggets. Mostly we eat good - dinners are almost always home made, and DS1 is really a pretty good eater, over all. But somethings, just aren't worth the hassle, the explantions or the freak out, and I've seriously learned to just let it go.