Too many pickles? (Serious question)

[LROM]

18 mo old DD has just discovered she LOVES dill pickles. Like, would eat them day and night if she could. Currently I only give her a small one every day or every other day mostly, and the ingredients look ok, but is there anything about dill pickles that I should know/watch?

Thanks wise mommas!

[donutmolly]

My toddlers have loved pickles too -- never had any problems in terms of allergies, or digestion, but I restricted them because of the salt content. We now make homemade ones (super easy and even yummier than store-bought) and my DD's love the chunks of pickled garlic too!

[pbjmama]

Not sure on the ingredients but I find that if I let my kids eat the new food for a day or two they move on to something else. I'm not saying don't have any limits, just that I try to let them decide with in reason.

[SaoirseC]

We ate tons of pickles as a kid (my mom bought them by the gallon). I never had any issues. FYI, most pickles today contain food coloring, that's the only thing I'd watch for (and maybe salt content if you're worried about that).

[CrazyCatLady]

Well my dd eats pickles on an almost daily basis, and has for years. So she never did grow out of it. I'm lucky that we get most of our pickles from my grandma (who does put food coloring in them to make them pretty ). So other than watching for corn syrup and food coloring I guess just remember that it's not a bad snack, but it's not the greatest either. I don't let my dd gorge on them, but I don't think a pickle or two a day has hurt her any.

[spmamma]

DD loves pickles too. We don't give her too many, though, because of the sodium content. It's more of a treat here.

[LROM]

Thanks all! I'll check the sodium content on the jar ones we buy, and I'll ask the fresh place if they do food coloring. Their pickles do look extra "green and fresh" - I thought that was just cuz they make them there, but I'll check.

Thanks!

[Honey693]

DD loves them too and I limit her to two of the whole dill pickles a day b/c of the salt.

[RaeEllen]

DD went through a phase at that age of loving sour foods. It's funny, I'm the doctor in the family, but it was DH who asked me not to give her so many pickles beause of the salt. Absolutely true. Their kidneys can't handle it as well as ours. Plus, just like sugar, I'd don't want her to get a taste that everything needs to be highly salted.

To put it in context, a healthy adult should be eating 1000-2000 mg of sodium a day. One dill pickle has over 300 mg of sodium!

However, and my main point, was that it was really the sour she was after. I let her have a lemon to eat once in a while (seriously! but not too often and we'd brush the teeth after) or other sour foods. You may want to try some pickle substitutes if you find yours have very high sodium contents.

[HeliMom]

Dang this thread! I had to go out and buy some Bubbie's because I started craving pickles so bad!

[LCBMAX]

My son loved them sliced and frozen for teething.

[workjw]

We let ds have a bunch of pickles one time when he was on an eating strike (maybe 4 or 5 in one day) and it gave him horrible diarrhea. It did however break him of his pickle obsession.