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Need advice on child's feeding



 
 
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  #11  
Old October 9th, 2003, 04:10 PM
Julianne
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Default Need advice on child's feeding


"Ignoramus13806" wrote in message
...
In article 9ydhb.30432$k74.580@lakeread05, Julianne wrote:
"Ignoramus13806" wrote in message
...
My son is 2.5. He oftentimes refuses to eat much during regular
meals. This is frustrating because we cook for him etc. Then he might
get something -- like a piece of cheese or some such thing -- in
between. I now think that it is unhealthy and that if he wants to eat
during a meal, that's great. If he does not, he gets nothing until the
next one. Would that be a reasonable policy.

We never give him anything with sugar and no junk food. He does not
know what junk food is at this point.


Children are not like adults. You would be hurting your child to

deprive
him of food between meals. If he begins to feel deprived at age 2.5

then he
will learn by the time he is three to overeat at meals.


Why can't he just eat at meals? He gets breakfast, lunch, then he
sleeps, then he eats at 4pm, and then he gets dinner. Why would he feel
deprived if he ate well during a meal?

What you are suggesting sounds counterintuitive to me and I would like
to ask if you have any references backing up your suggestion.


None that I can cite off hand. However, I'm sure you can research pediatric
nursing, medical and dietician journals and find similar information.

Consider that breastfed infants are programmed to eat q 2 hours. As they
grow, some of the night time feedings are omitted. It is a long time
re-programming the body to accept enough food at one meal to sustain the
caloric requirements of the day in three large meals.


If everyone took a lesson from toddlers and ate only when they are
hungry, obesity would not be an issue in this country.


This is false.


I respectfully disagree.

'Reasonable Policies' are for corporate entities - toddlers are not

defined
by reason.



  #12  
Old October 9th, 2003, 04:14 PM
determined
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Default Need advice on child's feeding


"Julianne" wrote in message
news:9ydhb.30432$k74.580@lakeread05...

"Ignoramus13806" wrote in message
...
My son is 2.5. He oftentimes refuses to eat much during regular
meals. This is frustrating because we cook for him etc. Then he might
get something -- like a piece of cheese or some such thing -- in
between. I now think that it is unhealthy and that if he wants to eat
during a meal, that's great. If he does not, he gets nothing until the
next one. Would that be a reasonable policy.


Toddlers have much different nutritional needs than adults... Like babies,
they need smaller more frequent meals for their quickly growing and
developing bodies. Just as it is suggested that adults eat smaller frequent
meals to stabilize blood sugar and prevent cravings, children do better on
such a schedule. As long as they are eating healthy, I wouldn't restrict
them from eating, at any time. Our bodies are very good at telling us what
we need - and when I feel hungry, I don't ignore those signals, I just make
sure that I'm giving my body something it really needs...

det


  #13  
Old October 9th, 2003, 04:24 PM
Ruth Baltopoulos
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Default Need advice on child's feeding

"Beth Kevles" wrote:

: The big thing to understand is that a 2 1/2 year old's
eating habits are
: very little like the eating habits of an older child. You
will NOT be
: setting yourself up for behavior problems is you let your
child snack
: between meals.
:
: My kids, and most of the kids I know, all ate three meals
plus three
: "snacks" every day. The snacks were just as nutritious as
the meals, so
: really it was six meals a day, but MUCH smaller than
regular meals.
: Two-year olds still have small tummies and really NEED to
eat more
: frequently than 3 times a day.
:
: To avoid behavioral problems with eating, start enforcing
some basic
: rules, such as staying seated until you're done. Enforce
a place where
: eating is okay and other places where eating is NOT okay.
Help your
: child use forks and spoons correctly. (Wait a bit to
introduce a knife,
: and make it a butter knife at first.)
:
: DOn't make special meals for your kids. Instead, make
sure that one or
: two things in the meal are things your child likes anyway.
For example,
: you might offer macaroni and cheesefrequently as a side
dish if your
: child loves it. And in our house, we serve the vegetables
first, then
: proceed to the starches and proteins. Sweets, when
offered, come last.
:
: As long as you only offer healthy foods, then don't fret
about exactly
: what or how much your child consumes. At this age, you'll
discover if
: you write down everything he eats, that over the course of
about 3 days
: he'll be naturally consuming a varied, healthy diet. (This
works for
: most kids.)
:
: Do excuse your child from the table when he's had enough
(but don't let
: him come back and forth to the table frequently). That
is, once a
: particular meal is over, it's over. Then wait at least an
hour before
: the next "meal". Remember that an hour is a VERY long
time for a small
: child.
:
: These suggestions have worked well for my family. My kids
are now 6 and
: 8, and they eat well and politely most of the time.
Mealtimes were a
: bit of a hassle when they were 2 and 3 years old -- not
the least
: because I had to mop the floor and wipe down the chairs
after most meals
: -- but by the time they were 4 I could definitely see
improvement.

I was going to post on the topic until I read this, agreed
with all of it, and decided I had nothing to add, except
"excellent post!" g
--
Ruth B -- Remove the blinders to send email

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read, lions eating Christians, people nailing each other to
two by fours. I'll say, you won't find that in Winnie the
Pooh."




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  #14  
Old October 9th, 2003, 04:29 PM
Ericka Kammerer
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Default Need advice on child's feeding

Ignoramus13806 wrote:

You see, I am not concerned with quantity. Let him eat however much he
wants. But I want him to eat during meals. Now if that's not a good
thing due to well established reasons, I could let him eat whenever he
wants, but it is not my preference.



He should learn to eat *something* at meals. If
he's snacking all day and refusing to eat at meals, that's
an issue (and perhaps one that has nothing to do with
food itself). But most kids his age can't really eat
enough at three meals a day to get them through the
whole day. They need some "top ups" in between,
hence the nutritious snacks. And really, my kids are
6 and 8 years old and *still* need at least an afternoon
snack. They can manage without a morning snack, but
would much prefer to have one (and it doesn't mess up
their eating at meals). I suspect as puberty approaches
that they'll be eating even *more* during the day.
There are, of course, practical issues to
consider. You shouldn't have to be a short order
cook all day. I don't allow snacks right before a
meal (because then they *don't* eat the meal). I
don't allow constant grazing (because it's just too
much work). If I tried to eliminate snacks, though,
it would be horrible. I'd have whiny, cranky kids
much of the day because they'd be *hungry* much of
the time!

Best wishes,
Ericka

  #15  
Old October 9th, 2003, 04:33 PM
Sophie
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Default Need advice on child's feeding

Ignoramus13806 wrote:

My son is 2.5. He oftentimes refuses to eat much during regular
meals. This is frustrating because we cook for him etc. Then he might
get something -- like a piece of cheese or some such thing -- in
between. I now think that it is unhealthy and that if he wants to eat
during a meal, that's great. If he does not, he gets nothing until the
next one. Would that be a reasonable policy.



No. Most kids need more than three meals a day at that
age. A morning and afternoon snack are quite appropriate. There's
no reason not to have a nutritious snack. Toddlers are not known,
generally, for eating huge meals. Your expectations about the
amount he should be eating at mealtime may be out of line.
Toddler portions are *quite* small.

Best wishes,
Ericka


And some children have a favorite meal time. My nephew (21 months) eats the
most at breakfast - he just picks up at lunch and dinner. My daughter (5)
and youngest son (22 months) love dinner, whereas my other son (almost 4)
eats the most at lunchtime so I don't worry about him not eating as much as
his brother and sister at dinnertime.

I'm not saying be an open 24/7 short-order cook but I can't imagine what's
so wrong/hard/time consuming about 3 meals and 2 snacks a day.


  #16  
Old October 9th, 2003, 04:51 PM
dragonlady
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Default Need advice on child's feeding

In article ,
Ignoramus13806 wrote:

You see, I am not concerned with quantity. Let him eat however much he
wants. But I want him to eat during meals. Now if that's not a good
thing due to well established reasons, I could let him eat whenever he
wants, but it is not my preference.


It depends on how many meals. His little tummy is too small to just eat
3 times a day. Heck, many nutritionists tell us that WE would be better
off eating smaller amounts more frequently rather than 3 big meals a
day! But for a little one, 5 or 6 meals a day still makes sense: we
just call the extra meals "mid morning snack" and "mid afternoon snack"
and "bedtime snack" . . . (Elevensis, anyone?)

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

  #17  
Old October 9th, 2003, 05:41 PM
jamie
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Default Need advice on child's feeding

Ignoramus13806 wrote:
thereis no particular reason for dried fruits. He eats real ones as
well. But dried ones are more portable and easier to split into little
bits.


Dried fruit is barely different from candy, though -- very concentrated
in sugars.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."

  #18  
Old October 9th, 2003, 05:48 PM
jamie
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Default Need advice on child's feeding

Ignoramus13806 wrote:
no, it is not the case in my house at all. He only eats what I
consider healthy food. I consider more or less anything healthy food
unless it is sweetened artificially, has margarine or it is packaged
food (junk food).

For example, I consider eggs, butter, dried fruits, home baked bread,
etc to be healthy. I do not believe the crap about cholesterol one


Personally, I think you should rethink the dried fruit. It's marketed
as healthy snacks, but it's a "natural" candy.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."

  #19  
Old October 9th, 2003, 05:57 PM
enigma
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Default Need advice on child's feeding

Ignoramus13806 wrote in
:

My son is 2.5. He oftentimes refuses to eat much during
regular meals. This is frustrating because we cook for him
etc. Then he might get something -- like a piece of cheese
or some such thing -- in between. I now think that it is
unhealthy and that if he wants to eat during a meal, that's
great. If he does not, he gets nothing until the next one.
Would that be a reasonable policy.


not at all.
it's perfectly normal for a 2.5 year old to not eat much at
one time. humans actually evolved to eat many small meals
throughout the day. it has only been since industrialization
that the 3 meals a day thing became the norm.
your child's stomach is approxamately the size of the palm of
his hand (or fist). hopefully this illustrates why he doesn't
eat much at one sitting
my 3 year old eats whenever he's hungry, which does mean he
may not be hungry when we eat dinner... he helps me cook by
sampling things sometimes he'll eat if i expressly forbid
him to taste my dinner when he wouldn't eat otherwise (it's a
game). i don't really care to start food wars over when he
eats as long as he eats good snacks during the day.
the easiest thing to do is provide healthy snacks, yogurt,
cheese, meat bits, frozen or fresh veggies & fruits (Boo loves
frozen green beans for some reason), etc. every couple hours,
or when he asks. give a choice if possible, too.
while i do allow candy & sweet treats, i don't allow them
within the hour to hour & a half before dinner. if he wants
snacks then he gets veggies or fruit usually, or preview
samples of dinner if it's that far along.
lee
  #20  
Old October 9th, 2003, 06:25 PM
Clisby
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Default Need advice on child's feeding



Ignoramus13806 wrote:
You see, I am not concerned with quantity. Let him eat however much he
wants. But I want him to eat during meals. Now if that's not a good
thing due to well established reasons, I could let him eat whenever he
wants, but it is not my preference.



I don't see anything wrong with expecting him to eat during meals,
unless your mealtimes conflict with when a toddler is getting sleepy.
For example, when I knew my husband would be working late and
home around 8 p.m., no way did I make the kids wait until 8 for dinner.
We ate around 5:30, and my husband could fend for himself when he got home.

I don't let my children snack right before a meal (say, within an hour
before the meal) - that way, they'll both eat *something* at dinner.

Clisby

 




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