Confessions of a Bad Mommy

My boys are very random and picky eaters. Really, they just like to eat a bite of what we're eating. One morning I made cinnamon toast like my mom did when I was a kid. It's bread (wheat) with butter/margerine sprinkled with a sugar and cinnamon mixture. It turned out that they LOVE it! They will eat an entire piece of bread if I make it this way. The DR wants them "fattened up" and told me to give them ice cream and butter. Is it wrong for me to give them so much sugar too?

To make me feel better please share the worst thing you let your kids eat!

 

Oh my goodness, that is so not a bad thing at all. Really, when you are just sprinkling sugar on, there is less sugar going on that than what goes on cereal, or in the syrup for pancakes, or any of that kind of thing.

We have the occassional all out piece of cake for breakfast on the days after birthdays! So , top that!

 

My kids love cinnamon toast too!

 

I think it's okay for them to eat that. I had it as a kid too.

But honestly I take issue with the idea that they need to be "fattened up". Are they underweight to the point where it is a true health concern or are they just a little under the curve? Not everyone is going to be at the 50%, not should they be. Why does your pedi think they need to be fattened up? I would focus on trying to get them to eat enough nutrition. I would feed them healthy, balanced meals and snacks. Young eaters eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. And then we adults go and mess that up. I think it's odd how often I see posts where the pedi has told the mom to feed their babies/young toddlers certain things with the whole goal to be to gain weight. We have an epedemic in this country of overweight elementary children yet we train them to eat even if they are not hungry to gain weight. I think it's wrong and potentially setting up true problems on the other end of the spectrum when they are older.

 

I would do it! I have fond memories of cinnamon toast! We go through phases around here. I sometimes buy the cinnamon bread and just put butter. Don't know how that compares in sugar content. I figure it's not all the time, so if you need to get them to eat and they will eat it - go for it!

 

QUOTE(ThreeLittleSnowflakes @ Jan 19 2009, 11:17 AM) [snapback]1153022[/snapback]
I think it's okay for them to eat that. I had it as a kid too.

But honestly I take issue with the idea that they need to be "fattened up". Are they underweight to the point where it is a true health concern or are they just a little under the curve? Not everyone is going to be at the 50%, not should they be. Why does your pedi think they need to be fattened up? I would focus on trying to get them to eat enough nutrition. I would feed them healthy, balanced meals and snacks. Young eaters eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. And then we adults go and mess that up. I think it's odd how often I see posts where the pedi has told the mom to feed their babies/young toddlers certain things with the whole goal to be to gain weight. We have an epedemic in this country of overweight elementary children yet we train them to eat even if they are not hungry to gain weight. I think it's wrong and potentially setting up true problems on the other end of the spectrum when they are older.


They are in the 3% range. I talked the pedi into letting me stop adding Carnation Instant Breakfast to their milk (cost a fortune) and so she wanted me to add more fat to their diet. They do eat veggies/meat/fruit at every meal and snack like crazy. I was worried about the same thing (childhood obesity), but my husband won't let our kids be inactive at any point so I don't have a fear of that.

 

I say go for it, they love it and there are things that are a whole lot worse! My DD is in the smaller end of the curve as well and my pedi always says butter and cheese on everything. At this stage they need the fat from butter and cheese for their growth and brain development!! And just a thought if they are cinamon junkies eggo makes a good nutrigrain cinamon waffle, I spread a little butter or peanut butter on it and the twinnies gobble it up, they love all things cinamon.

 

My older DS LOVES cinnamon toast! And really, the amount of sugar that actually goes on is pretty small. We make it just like you do.

 

QUOTE(ThreeLittleSnowflakes @ Jan 19 2009, 11:17 AM) [snapback]1153022[/snapback]
But honestly I take issue with the idea that they need to be "fattened up". Are they underweight to the point where it is a true health concern or are they just a little under the curve? Not everyone is going to be at the 50%, not should they be. Why does your pedi think they need to be fattened up? I would focus on trying to get them to eat enough nutrition. I would feed them healthy, balanced meals and snacks. Young eaters eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. And then we adults go and mess that up. I think it's odd how often I see posts where the pedi has told the mom to feed their babies/young toddlers certain things with the whole goal to be to gain weight. We have an epedemic in this country of overweight elementary children yet we train them to eat even if they are not hungry to gain weight. I think it's wrong and potentially setting up true problems on the other end of the spectrum when they are older.


I agree and disagree with you. I agree that kids should learn to follow their own hunger cues and eat when they are hungry and stop when the are full. I think listening to one's own body is the key to preventing childhood obesity. I do think though that in cases where children/babies are small everything calorie counts and I would rather have my daughter eat 1 tablespoon of something rich in calories/nutrients than a tablespoon of something that is low in fat/calories. Its all about quality not quantity. By adding peanut butter, cream cheese, butter, cheese to what little she is eating I am getting in the extra calories to help her grow while at the same time respecting her ability to figure out her own hunger cues.

 

Sounds delicious! You should see if they will enjoy French toast with the cinnamon sugar or maple syrup. It adds some extra nutrition and calories since it has eggs and milk in it (not to mention that it's pan fried). My guys love it as a weekend treat.

 

QUOTE(mommymeg @ Jan 19 2009, 11:24 AM) [snapback]1153042[/snapback]
They are in the 3% range. I talked the pedi into letting me stop adding Carnation Instant Breakfast to their milk (cost a fortune) and so she wanted me to add more fat to their diet. They do eat veggies/meat/fruit at every meal and snack like crazy. I was worried about the same thing (childhood obesity), but my husband won't let our kids be inactive at any point so I don't have a fear of that.


My oldest DD wasn't even on the chart at her one year appt. At her 4 yr she was in the middle for ht&wt. I didn't mean to open up a big debate here or imply that you are doing anything wrong, actually just the opposite. I was trying to help you feel better. Maybe your kids are just small - so what if they are? Remember to that they tend to grow in spurts and their % at their appt is just on that given day.

When you say you are a bad mommy because you are worried about what you are feeding them because you are trying to get them to eat more because the pedi said so - to me that makes me think too much emphasis is being placed on their weight (from the pedi to you). I worry that that kind of thing does set up food issues on down the road. I'm of the mindset that we provide the food and they decide what & how much to eat. That doesn't mean we don't have food battles at this house or I'm a perfect mommy I just try to not stress about it. My pedi also told me once to look at what they eat over a few days and not each meal/day and that has helped.

One twin is off the chart high on height & was 70% for weight, the other was 70 height, 80 weight at their 2 yr. The shorter twin honestly eats at least twice what the taller one does. I let them both eat the amount they are hungry for. Others might do it differently but I feel that works for us just fine.

QUOTE(SMiLeD @ Jan 19 2009, 11:37 AM) [snapback]1153064[/snapback]
I agree and disagree with you. I agree that kids should learn to follow their own hunger cues and eat when they are hungry and stop when the are full. I think listening to one's own body is the key to preventing childhood obesity. I do think though that in cases where children/babies are small everything calorie counts and I would rather have my daughter eat 1 tablespoon of something rich in calories/nutrients than a tablespoon of something that is low in fat/calories. Its all about quality not quantity. By adding peanut butter, cream cheese, butter, cheese to what little she is eating I am getting in the extra calories to help her grow while at the same time respecting her ability to figure out her own hunger cues.


Actually, we don't disagree I didn't mean for my first post to sound like I was concerned about keeping their weights low or anything, just that I disagree with the idea of intentionally fattening them up. My kids eat a ton of cheese and peanut butter. I don't give mine cinnamon toast because they just lick it off and don't eat the bread They do love PB&J, mac & cheese and grilled cheese though. They are not diets or anything - I just wanted to clarify.

 

It's just a sprinkling, it won't hurt!!

 

My boys love cinnamon toast!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Um that's not that bad! My girls eat everything! They were tiny at their 12 month appointment so we give them anything and everything! The bad things they love are french fries, they LOVE fried chicken, brownies, cookies, ice cream...you name it, I let them try it. My girls were so small at 12 months that they aren't even in the percentiles, they are 0% so I'm just trying to encourage them to eat anything, I add butter to their veggies and brown sugar and cinnamon to their sweet potatoes. What I've noticed is that even when they like a food they are only going to eat as much of it as they are hungry, meaning they are not going to over-eat even if you are offering them their most favorite food. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that!

 

I think we are going to try this next weekend. Don't worry. At this point if they will eat it, it's fair game!

 

QUOTE(ThreeLittleSnowflakes @ Jan 19 2009, 12:03 PM) [snapback]1153102[/snapback]
Actually, we don't disagree I didn't mean for my first post to sound like I was concerned about keeping their weights low or anything, just that I disagree with the idea of intentionally fattening them up. My kids eat a ton of cheese and peanut butter. I don't give mine cinnamon toast because they just lick it off and don't eat the bread They do love PB&J, mac & cheese and grilled cheese though. They are not diets or anything - I just wanted to clarify.


Thanks for the clarification, I didn't mean to come accross as harsh either. Its just one of my huge pet peeves to hear that babies and toddlers should be eating low fat food and watching their weight. I think it is so important to offer a variety of food from all the food groups and let them eat what they will. My mom is the worst culprit, she's always on me because the twins drink whole milk and eat all sorts of cheese and butter. If anything I worry about the twins (especially DD) weighing too little not too much. Unlike adults kids need that extra fat for their development and burn it off super quick!!

 

Mmmm....I wish my doctor would tell me I have to eat ice cream and butter.

 

chicken nuggets and french fries - however if left to their own devices they'd eat nothing but fruit!

and I second the Eggo Cinnamon Nutrigrain waffles - its the only ones my kids will eat and both my kids will often eat 2!

 

My boys eat cinnamon toast too and I've never given it a second thought. As for the worst thing I've ever given them I don't know they've had pizza and fries and ice cream and cake, everything in moderation right..............oh and my boys are on the small side and light eaters so I don't worry to much about the not so great stuff.

Erica

 

I wouldn't want them to live on cinnamon toast, but I don't see any problem with it. (I also don't want them to live on plain pasta and yogurt, but my DD Sarah pretty much does...)

When we take our kids out to dinner at our local pub, Amy eats nachos -- tortilla chips, melted cheese, guacamole, and olives. Hey, at least it's real cheese and not Cheez Whiz.

 

My kids pretty much eat junk ... but they eat a good variety of junk

Right now Jesse and Davin's favorite food is dry Reese's Puffs cereal. They pour a big bowl, then Davin eats all the dark pieces and Jesse eats all the light pieces. They've eaten that at least twice a day for the last week.

I don't force my kids to eat anything they don't want. I just keep them active, and their weights are fine.

Whole wheat cinnamon toast sounds really healthy to me!

 

QUOTE(TornadoAlleyTwins @ Jan 20 2009, 06:23 AM) [snapback]1154059[/snapback]
Right now Jesse and Davin's favorite food is dry Reese's Puffs cereal. They pour a big bowl, then Davin eats all the dark pieces and Jesse eats all the light pieces. They've eaten that at least twice a day for the last week.


[SIZE=10pt]This is TOO cute!!

My two love cinnamon toast. We usually have it once every couple of weeks. As for the worst food they've eaten....Hmmm~ pizza, chicken nuggets, french fries, a little cake, ice cream. Of course it's not all the time...and not very much either.

At this point, if you find something that they like and they'll actually eat it...let them.

April [/SIZE]

 

QUOTE(ThreeLittleSnowflakes @ Jan 19 2009, 04:17 PM) [snapback]1153022[/snapback]
I think it's okay for them to eat that. I had it as a kid too.

But honestly I take issue with the idea that they need to be "fattened up". Are they underweight to the point where it is a true health concern or are they just a little under the curve? Not everyone is going to be at the 50%, not should they be. Why does your pedi think they need to be fattened up? I would focus on trying to get them to eat enough nutrition. I would feed them healthy, balanced meals and snacks. Young eaters eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. And then we adults go and mess that up. I think it's odd how often I see posts where the pedi has told the mom to feed their babies/young toddlers certain things with the whole goal to be to gain weight. We have an epedemic in this country of overweight elementary children yet we train them to eat even if they are not hungry to gain weight. I think it's wrong and potentially setting up true problems on the other end of the spectrum when they are older.


I agree with some of this. Charts average things.

At that age, every single bite they take counts. The amount of food they eat really isn't that much and I wouldn't want to waste too many bites on food that is not really good for them.

I personally would keep it for a special treat.

I love cinnamon toast YUM!

 

OH thanks so much for the idea! Mine won't eat anything with butter, but I might be able to get them to eat it with Cinnamon and sugar. And, BTW, mine need to add a lot of weight to even get near the charts. Mine are FTT though. Sounds like your being really creative with sneaking in those calories that they desperately need at this age. Good job!!!!

 

chocolate kahlua cake with ice cream and choc syrup. that's my baddest thing I've given them to eat. believe me, the girls do know what junk food is, and we try to avoid it.

sugary cereal I hate to give, but granola on whole milk yogurt is a good fat booster. My granola recipe is in the CALL cookbook, and maybe even posted on the cooking forum somewhere.

 

I wonder if they might like French toast. We make ours with whole wheat bread, eggs, whole milk, cinnamon, and a little vanilla. That should fatten them up pretty well!

 

QUOTE(CHJH @ Jan 20 2009, 03:41 PM) [snapback]1154873[/snapback]
I wonder if they might like French toast. We make ours with whole wheat bread, eggs, whole milk, cinnamon, and a little vanilla. That should fatten them up pretty well!



This sounds great! DH also suggested making tuna salad w/ real mayo and an egg. I'll be trying all these great ideas! Thanks ladies!

P.S. I couldn't find the cinnamon waffles at the store today, but found french toast waffles. We'll see how that goes!