From: llf@alice.att.com (alice!llf)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: A Balanced Diet (Was Re: Halloween Stories)
Date: 11 Nov 92 18:45:57 GMT
Article-I.D.: alice.24158
Reply-To: llf@alice.UUCP (alice!llf)
Distribution: usa
Organization: New Jersey State Home for Bewildered Kittens

In article <1992Nov10.230703.2228058@locus.com> judy@locus.com (Judy Leedom Tyrer) writes:
>In article <1992Nov6.214712.21269@crd.ge.com> vivier@hamal.crd.ge.com (Barbara Vivier) writes:
>>
>>There are two facets to this situation:
>>1) He prefers to rummage through the cheese drawer than eat most meats,
>>vegies or fruits
>
>Let him eat cheese.  Seriously, have you ever binged on a food?  Generally
>it doesn't take long to burn out on the food and crave something else.

Hmmm, my brother once ate an entire gallon of malted milk balls.  He hasn't
touched another one in 20 years.  My 2.5 yr old once ate 2 spoons of margarine
and a bag of cheetoes.  (And yes, I shouldn't have let her, but.... and I
got to clean the mess out of the car.) She currently avoids margarine and is
very circumspect of cheetoes.  Binging isn't bad, binging to excess is
sometimes an object lesson.

>>2) He prefers to have almost anything sweet instead of most meats, vegies
>>or fruits
....
>If this is the case, then he has already picked up the message that sweets
>are somehow less desireable than meats, fruits, or vegetables (by the way,
>why aren't grains in this list?).  

I'm glad to see that Judy let's her kids have ice cream for breakfast once in
a while.  For about 3 months, the only acceptable breakfast food Lynn would
accept was noodles.  Currently, it's ice milk cones.  Nothing wrong with
that.  If you think about it, the fat isn't bad for her yet, it's full of
dairy calcium, sugar isn't an evil, and with a cone, she can wander around
and play or get ready for the rest of her day.  I personally prefer breakfast
be a sit down meal (and happen to love steak and peanut butter sandwiches),
but that's MY preference, and I don't get it anyways, mornings are too hectic.

>what happens if they snack?  Does that mean they don't have something valuable
>to add to the conversation even if they aren't hungry and don't want to eat.
>... but also provide the family with some social time together, the child
>can learn to sit at the table and converse (at least by 4, but not for hours

Lynn once ate an entire box of frozen veggies while waiting for dinner.
(Daddy taught her the names of the veggies in the box while she was at it.)
If she doesn't want to sit thru dinner, she can go play or watch TV.  Usually,
she sits and plays with some food and talks a blue streak.  She may not eat
anything, but she makes a mess, has fun, and is social.

>>3) How does one encourage (but not force ;-) ) a child to try new foods?
>By eating them yourself.  I have yet to find myself eating something that my

Yep.  Even a 2.5 year old who pronounces something as "yucky" will come over
and take a look if you are enjoying yourself.  And though she may not try
it the first time, after several times, curiosity will do the trick for most
kids.  And oh yeah, she averages about 1 candy a week out of her holloween
candy - mostly it's carted around as "yucky medicine" in make-believe doctor.
My biggest problem with that candy is that mom and dad keep wanting to raid
it while she's asleep at night.

Lynda
-- 
					Member HASA, Atheist-Scum Division
"The One Horseman and Three Pedestrians of the Apocalypse" - Terry Pratchet