Since I've been thinking about food lately... because I'm a chick, and that's what we do...
I like The Fat Nutritionist, whom I just found today. Particularly this quote from Ellyn Satter, who wrote "Child of Mine", the best baby-and-toddler-feeding book out there.
Wondering what to feed your kid? Answer: Food.
How much? Answer: As much as they want.
Seriously? But what about organics? What about soda? What about potato chips?
Satter actually says to serve cookies and milk now and then as a snack (horrid storebought Oreo-type cookies if they ask for them), and let everyone have as much as they want. Which, honestly, won't be that many most of the time, particularly if they know they can have more at some point in the future and that they aren't doing something horrible and forbidden. Because horrid storebought waxy hockey-pucks don't taste that good, and because homemade wonderful cookies are satisfying enough that, all else being normal, a kid won't want twenty-six of them.
Satter hates soda, but again notes that it's stupid to set up a forbidden mystique around a food (or "candy", as she puts it). Again the solution is to have it sometimes, as a snack, not a beverage.
Potato chips? Serve them with sandwiches and again, let everyone have as much as they want.
Obviously this does not apply to the way Satter says to feed 8-month-old infants, but her advice is as sensible in that area too.
Go. Read. Start eating for pleasure.
Cheers,
Breanna
P.S.
Yep, pleasure. Why do you think God, in His mercy, put TASTE in food?
1 comment:
Just like the theory of feeding your dog as much as he wants, all the time! Although to put this on the blog would be to say we treated our kids like dogs!
Dad
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