Just running with an idea Darcy mentioned in another post: how are you with your kids and their nutrition?

I hear so many horror stories from people of when they were kids and what their parents did 'for their own good'.

I don't want my kids to be overweight because we all know how cruel kids can be to the fat ones(not to mention their health) but i also don't want them to be denied treats either.

Something i found myself doing and trying to correct is, if and when the kids get none nutritious foods i tend to give less to my daughter.(I have tears as i am writting this)

Ok... full crying and back from the washroom.

Anyways... My son is 5 and extremely skinny and my daughter is 2

and still has her babyfat and rounded belly.I hope she gets skinny like Ryan but i don't want to warp her!I try to be casual about it but for now i am so happy when she chooses on her own the apple instead of crackers and such.

She'll usually eat all her veggies and some meat and leave the rest and i NEVER say one more bite, regardless of how much they eat.Sometimes they hardly eat anything and will ask for peanut butter toast(ww bread, light PB, no butter)and milk before bed

or fruit.

What about you guys???

Chantal

I was reading Darcy post too and thought of my daughter, Roxanne now 6 1/2. A few monthes ago I posted what do you all do? One kid (Rox) won't touch vegis without cheese or ranch, my 2 year old Hunter won't eat much meat and he's a grazer. So I cook to cater but try to cook nutritiously.

There's a saying my friend told me years ago "If thier getting the 5 basic food groups within a week, your doing good" LOL

The way I was raised to clean the plate is not inforced and McD's is far and few.

I took a look at our life style, and we've increased our activities. Even going to the beach, park and swimming when we can. With motivation like lets clean your room so we can go somewhere or do something (active).

I have also made fruits available as snacks and don't keep cookies in the house much. Water is incouraged, I'm glad my girl doesn't even like soda.

The fun thing lately is Rox wants to cook and while makeing resipes we talk about foods and whats good for you. The other day shopping she was helping me pick out a tri-tip and I pointed out the "white stuff", thats fat and she commented "its not good for you".

I don't keep junk food as well,not even juice.They have the choice

of milk or water.The fruit is on the bottom shelf of the fridge.They do get treats such as popcorn or chips or thoses nasty fruit roll ups on occasion.I'm worried that they will have issues with those

kinds of food because of lack of them?

Ryan thinks that when he eats his portion of veggies that it makes his muscles extra large and will get up from the table so i can feel them! too cute:)

C

Thank God

All of my three boys ages 16,12, & 10 all have their fathers metabolism. If anything all of my boys are too thin. They are all built like their dad...tall and slender. I let me boys eat whatever they want basically. I do not see any sign of any one of them ever being overweight unlike me who has been overweight my entire 38 years on this earth. I wil lsay this though, that ever since I have been making more healthier chocies my two younger boys have been wanting to eat the same things I eat. Something different for them I guess.

Michelle

4/6/04

265/242/160ish

Dr Ortiz

We have sweet stuff in the house, which scared me for a while. As a chronic dieter I'd prefer to just not have it around at all. But my husband, who doesn't have a weight problem, is capable of eating just one or two Cookies and putting the bag back. I think that's a VERY important skill to learn. So I continue my abstemious ways (most of the time) and let him handle dessert.

I used to obsess over this issue, and deeply feared having kids with a weight problem. When I was pregnant with my first I used to watch children at the pool and wonder at their varying shapes, and yes, I admit that I felt really sorry for the ones already dealing with excess weight.

As far as our habits go, I can't say we're especially this, that, or the other thing. Families with two working parents have to deal with that reality first and foremost. So yes, we eat out often and even go to McDonald's a couple of times a month.

The girls love the wrong kinds of food, to different degrees, but each of them seems to have an inner meter that just turns them off after having enough. Whatever they're eating, however delicious and bad for them, they STOP when they're no longer hungry and go on to something else. That's something I was born without and I'm very thankful they have it. Both of them are very tall for their ages and weigh appropriate amounts.

My sense is that the whole family MUST be involved when there are food issues. As the lone fatty in my immediate family, my whole childhood was about watching what I ate, making sure I didn't get another serving, keeping me away from Desserts. It was horrible and I'm absolutely convinced it contributed to my problem, not helped it. So while I'm glad my family hasn't faced this yet, it could easily happen and when it does I will be taking a different approach than my parents did.

I read what your saying Alexandra and I apprecieate and respect how open your feelings come out.

I sometimes ponder my childhood, but I won't let it take on the way I behave, in relation to how I was raised. I always looked at the big picture. I'm 1 in 14 kids the seconded to youngest,, we all pretty much scraffed for food.

Our kids are so precious, I see there lives in my eyes, they're growing so fast!

Hiya,

You know what... I think all of our kidlings are going to be juuuuusssst fine because we are all being mindful of the things that led us to where we are and mindful to try something different with our children. (o:

Well... I know my daughter has inherited the genes that will lead her to have to watch her diet as she gets older but I don't really want her to focus on that at the age of 11. I know that I turned to food at a very young age for comfort for abuse that nobody in my family knew about and that has compounded the genetic predisposition. Miss Em doesn't seem to need to overeat... she loves food but when she is full... she just stops. When I see that she is putting on a little pudge I just try to increase the time we spend as a family doing active things like biking or rollarblading...etc. Even grown-ups teased me when I was little ... I guess they thought if it was done with love it was okay. I'd knock someone on their ass if I heard that happening to her. (o: I have also worked very hard to teach her to be kind... I told her of my experiences in school and how terrible those times were. I think my afforts have paid off. SHe is stronger than I was... for instance... she told me this story the other day. She said she was walking into the classroom and two boys were like... "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW don't let her touch us EWWWWW Emily!!!!" She turned to them and asked quite genuinely "What??? Am I disgusting or something???" I guess that wasn't the response they were looking for and stumbled all over themselves and shut right up. (o:

My husbands children with his first marriage were not allowed to have ANY sugar... her nickname was wholewheat Susie. THey were not allowed to have ANY candy... no white flour... no chips... everything lowfat. His son is skinny... but the daughter is obsessed now with carbs... she battles the bulge even though there are few in the family that are overweight.

I guess to me this says there should be a good balance. I keep healthy Snacks in the house but they are also things that my daughter really likes.... granola bars... fruit... yogurt... grahm crackers... and I buy juice in the little drink packs and she has those occais. for a treat as well. I keep FF Jello pudding in the fridge... buy lowfat frozen yogurt for the freeze and then I just hope for the best!

I so hope her weight issues are "normal" ones...