So Tired Of This Battle!! EATING!

[Blackcat31]

Why never fruit? Aren't they just as necessary as a vegetable. Also, I know if a child isn't getting vegetables at home they more then likely aren't going to be getting fruits.

I actually have had children that wouldn't eat fruit because they had NEVER had them. I don't count serving applesauce as a way of saying your child eats fruits.

I stress the veggies more than fruit because even though fruit is still a vital part of a healthy balanced meal, veggies are much more nutritious and beneficial and most kids who are picky eaters, will eat fruits before they eat veggies.

Most my daycare parents will say that fruits aren't the issue...it's veggies. So I double up on those.

Fruits although healthy also contain sugar so I try to steer clear of them and let parents deal with that part.

NOT saying I never serve fruit. I do, I just push veggies 100x more.

[daycare]

I stress the veggies more than fruit because even though fruit is still a vital part of a healthy balanced meal, veggies are much more nutritious and beneficial and most kids who are picky eaters, will eat fruits before they eat veggies.

Most my daycare parents will say that fruits aren't the issue...it's veggies. So I double up on those.

Fruits although healthy also contain sugar so I try to steer clear of them and let parents deal with that part.

NOT saying I never serve fruit. I do, I just push veggies 100x more.

vegtables contain sugar too.....carrots my fav are very high in sugar

[daycare]

vegtables contain sugar too.....carrots my fav are very high in sugar

but again these are natural sugars

[Blackcat31]

vegtables contain sugar too.....carrots my fav are very high in sugar

Yeah, but not enough that I am overly concerned about it.

If you look closely at the list of fat burning foods, you will see that there are more vegetables than fruit on that list. In addition, going over the list of high fiber foods, reveals that vegetables dominate that list as well. So, if you are interested in losing weight, I guess you can say that vegetables are better for you than fruit.

As it turns out, however, vegetables excel in one more area. New research has found that vegetables – not fruit – might help fight the memory problems that many people face in old age. The study, conducted at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago, involved 1,946 people aged 65 and over who answered surveys about their eating habits. They were also given several mental functioning tests over a course of six years.

Those who took in at least two servings of vegetables a day showed 40 percent less mental deterioration than those who consumed few or no vegetables. Leafy greens like spinach, kale and collards seem to be the most advantageous, says lead author Martha Clare Morris. These veggies contain an abundance of vitamin E, the key vitamin that prevents free radicals from damaging our cells. (http://ifitandhealthy.com/vegetables...er-than-fruit/)

[daycare]

Yeah, but not enough that I am overly concerned about it.

Some fruits are las sweet as candy. Never heard anyone relate veggies to candy like they do fruit.

very true but there a lot of fruits low in sugar too.....

also the thing that I find is that with fruits you don't need to pair anything to eat it. salt butter, or spreads

with veggies most people ruin the healthy part of them becuase they add salt, butter, spreads, cheese. Veggies are not as tasty as fruit for most peoples palet without the additives...

grapes and cheeries are two of the highest fruits in sugars, but berries are less

unless you are on a strict weight loss diet, I see both of them being equally important......

[Country Kids]

I figure that people ate both fine before the issue with processed foods! I think we could still eat them with no problem if we stuck to them for our sugars and not introducing all the other sweets into our lives.

Your body is meant to break down natural sugars-not artificial ones-

[Michael]

I make home made breads using agave. all fresh ingredients

I will serve flax crackers, but the kids really don't like them unless I give them hummus.

I also serve pita bread, brown rice, wheat pasta, hmmm you have my brain hurting....hgahahah I will list more

This all sounds very good.

[laundrymom]

I serve 'snack' @ 9. The kids call it breakfast.
I serve lunch @ 1230.
I serve dinner @ 4.

[LK5kids]

I have two unusual 2 yr. olds. They love the veggies the best and gobble them up first. I use steamed frozen over canned.

They both come from families who are into " health" food.

I have had some picky eaters, and yes it is hard to throw away food.
I am back doing child care after years away. I may end up re- thinking this whole food, as much organic, strive to offer fresh food thing if I end up throwing lots of food away!

Kids are also feed fewer home cooked meals than years ago. There was some local Facebook chatter about how awful it is that the local school lunch program has begun offering all that healthy crap, their kids won't eat it and are now starving.
Never thought I'd hear parents complain about too healthy of food at school.

I am in the minority and serve am snack. I have never had much problem with them being too full for lunch.

B-8:00
Am snack-10:00
l-12:00
PM snack3:00

[snips&snails]

We eat only whole grains, & after we use up the big box of Ritz cracker they are gone from my house. I started eating "clean" foods (unprocessed, whole grains etc) & I want to feed my child the same way; since he eats 2 meals & 2 snacks a day with the dcks they have to eat healthy too!

I have been lucky in that only one of my dcks is a picky eater so far, the others eat 2nds & 3rds of anything I offer! I am sort of a hardass about the food issue though - if you are hungry you will eat I serve family-style, they get some of each food on their plate bUT I do not give seconds of anything until they have eaten the majority of what they have been served.

Also if it's a new or less popular food I start out with small servings so that I can save the leftovers instead of wasting them

I pretty much feed as much as they want to eat during breakfast & lunch but snacks I am stricter on - I give them a fair serving & tell them "it's a snack, not a meal" - they learn pretty quickly.

It is so hard to get kids to eat healthy when they eat junk & fast food at home - but it is also so important!

[canadiancare]

Getting your head around the 'in their tummies" or "in the trash" = same difference is one of the biggest milestones to make with this battle. Once I did the stress was pretty well gone from mealtimes. I still feel myself get resentful when the parents offer them a snack to drive 3 minutes (really!) home at the end of the day because I know some kids just bide their time but in the end it doesn't affect me.

I have tried telling parents that we are working on delay of gratification to see if they would stop bringing snacks but they just reply that it makes the drive home more pleasant. I guess after 10 hours apart they would rather the sound in the car is the crunching of goldfish than their child's chatter.

[Jewels]

I will never make food a battle, I say just let it go, I don't care one bit what the kids eat and don't eat, I serve what I serve, kids bodies will eat what they need, and I don't think they need a whole lot, my pediatrician always told me kids eat one big meal a day usually, I serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and then Dinner for my own kids, no one can have more of anything unless they finish everything, but they never have to eat, they do need to try 1 bite though, but then they can toss if and wash up and be done and wait for snack, I serve very healthy food and snacks, no cookies. I would never make a kid eat one course to get the next I think thats mean sorry, yeah they need their vegetables, but they need the protein and vitamins and grains and dairy from everything else also. I grew up with the father that made me clear my plate before I could leave the table, and those hours i spent sitting there I will never forget, I hated scalloped potatoes then and I still do now, and forcing me to eat them never changed that.

[Jewels]

duplicate

[Jewels]

We eat only whole grains, & after we use up the big box of Ritz cracker they are gone from my house. I started eating "clean" foods (unprocessed, whole grains etc) & I want to feed my child the same way; since he eats 2 meals & 2 snacks a day with the dcks they have to eat healthy too!

I have been lucky in that only one of my dcks is a picky eater so far, the others eat 2nds & 3rds of anything I offer! I am sort of a hardass about the food issue though - if you are hungry you will eat I serve family-style, they get some of each food on their plate bUT I do not give seconds of anything until they have eaten the majority of what they have been served.

Also if it's a new or less popular food I start out with small servings so that I can save the leftovers instead of wasting them

I pretty much feed as much as they want to eat during breakfast & lunch but snacks I am stricter on - I give them a fair serving & tell them "it's a snack, not a meal" - they learn pretty quickly.

It is so hard to get kids to eat healthy when they eat junk & fast food at home - but it is also so important!

I say the same thing for snack, its just that a snack, no seconds, unless of course you want more veggies, they can always have more veggies!

[countrymom]

I'm going to post in the other forum so only we can view it, but it happened yesterday