Thursday, October 15, 2009

Preschool snack time

I feel like the most anal mom ever! Why do I feel guilty when I disprove of the unhealthy, but healthier than cupcakes and pure sugar snacks, my eldest has at preschool? Why do I feel like I should pull her just to prevent her from getting into a habit of gobbling goldfish crackers, salty, or frosted sweet treats every morning? Am I really the only mom who would not willingly give her child sugary, salty treats that don't fit in any of the major food groups for her morning snack if there's absolutely any convenient way around it?

Yes, we have a rather regimented meal/snack system in the Wells household - cereal or oatmeal with milk for breakfast, a fresh fruit and a grain or a dairy for morning snack, a lunch of at least one grain, usually two veggies, sometimes one fruit, one veggie, a protein, and often a dairy, then an afternoon snack of fruit/dairy/grain combo, or perhaps something I'd consider mostly outside those groups (ie-pretzels or animal crackers), then dinner of a grain, a protein, and two veggies or one fruit/one veggie, small bedtime snack of cold cereal with milk. It works for us, and I feel confident that having the healthy options readily available helps all of us eat better.

When we're at friends' houses, yes, I bring our snack (as do most of the moms we hang out with), and it usually consists of a portable version of our usual grain/fruit/dairy snacks. But I have absolutely no problem letting Kayla try something at their house, especially if the other children invite her to try it and/or if she asks me nicely for it ... I don't want to prohibit foods, by any means.

How do I find a balance between encouraging her to eat healthy and recognizing that not everyone eats the same foods as we do? Please help! I am so tempted to ask the teachers at her school if I can bring some fresh foods every week as alternatives to the (in my mind) less healthy choices the 'snack helpers' bring when it's their turns? Our 'turn' in the snack rotation doesn't come until mid-November, at which time it'll be time for Kayla's birthday celebration ... should I be the parent who has her bring broccoli and carrot sticks (which she absolutely LOVES, not a punishment, btw) for her special day, simply because the whole class hasn't been getting truly healthy snacks yet this year?! I feel helpless, and I hate the feeling. She's only almost three; why should I have to worry about this yet?!

As a not-entirely side question: Am I the only wackadoodle who feeds her children food from the food pyramid?!

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