Infancy to 2 years old- The dangers of a “sweet” reward system

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Something Great To Swallow
Tips on keeping a nutritious diet and a healthy attitude about food from infancy to motherhood
(part 1 of a 5 part series)
From Stroller Strides

 

We’ve heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” Did you know not only what you eat, but how you eat it also affects your children and the way food plays a role in their lives?

The Gerber Company conducted a study that revealed significant numbers of infants and toddlers, ages 4 months to 2 years old, are eating pizza, French fries, candy and soda. Those of us that have been remotely close to a toddler during mealtimes already knows many toddlers do not consume enough fruits and vegetables daily, something the study confirmed. But did you know than 60% of 12-month-olds eat dessert or candy every day!?!

French fries, ice cream, sodas, chips, candy and donuts are all things we reward our children with when they do something well. We tell them if they are good at the doctor's office, they can have a cookie, and if they clean their room they can have a bowl of ice cream. But in offering these rewards, we may be setting our children up for future health problems, eating disorders and unhealthy attitudes towards food.

Some research has shown that kids who eat the standard American junk food diet show early stages of arteriosclerosis by the age of three. It's pretty scary that by the age of three, many Americans already are in the early stages of heart disease!

But we can change this NOW!

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May 18, 2009
Note: This Perspectives Blog post is written by a Guest Blogger of DrGreene.com and is provided in order to offer a variety of thoughtful points of view. The opinions expressed on this Perspectives Blog post do not reflect the opinions of Dr. Greene or DrGreene.com. As such, Dr. Greene and DrGreene.com are not responsible for the accuracy of the information supplied. This post is used under Creative Commons License CC BY-ND 3.0.
 
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Comments

Monique's picture
Monique

my 2 year old refused to poop

my 2 year old refused to poop ! she would hold it for days and scream when she had to eventually poop. Then I started rewarding her with a candy right after she pooped, to congratulate her, with a big party of BRAVOs !! And now she poops everyday... and she asks for her candy ! lol I had to change the candy for cereals, caus she was eating candy every day !!
Anonymous's picture
Cheryl Arkison

You are also setting your

You are also setting your kids up for behaviour issues too with that kind of a reward system. We believe in teaching them about manners, etiquette, and behaviour as a basic prinicple, not something to be rewarded. Candy at 1? Scary.