Is it ok for a baby that is a 13months to have the real small M&MS?

Question

I am curious what the consensus is on giving a baby sweets? It seems as the momma likes giving him anything that she likes so he can try it cookies candy canes. I have suggested to her I would rather him start his lfe off eating the healthy stuff like fruits and veggies. Oh tonights menu was pizza. I am anal about things but I want the absolute best for my little guy. I guess I should have thought about that more before I helped bring him into the world with a women that doesnt share my same thoughts. Anyway let me know what the communities thoughts are. Thanks

Tim

Thanks for everyones answers so far. I guess this is a second questions but how do I get her to listen to me. I am 1 1/2 hours away from my baby I see him everyweekend. She will say she does it it moderation but she doesnt eat healthy and he always wants what she wants. How do I get through to her? She is one of those always right personalities.

Answer 1

I use the mini M&M's for toilet training or praising like when i'm teaching my son to clean his toys but only the mini ones as they cannot choke on them and its not like he gets them all the time it is a little treat.
With his diet try and get the cooking done yourself before the mum even starts and that way you can really encourage him to eat healthy, but the trick is getting in first even if it means taking the food out before work and preparing veggies before you go so all she has to do is turn it on, it may take a little time sacrifice on your part but at least you know you are doing the best for your boy.
A junk dinner is ok once in a blue moon but if it is because you dont feel like cooking make sure you have some jar baby food on hand rather than the junk. just ideas hope they can help.

EDIT:Ok just reading your other Info maybe make up a weeks worth of food fo him, freeze it and give it to her that way she will be able to just grab it out of the freezer.
Or talk to her about getting him a bit longer if you can manage it. Is the junk food a financial thing with her, as usually foods that are no good for you are always a hell of a lot cheaper than healthy food

Answer 2

I agree with you. The occasional treat is one thing, but it sounds like he's being given poor foods on a regular basis. Babies are perfectly fine with fruits and veggies and don't know the difference until the adults inflict our sugar and fat laden foods upon them. Don't get me wrong, I like sweets as much as the next guy, but I'm not about to give them to my daughter (almost 12 months), other than the occasional treat. Even then, I would try to stick to treats with lower sugar. Aside from the fact that they are pure sugar, candy canes, or any hard candy is really a choking hazard. The tiny M&Ms are probably alright (from a choking standpoint) because they are very small and are easy to chew and will melt down.

I don't really know what you can do about it other than just let your feelings be known. It's hard because you are not around all the time, so you aren't the one that has the control over his diet. I guess the best you can hope for is to influence what mom feeds him and try to model healthy eating choices when you are around.

Answer 3

I've grown up with babies, so I don't think your partner's suggestion is *awful* but it's not healthy.

First of all, a babies' first teeth are very delicate and need extra care and attention. I've heard of kids who were in kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades and would get cavities in their BABY teeth, which is crazy but happens. The same thing can actually happen with a baby drinking too much juice, believe it or not.

I think the best thing to do is share your concerns with your partner/baby's mom and talk to her about the importance of limiting sweets and getting veggies, fruit, etc into your child's diet. I'd be real surprised if the mom didn't agree wholeheartedly. Perhaps it's her way of spoiling him? I don't think letting baby eat sweets a few times a year is bad, but like I said, a few times a year, but not every week of the year.

Also, both of you need to talk to your baby's pediatrician to get the best advice-- the doc can advise you on what is considered to be a healthy diet, what is okay and not okay with sweets, and how to keep track of it all.

Don't let a few small M&M's or pizza allow you to think that the baby's mom doesn't care about his well-being. But you two def. need to discuss this before baby gets older, when it becomes a REAL problem at age 5, 6, 10, etc to get him to eat veggies over twizzlers.

Answer 4

It's fine. He won't choke on them or anything just don't give him too many at a time. & keep the serving very small (only like no more than 3 or 4). & don't give them everyday, only as a treat every once in a while.

btw my daughter is now 19mos but she's been eating m&ms since her friends b-day (she was only 11 month when she ate her 1st m&m). She's not overweight or hyperactive or anything. She never even came close to choking. She chewed them very well. And she has very healthy eating habits. You can sit chocolate in front of her next to a bunch of veggies & she picks the veggies everytime (especially corn) She love vegetables!! but she does like candy. just bc she gets candy once in a while doesn't mean she'd want it every time she saw it bc she doesn't. She would much rather have corn on the cob (her absolute fave food)!

But I do agree that you should tell his mother how you feel. Your his parent too & it shouldn't be everything she says goes. It's a 50/50 job!

Answer 5

When there are other kids in the house, you end up with a shrieking baby who wants to be included. An ex-bf solved that problem by cutting an M&M in half (eliminates choking hazard) and letting the baby have both halves. That is all she got, but she was happy.

While I agree with you, 'trying' things does not mean the child will live a life of poor diet.

Answer 6

What he eats now is what he'll eat for life, so he shouldn't be fed junk or that's what he'll eat for the rest of his life. Now is the time to get him to like the taste of fruits and vegetables. Nothing wrong with pizza, but he shouldn't be eating cookie or candies very much at all. Most babies I know love fruit - it's sweet after all. They are not very nourishing and with such a small stomach he should be getting really nutritious foods so he gets enough vitamins and minerals. M&Ms sound like a terrible idea because they present a choking hazard for babies. If she gives them to him she should break them up first.

Answer 7

anything small has the potential to get stuck in his throat. i'd stay away from m&m's at this point! but other sweets (in moderation!) are fine. You shouldn't be giving a baby candy every chance you get, americans are fat enough without starting them out that early in life on sweets, and there's also the possibility of cavities. i hope you guys have a little toothbrush and paste for him if you're feeding him all these sweets. My nephew had to have surgery on 4 teeth at the age of 5 because they were rotten with cavities and that's pretty bad for a 5yr old to have that many cavities and it was hard to find a doctor willing to work on someone that young...i dont want anyone else to put their kid through that

Answer 8

its ok to give them sweets as a treat but you want to instill in them the benefits of eating healthy too. my son is 4 and he would rather eat a banana instead of a cookie. dont get me wrong he loves cookies but there needs to be some balance between sweet treats and healthy treats. he gets cookies when he is great and for regular snacks fruits and gronola. good luck with the whole sweet thing.

Answer 9

No hard candy should be given to a baby without a full set of teeth because they can't chew it up. After the teeth come in, and they are chewing solids then yes. Most 13 month children should not have candy that size unless it is mushed up,

Answer 10

Maybe what you should tell her is that giving him sweets and bad food all the time will stunt his growth...which is very true. If a child does not have enough protein in his diet he will be much smaller than he is suppose to. He will also have an iron deficiency without proper food. My ex husbands ex wife use to feed her kid anything he wanted and ended up with 10 cavities by the time he was 5.