The boys love being brought treats. unfortunately the grandparents have set the precedent of always bringing the boys treats when they come. The boys always love to stand at the table and watch the grandparents unload their bag to see what they have for them! Recently since I have slacked off between being so tired with this pregnancy and spending 12 weeks working 3rd shift I slacked off controlling food. ( Check out my post Cracking Down: Effective Immediately!)
Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed that the “treats” the kids have been receiving are in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Oils, and Artificial Sweeteners! After talking to my Hubby ( who is completely on the same page with me when it comes to nutrition) we decided to send an email to all the grandparents with the food guidelines for any “treats” brought into our home.
Here is the email that we sent to all of the grandparents:
Hey Everyone!
We are sending out this email to let everyone know the food changes that are being made effective immediately in our house. We are making these changes due to the behavioral problems we are seeing in the kids. Everything is completely nutrition related and we have become too relaxed on our old house rules, but they are changing today!
I know that everyone likes to bring the kids treats when they come, but the junk food snacks have to end! Effective immediately the following foods will not be allowed in the house and we will not allow the kids to eat them if they are brought into the house:
- Fruit Snacks containing High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Candy of any type
- 100 Calorie Count Snack packs
- Chips
- Cheese Balls
- Donuts
- McDonalad’s
- Wendy
- Chik-Fil-A
- ny sodas, diet drinks, or flavored waters
- pop tarts
- Jiff Peanut butter or any peanut butter that has more than the ingredients salt and peanuts
- pre-packaged cookies
- granola bars
- crackers that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup
- ice cream and all other frozen treats
We are also staying away from the following additives in foods:
- MSG
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Aspartame and all artificial sweeteners
The boys are really happy just to have visitors and do not need to be brought any type of treats. But following is a list of acceptable foods that can be brought in:
Acceptable Treats are the following:
- apples
- oranges
- grapes
- All natural Fruit snacks, brands include Annie’s, Environkids, and Clif Kids
- Gold Fish Crackers – preferably cheddar whole grain or the pretzel kind
- pretzels
- Squeezable yogurts in the following brands: 365, Stoneyfield, or Horizen
- homemade cookies ( without the use of splenda or artificial sweeteners!)
Also any treats that are brought to the house need to be checked by myself or Dan before shown to the kids please!
Thanks for understanding!
Dan and Lindsay
After the email went out Dan and I received some positive and some negative feed back on this issue, everyone may not agree ( or want to know/learn why we are “cracking” down on what the kids eat!) but they have all agreed to comply, which is all we ask! As parents all we can do is what we believe is right for our children!
If you find yourself in a similar situation be firm and stand your ground. As the parent you know what is best for your children. Do not be afraid to speak up and enforce your household rules! I really let this issue get out of control thinking they are only “treats!” Well the treats began to get bigger and bigger and occur more and more often.
Do you control what foods are brought into your house and what your kids eat when going out? I would love to hear what you do to stay on track with healthy eating!!
