123
votes
Why do toddlers hate getting their face cleaned off with a wet washcloth and is there a better way?
Two things I can think of up front:
Are they expecting you to wipe their face off, or does it just come out of the blue? If they're not expecting it, it may surprise them, thus the entire process ...
- 13.3k
75
votes
Accepted
What is the evidence on the danger of feeding whole blueberries and grapes to infants and toddlers?
Summary
Grapes are round and larger than a child's airway and may lead to occlusion.
Food with a smooth, deformable surface can form a tight seal.
Grapes are "the third most common cause of food-...
54
votes
Accepted
Making the child finish their food even if they are already full
Advantages....
None
Disadvantages...
It creates unnecessary conflict with the child, and it compromises the child's natural ability to self-regulate food intake based on nutrition requirements. As ...
- 722
52
votes
Making the child finish their food even if they are already full
This is what my mother did with us (it wouldn't work with very young children; I can't recall what she did then):
We were never served food. It came to the table in whatever pot it was cooked in, and ...
- 747
44
votes
How to tackle sugar addiction
There is an old Indian story:
A lady and her son went to a monk asking about her son's sugar problem.
The monk said, "Come back here in 10 days."
After 10 days she went back to the monk ...
- 668
39
votes
Accepted
Why do Heinz's Honey packets say not to give them to children under 12 months?
Honey is not recommended at all for babies under one year of age because of the risk of infant botulism. The risk isn't big, but if it happens, it can be life-threatening. Avoiding honey until the ...
- 1,391
28
votes
Why do Heinz's Honey packets say not to give them to children under 12 months?
Botulism spores are one of the very few things that can survive in honey, and even then, they can only do it by becoming totally inactive. In an adult, stomach acid will destroy those spores, and ...
- 556
28
votes
Why do toddlers hate getting their face cleaned off with a wet washcloth and is there a better way?
They hate it because it's slightly uncomfortable and not something they want to do. I made it a game.
I have four boys who are now ages 16 to 11. When they were little and needed their faces washed ...
- 381
27
votes
How to tackle sugar addiction
Edit: scientific content deleted as I am not able to find, in reasonable time, the exact references needed to support it.
It will, in all likelihood, be unrealistic to really keep your toddlers away ...
- 2,430
25
votes
Making the child finish their food even if they are already full
It's quite easy to find information on this study. The gist of it is that if you force to your child to eat everything on their plate, they are more likely to become obese as an adult. That's messed ...
- 342
23
votes
Accepted
How can I teach a one-year-old to stop throwing food once he's done eating?
The good and bad news is that this is something that will almost surely pass on it's own with time. Your son is using throwing food on the floor as a way to initiate the "are you done?" ...
- 7,524
20
votes
Accepted
2-and-a-half-year-old child refuses to take her food
Please do not read this answer as bashing your parenting style. I know from experience that it's easy to fall into a pattern of wanting your child to eat more or differently, and end up coercing them ...
- 22.5k
19
votes
My 8-month old baby stopped accepting solid food
Do not insist that your child eats a certain amount of solid food, or of anything else. The child will eat as much as they need. Keep offering your child solid food, but do not try to convince her to ...
- 5,056
16
votes
Giving tea to infants
I currently live in Japan. Needless to say, tea is extremely popular. Infants (9 months+) are sometimes given a certain type of tea called 麦茶, otherwise known as roasted barley tea. It is a caffeine ...
- 13.3k
13
votes
2-and-a-half-year-old child refuses to take her food
A child will not starve itself. She is probably not eating because she is not hungry. Forcing her will only make it less enjoyable for her, imo.
Ask her if she is hungry/if she wants to eat something ...
- 1,519
12
votes
Accepted
What schedule works for working parents and their kids to have dinner together as a family?
We've got two working adults and three kids — we're very familiar with the scheduling challenges this causes. (Once your daughter starts having extracurricular activities, things will only get more ...
- 22.5k
12
votes
How to explain children why junk food is bad for your health?
I have a slightly Zen answer to this, which is that you shouldn't say an absolute "no" to sweets. Limit the amounts, by all means, only to specific occasions if possible. But do not categorically say ...
- 1,961
11
votes
Making the child finish their food even if they are already full
The reason "for", generally, is grounded in a largely depression-era concern that you may not have enough nutrition/calories in the future. Literally, you need to eat it or you might starve. That ...
- 57.4k
11
votes
Accepted
What are the pros and cons of using dessert as a motivation for kids to work hard?
The first issue is that kids that age don't think that far into the future. Something that happens several hours away isn't motivating for them. It needs to be more immediate. Otherwise, it feels ...
- 35.7k
11
votes
Why do toddlers hate getting their face cleaned off with a wet washcloth and is there a better way?
It's totally understandable that toddlers hate this, adults would too. Having your face wiped is potentially uncomfortable - cold, scratchy, wet. Their skin is sensitive too and it's easy for an adult ...
- 231
10
votes
Is organic whole cow's milk better than "toddler milk" powder for a 1 year old?
For most children, cow's milk (organic or not at your preference) will be the superior choice. Whole milk is usually recommended from 1-2 years old, although there is starting to be some preference ...
- 57.4k
10
votes
What happens when you feed cold milk to a baby?
There is no scientific basis to the idea that cold milk would upset a baby's stomach more than warmed milk.
Per the CDC:
Breast milk does not need to be warmed. It can be served room temperature ...
- 222
10
votes
How do I stop my son from drinking any soft or sugary drink?
Since your son is an adult, your ability to control him is pretty limited.
It sounds like he knows it is an issue but is making the choice to ignore the advice of his dentists (has he really gone to ...
- 1,994
9
votes
What to do when 18 month old doesn't want her dinner?
Some suggestions - these worked for our family - mix and match what works for yours...
Eat with her. Eat the same food at the same time. If she sees you eating it, she'll copy you. It may help to ...
- 4,560
9
votes
If a parent goes vegan, should the small kids, also?
Some nutritionists advise against a strict vegan diet, particularly for very young children, as it can be difficult to meet their nutritional requirements.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/...
- 3,743
9
votes
Accepted
Daughter wants to eat cake meant for mommy - should I let her decide herself?
You would probably enjoy watching or reading about the marshmallow test.
It was an experiment done on children around your daughter's age (some were a bit older) to see how well they can resist a ...
- 3,144
9
votes
Accepted
What's a healthy, non-perishable, keep-it-in-the-car-and-forget-it snack for a toddler?
We usually keep rice cakes as a snack for the kids. They weigh effectively nothing, but are quite large, which means it keeps them busy for a long time. They are soft and melt in your mouth, so no ...
- 8,260
9
votes
How many tablespoons of yogurt should an 11-month-old eat?
How much sugar is in this yogurt? Plain yogurt is fine in high quantities, but sugar rich yogurt is not much better than ice cream. If it's sugar rich, he shouldn’t eat much of it at all, end of story....
- 654
9
votes
Accepted
Should I limit the amount my toddler eats?
Offer your child a variety of food, mostly healthy. Do not limit the amount of healthy food. Restrictive feeding of children by parents is associated with eating in the absence of hunger (inability to ...
- 5,056
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible