Ask Jessie: How to curb toddler snacking?

 

Snacking

Tiniest BFF: Dia Dia dia dia dia.....DDDDDIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAA ( what she calls me because she can't say Jessie)

Me: Yes ?

Tiniest BFF: Snack

Repeat 270 times a day

    Does this sound familiar to you? Based on the number of times I get the questions "Does X snack too much? How do I curb the snacking?" or the complaint " SOOOO much Snacking...." Do you feel like you are constantly preparing snacks, cleaning up after a meal that was barely touched? Rest assured this is toddlerhood. It may be frustrating but it is completely normal. 

    Toddlers need different things at different times. Which makes finding the cause of all the snacking nearly impossible to find. But there are usually 3 causes. The first is obvious, hunger, next is boredom and autonomy.  No matter what they say, it is rarely because they don't like something. 

Lets start with hunger. 

Hunger, due to skipping meals is usually do to the other two causes so I will skip this for now.

Hunger, due to HUNGER.

On average, a toddler will gain 5 pounds and 5 inches between 12 and 24 months and about 4 pounds and 3 inches between 24 and 36m. All of this growth equates to hunger. Active toddlers, the ones that never let you drink your coffee while it is still hot,  require even more calories. 

Tips 

1) Make sure you are offering plenty of fluids. Toddlers often confuse thirst and hunger cues. 

2) Like all meals snacks should be eaten at a table or high chair where the child is position up right and feet flat on the floor or foot rest. At the table there should be no toys, electronic devices or television. This is for a few reasons, first making a child take a break from the activity they are working on will prompt them to think whether or not they are truly hungry. The second reason is that following the same routine, when possible, helps mentally  ready the child for eating. 

3) Offer healthy snacks 80 percent of the time. This means fruit, cheese, veggies, yogurt, nuts (once old enough) Think real food nothing processed or individually wrapped. Have one time a day where the child can pick a snack of their choice, a cookie, some pretzels etc. not necessarily a dessert but a snack that is a little more fun. Knowing that they only get this special snack 1x a day will keep them from begging for junk food all day long. It also will bring them back to the question am I really hungry? 

Boredom 

Bored at the table 

This one is a little bit tougher because as you learned in my previous tips meal time should be distraction free. This is why I recommend sitting with the child. Not just during family dinners but every time. Talk to them about their day, what awaits them after they finish eating, or what they want to do this weekend. Sitting with the child while they eat helps them practice table manners, meal time conversations and other table etiquette. 

Bored with the activity

Even as an adult I sometimes do this. I have nothing to do, or am watching mind numbing television and I end up eating with out much thought. I pass the snack drawer on my way to the couch and grab a little something. I have a few minutes to kill before pick up and grab a pastry with my coffee. This is an unhealthy habit and is often hard to break. 

Tips:

1)If your toddler seem chronically bored make sure their toys are age appropriate. Often children developmentally have out grown a toy but the parents or caregivers justify keeping it because it was a gift from someone special, it was expensive or they are living with the memory of the child loving the item when it was new and developmentally appropriate.

2) If the toys are developmentally appropriate but the child still seems bored, there is usually 2 causes. There are too many toys and or the play space is cluttered or messy. Children should have 4-10 toys available to them at any given time, more than this will be overwhelming. Having too many toys also causes unnecessary clutter and messes which also over whelms toddlers.  For more tips on toys look for the upcoming Toy blog. 

Autonomy 

We have all experienced the toddler who dug in their heels simply because they need to feel like they are in control of their own life. Now, I get it you can't let a toddler run the house and no you cant have chocolate for dinner. When possible letting the child have some say can go along way. 

Tips

1) Offer two choices. Do you want berries or a banana?

2) if possible make a dedicated drawer or low cabinet for children's dishware. at meals and snacks let the child grab the items they will need. This lessons the risk of choosing the wrong color plate or the cup featuring the wrong cartoons character. 

3) Do not force, coerce or trick a child in to one more bite. A toddler is aware of hunger cues, and when they have indeed had enough. If you force a child to join the clean your plate club you are training them to over ride their bodies natural cues which can lead to eating disorders later in life. 

 

National Carousel day: Fun or Flop

 

    National whatever day is one of my favorite schedule fillers. My nanny brain is full of bizarre facts and useless information. National donut day, a reason to get donuts. National waffle day a reason to get in the kitchen; where my tiny friends practice measure and pouring. National Crayon day equals endless opportunities from melted crayon art, coloring and of course making your own crayons. This year I was unreasonably excited about national Carousel day. We started the morning coloring carousel horses and learning fun facts before heading out to Schenley plaza's (Located in Oakland Pa)  National Carousel day celebration.  Although the website and Facebook event both said more information coming soon. the information never came. When I arrived at Schenley Plaza the carousel rides we free for the duration of the day but there were no accompanying activities. Me and my two tiny BFFS literally rode the carousel until I felt like I was going to be sick before heading home. This could have been a magical day for Citi Parks conservatory. A day that would have brought the community together and an opportunity to to spread information on other citi  park programs. Unfortunately this activity was a swing and a miss for my tiny bffs despite our love of the schenley plaza carousel. 

Cloth Diapers on a budget

​I am a seasoned cloth diaper user and I have to say the worst thing you could possibly do when you are just starting out is join a Facebook cloth diaper group. If you do please take what you read with a course grain of salt. You will meet people, addicted to cloth diapers, who have collected hundreds, you will meet the cloth diaper snob who thinks their way is the only way, and you will likely meet the green mom who says it’s all or nothing. The key is to do what makes sense for your family and like all things balance. 

Now if you purchase a whole stash of top of the line aio diapers you probably won’t be saving any money. There are still benefits to using this type of diaper for instance it’s better for the environment and it exposes baby to far less chemicals. How ever if your biggest concern is cost, you can still do this. All the trolls will tell you do not use the birdseye flats you can purchase at most stores. However for my third and final child I almost exclusively used these. I hand two older children who had an array of pockets and all in ones but our third child was a surprise and we found out about her arrival days after I donated all of our baby gear , clothes and diapers! Talk about timing… knowing that she was definitely our last child I didn’t want to invest in a whole new stash. I purchased 3 covers and 36 flats. Some people may prefer prefolds but for me they were always so bulky on my 5-6lb babies. Everyone will tell you these flats do not hold anything and that you will have leaks galore, don’t believe them! The key is you have to prep them. Some claim to wash and dry three or four times before baby arrives , but I prefer 6 times drying in between wash cycles. To create extra soft diapers dry with dryer balls  or tennis balls. I always used the origami fold fastened with a snappi in side a cover. My daughter was a heavy wetter and wore these by them selves until she was approximately 8 months old and with a booster from 8-16 months at which time she was fully potty trained. My whole set up cost less than $60 from birth to potty training. Yes you can spend and astronomical amount cloth diapering your child but if minimalist is your thing or you are on a tight budget is absolutely possible. Good luck!

Ask Jessie: 1/09/23

 Dear Jessie, 

What are your pros and cons of having a second child? My husband and I always wanted a large family but now I don't know. 

                                                                                                                                                 Anonymous 

Dear anonymous,

Pros
Your child has a built-in best friend.
When your snowed in or sick they still have someone other than you to play with

Only children tend to be more spoiled and self-centered and it’s hard for them to sympathize with others. Sharing taking turns are also harder.
Second children have their older sibling to emulate and over all hit mile stones like potty training earlier.
More love
Opportunity to have a child of each gender tho not a guarantee.

Cons
If you have a busy lifestyle you must consider whether or not you have time for another child.
Parental guilt. While giving a child a sibling is giving them so much a lot of parents feel like they are robbing their first child of their time and affections and making them share their possessions.
Space overall you will need more space double the children means double the car seats double the toys double the clothing so make sure you have enough space to allocate enough space for your second child.

Ask Jessie: Nanny Rules

 Hi Jessie, 

My employers have very demanding careers, which comes with a lot of parental guilt. They have an ideal set of rules, for example the children  (B2 and G4)will sleep in their own bed. However the reality is that they do not follow them. My question is do I have to enforce rules that the parents wont enforce? Is having two sets of expectations confusing for the kids? 

                                                                                                                        Anonymous Nanny

Wow, what a great question. I think this is something that every nanny struggles with at one time or another. It is absolutely fine to have your own set of rules. The key is that you need to be consistent. If one day you insist that they sleep in their bed but the next day you let it slide, this will cause confusion and push back. If your nanny kid knows that sometimes you give in they will always try to get you to fold. I am personally am pretty strict. With that said we can have a lot more fun this way. For example I have a rule that my nanny kids only eat at the table. This makes clean up simple. No sticky hands touching toys, walls or furniture. No trails made of crumbs or drips. When we spend less time cleaning we can spend more time playing games and making crafts.  It of course is not all sunshine and rainbows. Monday mornings are by far the worst day of the week and not just because its Monday. The kids have been off their normal schedule for days, they are over stimulated and over tired. Its hard to start over week in an week out but they usually fall back in line by the time they wake up from their afternoon nap. As the week goes on I notice that the girls seem more relaxed and generally happier all around. Which makes sense because they are not tired or over stimulated but also because they know what to expect when we are following our normal routine. My final word of advice if you ever question your nanny families expectation schedule a time to sit and chat.