Do you reward your kid with food?

30yearssincebikini

Ok, so I was on here a few days ago and saw a post from someone confessing that they ate all of the "reward" m&m's that were meant for their baby while learning to potty train.

First, I would like to say that if this poster sees this, I am not judging you for rewarding your baby with candy. Everyone has different thoughts on this.

My thought is that food addictions and emotional eating are started this way. I was once at my very obese sister in law's house back when my babies were small, and when my 18 month old started crying about something, my sister in law picked her up, went straight to the kitchen, reached for the cookies and gave my daughter one. Instant quiet. I guess many parents feel that the main thing is to shut the kid up, but I was appalled. I didn't want to make a scene, so I said nothing, but when my daughter cried, I usually would pick her up and distract her with something, not feed her face.

So to anyone who rewards their kids with food, and suffers from emotional eating/addiction to food, unless you want your child to go through the same problems that you are having, I suggest you reward them with other things.

Just a thought.

UponThisRock

I reward my children for living another year with cake.

ImaSongbird

I absoutely reward my kids with food!! However, since they're 23 and 24, it doesn't seem like much of an issue. :happy:

Seriously though, I *did* use food when they were little, and they've turned out to be lovely young adults...

ImaSongbird

I reward my children for living another year with cake.

LOL

Rae6503

We did Mike & Ikes for potty training. I REALLY don't think it's that big of a deal. But no, cookies shouldn't be use to comfort.

30yearssincebikini

Haha, well, that's different I suppose. My kids weren't THAT deprived! Special occasions should be celebrated with forbidden food, I think that's why they are so much fun! But I don't think that would develop lifelong habits of craving sweets/junk, unless it was given to them to make them feel better or as a reward on a regular basis.

p0pr0cksnc0ke

My husband's family does that. Anytime my kids cried.. they MUST need a bottle (when they were babies)
Now, they give them handfulls of candy/treats upon completion of a meal. I ration them out, some now.. some for later... and my mother in law looks at me like I am just EVIL.

My daughter barely eats. So just getting her to complete a meal is a task (she is 4) Let alone trying to get her to gain weight (she is underweight by a bit lol) without feeding her crap is hard too. I don't want to give her the complex of over eating just to get her to not be so thin right now.. but she is healthy. So I am trying REALLY hard to not push food. If she doesn't want to eat, she doesn't eat. But I don't cater to her special meals etc.

UponThisRock

Haha, well, that's different I suppose. My kids weren't THAT deprived! Special occasions should be celebrated with forbidden food, I think that's why they are so much fun! But I don't think that would develop lifelong habits of craving sweets/junk, unless it was given to them to make them feel better or as a reward on a regular basis.

There are no "forbidden foods" in my house. I just teach my kids to have a little common sense.

tsh0ck

Haha, well, that's different I suppose. My kids weren't THAT deprived! Special occasions should be celebrated with forbidden food, I think that's why they are so much fun! But I don't think that would develop lifelong habits of craving sweets/junk, unless it was given to them to make them feel better or as a reward on a regular basis.

There are no "forbidden foods" in my house. I just teach my kids to have a little common sense.

Yeah, but sensibility isn't allowed. And that birthday cake needs to be changed to tofu immediately. Otherwise you will single-handedly destroy the entire future generation.

JGT2004

I have a kindergartener and I admit I used to use food for a reward. Knowing my own issues with food I don't want to push the same onto my son. At first I switched to doing fun things but it got to be where we were CONSTANTLY doing "fun" things like going to the park, buying a new toy, going to LegoLand, or going to the movies. This quickly got too expensive and the size of the rewards became incongruent to the actions he was doing to earn them. (Ie behave 3 out of 5 days at school and we can go to the movies & get popcorn!).

I have since converted to a marble jar and it works amazingly well. I bought colorful marbles and a smallish clear jar at the $1 store. When he does something good he gets a marble (putting his dishes in the sink without me reminding him, getting a sticker for a good day at school, helping me with chores on the weekend, or even if I catch him using his manners several times during the day without needing reminding). Once he fills up the jar we get to do a fun day and I usually let him pick (roller skating, movies, legoland, etc.) This takes him longer to earn his reward and I feel, at this age, he understands this better than simply getting $ for chores or behaving well. He also loses marbles if he misbehaves at school or doesn't listen. This has also prevented the sugar induced bad behavior from too many "rewards" (used to use sno-cones, ice cream, cookies, etc!)

jenlarz

I use food as a reward sometimes, but not consistently. But I do limit candy, pop, etc and try and have healthy snacks around. To me its about balance. My kids know I'm trying to be healthier, they are active and I can't wait to run with them this summer. IMO its about balance

Catjag

When my daughter behaves at the store she is rewarded with picking out her very own apple. She loves this!

LavaDoll

When my daughter behaves at the store she is rewarded with picking out her very own apple. She loves this!

^ ^ brilliant!

shaycat

We do candy as a reward and I dont really like it. I am really trying to move away from it, but it is hard.
We are doing the marbles and that seems to be working well. I do not give her food to comfort her at all.

tatertotfishstick

I let my 4 year old pick her own reward. At her preschool they read a book each week and she gets to pick something fun if she gets her sticker that week... sometimes it's a fun snack or ice cream and other times it's getting to sleep with mommy or go to the park... I don't make a big deal out of it. It's whatever she thinks she wants that week. I don't steer her towards a food treat or away from it. It's a non issue. My issues with food are not her issues. Sometimes a kid just wants an ice cream cone for a job well done. It's not an everyday thing.

mama2shi

I reward my children for living another year with cake.

^^ lol

muddyventures

it has never been a habit, but during the summer we get icecream every wednesday at mcd's. I will reward them with a craft item or the like, I'm actually trying to get away from that.

muddyventures

When my daughter behaves at the store she is rewarded with picking out her very own apple. She loves this!

This is fabulous!

SueD66

I chose not to do this as i soo did not want my kids to go down the same road i did with my weight. that said.. i am guilty of cooking a big ol meat, taters, gravy, veggie and dessert meal when they come home.

JanetLM73

My kids are almost 13 and 5 food doesn't work with them.....I bribe them in other ways

tatertotfishstick

I reward my children for living another year with cake.

love this!