No kids here, but if you do, I have a question for you.

caseythirteen

No, I would not consider counting their calories since they are both active and healthy weight children. I make sure they are eating as balanced as possible and try and teach them about nutrition so that they are learning good habits.

mnstrpc

Good lord, no! But mine are only 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. They eat a fairly balanced diet overall, fruits and veggies at every meal, but they also get sugary stuff here and there, probably 4oz of watered-down juice a day, otherwise water or milk. They are both at healthy weights and I let their appetites be their guide. We play outside a lot when weather permits. There is not really a strong family history of obesity on either side of the family. I've never been obese myself, struggled to lose the baby weight after kid #2, but that is where my current fitness goals / routine originated. I know my husband would like to lose a few pounds, but again, not obese.

Even with an older child who did have a weight problem, I'm not sure I'd ever count calories. I think it's more about providing a healthy example, making good meals and not relying too much on processed foods and just not keeping a bunch of junk in the house.

bcattoes

My children are grown now but I never counted their calories. But I did control what they ate as much as possible. Not too many sweets, eat your vegetables, home-cooked meals, no dessert if you don't eat your dinner, yadda, yadda, yadda. The usual stuff.

justmyalias

I don't count calories, but I have recently asked my 13 yo girl to start weighing herself and tracking it.
Hold on!!

Because, we just recently started eating vegetarian (pescatarian) in July. I started MFP at the end of August. It has been very useful in making me very aware of what goes in. As a result, even though I thought I was doing well, my protein intake is still low on most days. So I know that her protein intake is probably even lower. She doesn't eat the Greek yogurt or egg whites, and sometimes will barely eat the school lunch (they do have veg options, and she does pack snacks and has the option to pack a whole lunch, just doesn't)... She is a very active child - lacrosse and cross country. So I think it's critical to monitor her protein and make sure she is not losing muscle weight.
Just a worried mommy.

milleyea

No calorie counting. I just limit the amount of prepackaged snack foods available to him. He loves veggies (even ones I think are gross) and fruits so I keep plenty of them in the house. He only likes cookies and fruit snacks so those are the only snacks I buy. He is a cookie monster (just like mom!) so I separate the cookies into the recommended serving sizes and put them in baggies. He knows once the snack is gone there's no more, and he'll usually get a piece of fruit if he wants another snack. Also, my son HATES fast food, except for french fries, so I always cook his meals.

kdiamond

I have one child who needs to gain weight and one child who is growing into her body, going through puberty and needs to shed a couple of "baby fat" pounds. So while I don't actually count them and write them down, I watch and make sure I give my son more dense calories (like an extra serving of potatoes for instance) and give my daughter an extra serving of veggies instead of more mashed potatoes. I certainly wouldn't promote unordered eating for them, but I like to keep track of it so I can help them move into adulthood as healthy kids.

BCSMama

I used to have to count my daughter's calories when she was a toddler because she was so underweight, but thankfully that issue is completely resolved now.

My kids are not 7 and 8 and I don't count calories, but do try to monitor what they eat and make sure it's balanced. I also try to make sure they're really hungry before they eat a ton. For example, my 8 year old has some impulse control issues and will overeat pretty often if allowed to do so when we are having his favorite food and then he'll feel horrible with a bad stomach ache. So, there are times when I will ask him to wait about 20 minutes and if he's still really hungry, he can have more.

I also try to make sure they are eating a variety of foods and we talk about balancing our diet to include lots of different healthy foods.

Neither of my kids are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight, so I don't worry about calories per se, but do want them to develop healthy eating habits and have a balanced diet. Please don't take this to mean that I'm perfect at it or am totally anal that they have perfect meals everyday. Far from it, and they do enjoy an appropriate amount of junk food as I believe all kids should.

MissAnjy

My situation is different because my children both have Cystic Fibrosis and have to have a high fat, high calorie diet. I calculate their calories and their fat intake in order to know how many enzymes they will need to take (to help them digest).

If I had "normal, healthy" children, I would not count calories.

I would feed my children in a healthy manner so that they had a healthy respect for and relationship with food, but would not put restrictions. Everything in moderation.

traci0620

Nope, just make sure they know about making healthy choices and what foods are good and bad for them. I teach them moderation and keep very little junk food in the house.

jareno0919

absolutely not. They don't need me to count their calories and get them into body image troubles. I do however watch what they eat (as in veggies and fruits and limit the junk food).

TeachTheGirl

My son asks about his calories because he watches me log mine, but I don't restrict him at all. He's 75/75 for height and weight so he's perfect. And he's FIVE. Maybe in his teens when he starts being able to feed himself and gets food outside of the home I'll be a little more cautious about his eating habits, but otherwise he's good.

tarahale78

My 13 year old does count calories on her own. I do not do it for her. My other children 9, 4, and 2 eat what they want and I do not count their calories. There is no need to. They eat healthy and pick healthy over unhealthy everyday. Although they do have some weird obsession with breakfast cereals though.

athenaheim

I do not keep a running calorie intake on my children. I give them a plate with a resonable about of food on it for thier age and they eat what they want and i throw away the rest. This does not mean that I allow my children to eat a whole bunch of candy, chips or any other unhealthy stuff. They eat candy every now and then.

MemphisKitten

No, I don't. I try to teach them the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, and we don't use the word "fat" when referring to ourselves or anyone else. I have trouble getting my 5 year old to eat enough calories, while my 10 year old eats all day long but has a super high metabolism. I have an eating disorder, so it's the LAST thing I would want my daughters to have. I hide it from them the best I can, but as they get older I will have to come clean with them. My hope is that I can teach them to love themselves and their bodies, and not to use food as a comfort or coping mechanism.

CarolynB38

The good thing about most healthy children (I know it can be different for those with an illness) is that they tend to eat when they are hungry and stop when they are no longer hungry. One day they may not eat that much but the next day they may eat like it is going out of fashion. I just make sure that the majority of the food I provide is healthy with the occasional treat. I can always tell when they are about to have a growth spurt by the pure amount of food they can put away! My son can eat more than me at those times!

Im_NotPerfect

I don't count them, but I definately monitor his portion sizes and WHAT he eats. If he says he's hungry, I tell him to grab a cheese stick or an apple. He's usually pretty excited about either one. My son is 6 and big for his age, so I do worry about it.

coopersmom2006

NO! I teach my son (6 and VERY active) about making healthy choices for his body but I don't count calories or anything. I make sure he's eating veggies/fruit/getting protein etc but nothing else.

_Elemenopee_

Nope. My daughter is 3 and hardly eats anything anyway so whatever she actually agrees to have she gets and even that she never eats enough of. Having a picky child who says no to just about EVERYTHING whether it be healthy or junk is taxing.

I'm constantly worried that she's not getting enough, nevermind too much.

CRichards22

I have two kiddos, young 1 and 3...and it's funny that you mentioned this because I was thinking about it alot this weekend. I ate poorly and splurged more than I do during the week and last night I was thinking about that....I let my 3 year old eat alot mor poorly too. Bad Mommy!

That's another thing to keep my eating in check...becuase I don't need to be allowing her to have tons of extra carbs and calories just because I'm feeling crappy and that's what I want to eat!

But no I don't 'count' her calories...I do try to serve well portioned meals made of healthy food choices and still let her have some of the things (in moderation) that she likes that i don't need to eat, macncheese, ect.

But I have realized that every food I eat and share affects what goes in her tummy and my baby's tummy so I do need to be more mindful and teach them proper eating habits starting now and not later...all with portion controls and healthy choices though not getting calorie thinking on their little brains! Healthy lifestyle not diet!!!!

MyPsalm63

No