Help! Grandparents Giving My Son Snack Packs

No way! Not with sugar, nor sugar-free! Sugar-free has chemical sweeteners, which are worse than sugar itself. For a 6 month old?? No way would I do either. I think that would set a child up for bad eating habits as a toddler. I mean, if you had the choice between a sweet serving of pudding or broccoli, which would you choose? It is usually difficult enough to get a toddler to eat healthy foods without one of their first food being filled with sugar and preservatives.

No way, are you kidding????It's junk and has no nutritional value at all . He will develop bad eating habits.

sorry, but I don't think they should be feeding your 6 month old snack packs - if a snack pack is what I am thinking it is - pudding?? Way too young to introduce processed food and refined sugar. They have plenty of years to do that. An infant should be introduced to fruit, veggies, etc... If it has to be something, have it be unsweetened organic apple sauce. I know grandparents can be spoilers - and they should be - but 6 months is just way too young to start introducing that kind of food. Good luck.

Snack packs have Trans fats in them [Palm Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Oil,Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil)].

Urge them to stop feeding that stuff to the baby. Use UNSWEETENED Apple Sauce, instead. Be sure that they have the Apple Sauce on-hand, so they wont go out and purchase the Snack packs.

I wouldn't allow it. I honestly don't think it would hurt him that badly, but you don't want him getting used to all that sugar. If he does get used to it, he will refuse to eat more and more often until you give him that stuff.

How about you do a little shopping around and provide grandparents with alternative food choices? Granted they may still give your child the snack packs, but it is worth a try. Also, in moderation most things aren't bad. My aunty who is a nutritionist is extremely healthy, fit, and lean, but her closest is stuffed with junk food she has a major sweet tooth. She always makes fun of people who always say NO sugar No fat, No no no. Eat healthy healthy healthy. She teachers her clients moderation instead. Have a pudding pack not three of them.

good luck

It all depends to be honest on what type they are giving him. I would suggest the sugar free snack packs to the grandparents
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 pudding cup / 99g
Amount per Serving
Calories 130 Calories from Fat 40
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 4.5g 7%
Saturated Fat 1.5g 8%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 140mg 6%
Total Carbohydrate 21g 7%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 18g
Protein 1g 2%
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 6%
Iron 0%
Est. Percent of Calories from:
Fat 31.2% Carbs 64.6%
Protein 3.1% that is for a regular serving size of Vanilla for the snack packs. I would not worry much as your child isn't likely to eat the full serving

As long as it isn't chocolate I wouldn't worry about it. Many of the "rules" now days are new and many babies (probably you too) survived before someone came up with them. I am a grandma and do try to follow my daughters plans. When you second baby comes along you will realize that everything doesn't have to be so strict. Enjoy your baby and the grandparents help. L.

What do you mean by "snack packs"? If it means they are giving him anything with salt it is absolutely dangerous for a six month old! Check the ingredients on the snack packs and ask your pediatrician what age your child must be before having any salt.... I think it is a year....

Which snack packs do they give him? Personally, I am against packaged foods for baby that young. It's one thing if it's gerber or equivalent packages/jars of fruit or veggies, it's totally different if it's something else. I would read the back of the pack to see if there's any potentially harmful substances in those packs (i.e. dyes, sugar, large amounts of sodium, etc.). plus at that age, you're trying to teach your baby how to eat real food, so it's not a good idea to just give up on feeding the "good food" and take the easy way out because in the long run, you are creating a picky eater. i know it's easier to just give the baby something sweet, but you also need to feed other stuff too (for both nutritional and educational purposes).

i would try tasting the food they're trying to feed him and if it's too bland, add some herbs to it (you can't use salt & pepper, but you can use basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, dill, etc.) that might make him like the food better. and just try different combinations of veggies/fruits so see what works. what i also found was that sometimes, if my son (who is 7 months old) is not really hungry, he won't eat certain foods (but would still eat a teething biscuit), so rather than force-feeding him or opting out for milk+cereal or cookie, i just wait another 20-30 minutes & try feeding him again & for the most part he eats everything with no problems. Good luck to you!

i just read the responses below & would like to add that i disagree with moms saying that grandparents know what they're doing. yeah they raised you, however once they become grandparents, somehow things change & they want to spoil the kid rather than educate them. spoiling is good in moderation, but not through giving the baby foods that are not great for him. they'll have plenty of years to feed him sweets, chips, pudding, jello, etc. for now, a jar of unsweetened apple/pear sauce or a banana can be just as much of a treat as jello/pudding. i would also keep in mind that the chemical composition of some of these 'snacks' has changed since you were little and they now contain preservatives, sugar substitutes (and if you remember from pregnancy, most of them are harmful for the baby), hydrogenated oils, stabilizers, etc. which were not used (or at least not in these amounts) 20-30 years ago. and i'm sorry to say, but at this point, chocolate is less harmful to the baby than some of these "healthy snacks" or "fruit candy". so again, i would read the back of the package very carefully and stock up on baby-friendly snacks so that grandparents can have them easily accessible.

They are grandparents so they know a little about what they are doing. I wouldn't worry about it as long as she is healthy and happy. Plus if you tell them to stop then they will just keep doing it without telling you about it. (If they are as stubborn as my grandparents anyway)

Absolutely OK!! They raised healthy children didnt they? I think giving him nutrition of any sort, when he is not wanting to eat, is a good thing. Dont worry.. they would never do anything to compromise his health or happiness. You are very lucky to have family helping to raise your child. Good luck and God Bless.

OMG!

No Way!!
Why start a baby on the road to sugar addiction & obesity? A baby is smart enough to eat when hungry. And not eat when not hungry. But a substance like sugar they will learn to eat regardless of their hunger.

Gently request that the caregivers offer the baby only the foods you supply & if they can't, then I would reconsider leaving my baby with them. I know your choice is probably limited, like most of us, but there is NO reason to feed a baby junk, ever.

Advocate for him. That is your job.

Best of luck, I know it is not easy.

P. : )

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I'm not a pediatrician. My thoughts are that if your son does not have diarrhea or show other irregular physical signs, don't worry. The best person to ask is your pediatrician.

No way! Not ever. I agree the grandparents should get to spoil the grandkids, and I have told my parents repeatedly that they can give my kid stuff that I would not normally give him. (I'm so lucky that they check with me about what they can give him.) But that is now that he is almost 2. At six months, you are still trying to develop their tastes for good stuff. They will refuse to eat their veggies because it doesn't taste good to them. It's not about whether one snack pack will hurt them. It probably won't. But you are trying to train them to eat healthy at that age and develop a taste for good foods.

My thoughts on junk food for the first year and half were that he didn't know what he was missing if he never had it. Now, he has had some of the stuff I don't want him to eat, but it's not in my house. He still doesn't know what candy is, except for suckers at the barber shop. You can control every little thing at six mos, why not enjoy that while it lasts. And seriously, there were times when my son just didn't want to eat. I didn't force it. I offered a couple of healthy options and if he wouldn't eat, I waited til the next meal time. He ate when he was hungry, and never overate. You can still take the snack packs away and he will forget about them, but if he keeps eating them, you're going to be in for trouble as he gets older and learns that if he refuses the healthy stuff, they will give in and give him junk.

E., just tell your grandparents that you love to spend time
with them and you know the baby loves it. BUT, you would really
appreciate if they would not give that to him. Tell them you want him to be as healthy as he can be without all of that.

After 3 daughters, 6 grandsons, 3 gran-daughters, and 1 great-gran-daughter, believe me when I say.... now and then is still not a good idea for a 6mo. old.
Try telling them that the additives in the product are not healthy for one so young. But if he gets fussy with what he is given maybe some egg yoke or fresh mashed veggies would suit him more.
Good luck and God bless!

Ah, welcome to the world og grandparents. My mom gave my first born chocolate pie (just the filling, not crust) at 7 weeks. She tried to say it was tradition. I put a stop to that. We had to have a talk. I told them I know you are going to want to spoil them a little, but I do have some limits and sugar intake is one of them. I don't see a problem with them giving a snack pack (I would request they wait until he is older...at least 12 months), but tell them that under any circumstance should they substitute a sanck pack in place of food...even if they do put rice cereal in it. It is still nothing but sugar and at 6 months they need nutrients, not empty fillers. I would put a stop to it. Think about it. If someone were to put your favorite dessert in front of you and a place of peas or carrots which would you pick. Babies learn quickly...if I don't eat my food I will get something else. Good luck.

First of all, I want to say I would be livid and I mean peel-me-off-the-wall, what-in-the-blazes-are-you-doing?? LIVID.

I suggest you explain to them (calmly, if you can) how very sensitive a baby's digestive system is and how introducing foods they are not ready for can lead to a lifetime of problems down the road. Foods introduced too early can lead from everything to obesity (set the stage) to severe food allergies as a toddler and young child. Let them know the importance of introducing specific foods in a specific order, none of which include 'snack packs'.

I have been very stringent on the diet of my two girls (ages 2 and 3) and I am very happy I have. It is an extremely rare occasion they get a sweet (less than every couple of months, usually only at a birthday of someone and then only a bite or two). Explain to your parents your values and views (again! LOL) on health eating and that while snack packs may be okay as a "sometimes treat" when your child is say, 6, at 6 months it is NEVER acceptable.

Be vigilant and remind them that when they were raising you, they didn't like people going against their wishes and you want them to respect yours.

Also, you are spot-on (IMO) with only having him on cereals at 6 mos. Foods introduced before 6 mos (even cereals) wreak havoc on a child's developing digestive system. Contrary to the ill-advice of some, the digestive system is not ready at 2,3, or even 4 months to handle any solids and it does nothing to help a child sleep better at night either, so why do it? If you see the doctor's on post, ask them. They all stand firmly by not introducing any solids until 6 months (and FINALLY are educating parents on the fact that juice is not a health food, but I digress...I won't even allow juice in my home and my girls are therefore addicted to ice water. I say get your fruit nutrients by eating the fruit...sorry, I derailed there.)

Hang in there! You will be just fine! Stick to what you know is right.

PS- There are some awesome responses on here and I hope they give you the resolve you need to stand firm. So happy to see so many of us "moms" committed to feeding our children healthy foods and when older, then introducing choice. YAY US!