The Last Word On Nothing

Earlier this month my daughter turned one. She spent nine months inside of me, and since she’s been on the outside I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about what goes into her body. As a newborn, she nursed until my nipples bled because “breast is best!” And when she was away from me, I pumped so she could have breastmilk out of a bottle. Each day I took supplements to ensure she would get enough vitamin D and iron.

And then she began to eat solids. I bought organic. I blended spinach and peas and sweet potatoes into homemade purees that I froze in BPA-free vessels. I baked bread. I cooked without salt, because tiny kidneys can’t process it. I pressed turkey and quinoa into mini muffin cups to make tiny turkey meatloafs. I did everything I could to ensure that she was getting the right mix of nutrients at the right time and in the right order.

But two weeks ago everything changed. I dropped my daughter off at a daycare center for the first time. And I watched in horror as her teacher placed a small mound of raisins and a scoop of cornflakes on my daughter’s tray. This was breakfast. Grapes devoid of water! Processed corn mixed with addictive sugar! She might as well have heaped her tray with crack cocaine. I held it together until I reached the parking lot, and then I sat in my car and wept.

The next day I got my hands on the August menu. I realized cornflakes were the tip of the junk food iceberg. My daughter and her daycare peers would also be sampling chicken patties, waffle fries, waffle sticks, tater tot casserole, BBQ chicken pizza, turkey lo mien “with chow mien noodles,” and a mysterious dish called million dollar spaghetti. Her snacks would include strawberry shortcake, a mini bagel with strawberry cream cheese, soft baked pretzel nips, and a s’more parfait. (I later learned this is a combination of pudding, chocolate chips, and crushed graham crackers.)

This might sound like standard cafeteria fare. In fact, it’s reminiscent of the hot lunch I ate in middle school. But let me remind you that my daughter is still in diapers.

A quick scan of the literature showed me that these kinds of foods are all too common in the toddler diet. The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS), which examined the eating habits of more than 3,000 children under the age of four, found that infants and toddlers typically consume too much sugar and too few fruits and vegetables. By the time they are between nine and eleven months, 43 percent of infants eat some type of dessert, sweet, or sweetened beverage at least once in a day. That increases to 72 percent once they reach toddlerhood. And about 30 percent of older infants, toddlers, and preschoolers fail to eat a single serving of vegetables. When they do manage to choke one down, it tends to be french fries. By age 12-24 months, french fries have become the most frequently consumed vegetable.

What’s wrong with sugar and fried potatoes? Scientists no longer think that too much sugar causes kids to be hyperactive. That myth has been debunked. But it does have ill effects on other parts of the body, like the heart. Just a few days ago, the American Heart Association issued new guidelines on sugar. The group recommends that children under the age of two avoid added sugar entirely. “Importantly, the introduction of added sugars during infancy appears to be particularly harmful and should be avoided,” the team writes. Potatoes contain vitamin C and potassium, but once they’re peeled, fried, and salted, they become a wholly different vegetable. “What you have left is a food that has no nutritional redeeming value in it at all,” Cleveland Clinic’s Kristin Kirkpatrick, told Time magazine.

Sugary snacks and fried potatoes might be standard fare, but I was hoping to do better for my daughter. And now, holding the daycare menu, I felt like I had bought her a one-way ticket to McNugget Station in downtown Obesityville.

For a couple of days I debated packing all of her food. But what then? Eventually she will have to make her own choices. And studies suggest that restricting sweets and fried foods can make them even more palatable to kids. Pressuring kids to eat more fruits and veggies often backfires too.

What does work? Being a good role model. “There is consistent evidence that the responsive ‘do as I do’ approach has a stronger positive effect on children’s consumption patterns than the unresponsive ‘do as I say’ approach to parenting,” writes a group of Penn State researchers. And while I’ve done a bang-up job of feeding my kid well, when it comes to feeding myself . . . let’s just say there’s room for improvement.

So I’m going to take a deep breath, allow my child an occasional scoop of tater tot casserole, and serve myself an extra helping of greens. Do as I do, kid. Eat junk in moderation. And then have some spinach.

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Image courtesy of Andrew Delong via Flickr