Many of us agree that helping our kids establish healthy eating habits is a parenting goal. Some parents are more lenient than others when it comes to things like snacks and drinks, and others are much more strict. There is a healthy balance between the two, and it is OK to do what works best for your family and its needs. No judgment. But you don't know what you don't know, right?
Plenty of parents turn to doctors and nutritionists for advice on what to feed their kids and what to avoid. And tons of resources exist on social media to help. Instagram mom and nutrition and wellness influencer Nikole Goncalves, found at @healthnutnutrition, posted a video about three things she would never feed her 2-year-old, and although a couple of the items might surprise you, a lot of parents are actually on board.
We've heard some of the mom's ideas before.
Her first no-no is popcorn. This one might not come as much of a surprise. Tragically, we have heard stories about kids choking on popcorn, and Goncalves says parents shouldn't give it to children younger than 5.
A mortician mom we recently came across on TikTok totally agrees, saying it's one of quickest ways to end up in the hospital with your kid.
"It's a choking risk," Goncalves concurs. "It's very lightweight. Kernels can get easily stuck. It's very scary, and I know it seems like a healthy snack, but for the reasons I just mentioned, we just don't do popcorn."
This totally makes sense, and it feels like the risks definitely outweigh the benefits. If you have ever experienced choking, whether yourself or someone else, you know it is terrifying. Not worth it.
Her views on chocolate might come as a surprise.
Yes, parents are leery of giving their kids things like caffeine. You certainly wouldn't give a toddler a latte, and soda is likely off the table too. But chocolate? Is it really so bad to indulge a kid with a small piece?
Goncalves says yes. She says the caffeine in chocolate is a "red flag" for her, and that chocolate is loaded with sugar as well, which she deems a problem.
She suggests offering kid-friendly alternatives instead.
"There's other fun things you can add into muffins like blueberries," she says. "You could do some swirls of peanut butter. And then, you know, we're going to wait for the chocolate until later."
Again, this seems reasonable based on her thoughts. We bet plenty of parents, however, are still fine with an occasional chocolate treat.
But what about the fruit juice so many kids seem to crave?
Goncalves doesn't give her daughter any juice. It's definitely easy to pour a little apple juice into a sippy cup if you are on the go — some people even still give their babies juice in their bottles — but she wants water to be the go-to for her child.
She doesn't usually drink juice herself because it is so sweet, but if she does have it, it is "extremely diluted." She doesn't want her toddler hyped on sugar when she's already so energetic, and she claims juice is just sugar in a glass, so she sticks to "water, milk, fresh fruit and smoothies."
"If she wants to have juice, she can have it in some homemade gummies. She can have fresh fruit. She can have smoothies. I just don't do straight-up sugar in a glass or a juice box," Goncalves says.
Goncalves stands by her suggestions.
Her video ends with her saying, "I said what I said. What don't you feed your 2-year-old?"
There are plenty of commenters who agreee with her rules. Presumably, most of her followers are on her page because they agree with her nutrition advice or are trying to do better, so it makes perfect sense.
"100% agree about sugar. Drives me crazy when people complain about their kids but they load them on sugar all day," someone concurred.
"We still don't [do] juice and my oldest is 11. Any dentist will tell you it's just sugar water," someone else wrote. "We also didn't do a lot of things like goldfish type crackers. Those stick to your teeth and small children don't know how to use their tongue to get food unstuck. So it just sits there and causes cavities."
"I understand you completely and I'm not a parent. Kids don't need that unnecessary sugar," another comment reads.
One parent even offered additional suggestions.
"To all the parents out there, please cut the grapes, nuts and cherry tomatoes at least in half, because of the choking risk too The little son of our neighbours choked on a nut 1.5 weeks before Christmas, he is 4.5years old and still in hospital and it doesn't look good because of the lack of oxygen he suffered until the emergency people came If you have a little time, please include him in your prayers ❤️," the person wrote.
Another long-standing complaint from parents came up in the comments: "Red dye! It's hard I try to limit how much they have," someone wrote. "It's in everything. I noticed a big change in my 2-year-old after limiting the amount he eats."
"No grapes unless chopped in small pieces. No soda so bad for all ages. No fast food until 5 years old," another person wrote.
Other disagreed, though, and for a reason that will actually resonate with many parents who have more than one kid.
"This is easy with one child. Wait till you have multiple and the 1 or 2 year old screams bloody murder because the 4 and 7 year old are eating a chocolate chip cookie and doesn't understand why their cries are being ignored," one person commented. "You just give 'em' the d— cookie and let them enjoy ♀️."
Yeah, we totally get that. We've been there too, and she's not wrong. It's so much easier with the first kid.
Nikole's Instagram and YouTube pages are full of tips.
Goncalves isn't all about nos. She also provides her followers with great tips about things from food to activities and how to treat a sick toddler. Although she posts a lot about mom life these days, her pages feature tons of valuable content for grown-ups too.
She has amassed 110,000 followers on Instagram, nearly 20,000 on TikTok, and 900,000 subscribers on YouTube, which is her original platform. Plenty of people are taking her tips to heart.
Again, it is the parents' choice what to feed their child. If they want to avoid certain things, that's up to them. If not, everything in moderation is an excellent place to start.
