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May 22, 2004 Dear Brooke, We have snack every day at 3:30 p.m. I will tell her "Francesca, Here are two cookies. She'll eat the cookies and say "please can I have one more?" I firmly say "No." She then acts out and whines, for a long period of time. At the same time I still did not give her the cookie. Am I being too firm with her? Should I say "ok, but only one more?" She whines more when she is not getting enough attention from me. Example: when I am cooking, she whines even more. I now try involving her in the cooking which has seemed to help. I will take your advice and let you know how it goes. Sincerely, I think that you are inadvertently being too firm.
Children don’t usually overeat, so I assume that she
wanted more cookies, because she was not full yet. If
you were worried about her eating too much junk food, I
suggest offering healthier snacks so that you both feel
good about the types of foods she is eating. That way,
she can have as much as she wants, and you won’t feel
like your giving in to her eating unhealthy snacks. She could have felt like you were trying to control
how much she eats, although that’s probably not the
case. Her whining, in that example, was probably her
protesting and rebelling against you. I suggest finding one drawer in the kitchen or a spot
in the pantry where she can reach it at all times. Allow
her to choose the foods that go in her space. If she
wants only cookies, there are healthier options you
could buy so that you feel okay if she eats many at a
time, such as Healthy Choice brand cookies. Here are some other suggestions to fill her snack
space: small blueberry bagels, crackers, goldfish, fruit
roll ups, individual packs of fruit snacks, Jell-o pudding
bites, rice crispy treats, Nilla wafers, apples, bananas,
pretzels, baked Lays, fat free Pringles and gummy
bears. Give her control over what goes in it, within reason,
and let her know that she has full control over when
and what comes out of her snack space. As for including her while you cook, I think that’s a
great idea. Keep up the good work.
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