Choclate Habit

Dear Nivedita, I would suggest you not keep chocolate around for him to eat. This should be a once in a while treat, not every day. I do not think you need a doctor, just a little parent control. Grandma Mary

Take it away, except for the amount that you feel is appropriate. Put it out and when it's "gone it's gone". Hopefully he will learn to space it out over the day.

Personally, I would take it out of the house altogether, except for special occassions- very bad habit. How old is he?

Where is he getting it. If you have it in the house,
get rid of it. When you say 20-30 what does that mean?
Raisinets or hersheys bars? How old is he? Need some
more info. Good luck.

Chocolate is addictive. How old is your son? I think you should take all chocolate away from him, it doesnt have any health benefits.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/does-chocolate-addiction...

This is very concerning for several reasons; the potential for obesity leading to diabetes and his oral health. I urge you to stop PURCHASING the chocolate and seek medical/nutritional counseling by his pediatrician soon.

Throw it all away. Say "no". He will act out for the first few days. THat much chocolate is probably giving him a type of "high", so it won't be pleasant to take him off, but you must! Clean up the rest of his diet too. If you are having trouble saying "no" to your son, you might want to get some parenting books. There are many good ones out there. "Have A New Kid By Friday" is a good one, but there are many.

T. E.
www.LiveWellShopSmart.com

If kids have free access to sugar, they will most likely eat it. My first solution would be to stop buying chocolate!!! Can't eat it if it isn't in the house. My second would be to keep it in a high cupboard and NEVER take it out when he can see you so he does not know where it is and try to get at it by himself and be a parent and limit it to one or two, and not every day. as parents it is our job to teach our children about limits, treats, rewards, etc. Left to his own devices he will not learn these things.

There's a book called "Little Sugar Addicts" by Kathleen DesMaissons that might help. Also, my favorite parenting book is The Portable Pediatrician - SUPER helpful, down-to-earth, and she gives good guidance about obesity issues in kids. Her Golden Rule is: The parents decide WHAT and WHEN food is served, the kids decide HOW MUCH to eat. If you're in charge of the sweets, then you get to decide when and what kind are available. (our son is 3 and believes that a banana is a great dessert!) And of course, as parents we always look for our behavior to guide the kids, so if we're always buying/overeating sweets, we can expect our kids to do the same.

Good for you for taking a look at this behavior and seeking a healthy change!

don't buy so much chocolate! try giving him fruit instead. if cries, just deal with it. you are not doing our child a favor by giving him so much candy!!

Don't buy it for him and do no let friends, relatives, strangers etc., buy it for him or keep it around the house.

And do you or your husband have a chocolate habit?
Or some one in the family?

It is hard to lead by example if everyone else is doing
what you want him to stop doing.

Good Luck

wow, if you are having a hard time controlling your son's chocolate intake, just think when he wants to stay out late, hang out with bad friends and start smoking.... You need to start enforcing some guidelines now and it starts with the small things like how much chocolate your son should or can eat. Start disciplining him now and give him guidelines he should adhere to.
Good luck.

I would suggest getting rid of all the candy / junk food in the house. It is not healthy for a child (or anyone for that matter) to be eating that much in a day. You had mentioned just cutting it down but that won't solve the problem, it will only mask it. Cold turkey is the way to go in this situation. This problem will only get worse as he gets older which could then lead to problems with obesity. I think you need to focus on the reasons behind why he's eating so much chocolate. Is it in response to situations that happen? Habit? Boredom?...etc. Once you figure out the reason why he turns to food you'll be able to approach him and help him understand that there are other ways to cope rather than consuming junk food.

I hope this helps and wish you all the luck. It's going to be a rough adjustment period but you guys can do it!

~A.
SAHM of 2 boys, ages 4 1/2 and 2.

Why are you giving it to him? As the parent you should limit and control what your child eats. IF he's older and more independent -- and can buy things with his own money and unsupervised -- then you should show him by example (and with words) that candy is something to eat only in moderation and not mindlessly or in excess. If left unchecked, your child could develop health conditions related to excess weight. Why set him up for that type of struggle?

You're the parent - set boundaries and stick to them. It's not easy - but it's what is best for your childs.

Don't bring chocolate into the home!!!!

you should just stop giving it to him.....

You didn't say his age, but at any age, even 5-10 pieces of chocolate, unless they are M&M's, is too much. Remember, whatever his age, you are the mother and it is up to you to take the lead and get rid of the chocolate. You can take him to his pediatrician and have the doctor tell him he can't have it -- then the message is coming from someone else and it is your job to carry out the doctor's orders. If you or your husband like chocolate, then you are going to have to change your habits too and not eat it in front of him. If he does't change soon, then he will have serious health problems. If he is a teenager and old enough to buy his own candy, then restrict his funds. Also, just don't have any chocolate in the house. Good Luck.

I am assuming that the 20-30 you are referring to are chocolate kisses, or m & m's or something else small.
If I were you, I would cut it out completely. If you try to simply limit it, you will fight the battle every day. It is not like chocolate gives him any good nutrients. Perhaps it can be a once a week treat for him?
But that means you too. You can't eat something in frontt of him that you aren't gving him!

How is the rest of his diet? And does he take a multivitamin supplement?

I used to eat chocolate like a "drug" until my midwife told me that it could be a magnesium deficiency. I started taking a calcium/magnesium supplement, and have never gone back to those days...

Also, lots of caffeine in all of that chocolate...

Where is he getting all this chocolate from? Don't reduce it, STOP buying it...Don't bring it into the house, period...If you want his chocolate behavior to change, you have to change your behavior... Best of Luck...this reminds me of my overwhelming desire to have Diet Soda...I know it's not good for me, but when I saw it on sale in the grocery store, I went crazy stacking up on it...Guess what...I don't under any circumstances buy it anymore, sale, or not. I KNOW IT IS NOT GOOD FOR MY HEALTH!!!! If it's not in my home, I don't drink it. I drink more water, and Natural juices. My health is so much better because of that change... C.

Good for you for being concerned. I would be too as that is a very bad habit and one that could lead to medical problems such as him being diabetic. Honestly, I would not keep so much chocolate in your home. Nobody needs that much. If you want to keep one bag per week which is still a lot in my opinion, then it should be locked somewhere where he can't get it himself so that YOU CONTROL how much he is eating.

You are teaching him snacking habits. I was a junk eater when I was little and now I am struggling to lose weight and be healthier. I have about 17 lbs to lose to get to my first goal and then I will have about another 10 to lose to get to where I want to be. I was determined not to raise my children that way when it came to snacking. It hasn't been a big deal. My children know they can only have so much chocolate over a certain amount of time. As a result, honestly, a lot of candy from things like Halloween and Easter end up getting thrown away because they just forget about it. They enjoy their snacks but more things like Sun Chips, grapes, bananas, fruit snacks, etc. So they aren't denied junk food but it is absolutely controlled.

I don't know how old your son is but I highly suggest getting this dealt with - and that means you taking control no matter how bad you feel about it - because I don't know about you but I would feel horrible if my children ended up diabetic and I knew I could have prevented it.

How old is your son? If he's old enough to buy the chocolate himself don't give him the money. If you are supplying the chocolate, stop! This is an easy one to control. No one needs candy of any kind everyday. I was just telling my kids they don't need candy all the time. It will not only make a person fat, but it's bad for the body all around. Think diabetes! Also consider your dental bills when his teeth start rotting away. All you have to do is keep the candy out of the house.

Hmmm. Is your son old enough to go out and buy his own chocolate?? If so maybe monitor how much money you are giving him. If, however, he is still of toddler age the obvious answer is to stop keeping chocolate in your home. He may cry and complain for a little while (I know I did when I stopped eating M&M's), but in the long run he will be fine. Good luck.

Hi Nivedita,

I don't know how old he is. But I would suggest taking some of that away. My kids maybe get cholate twice a week.

20-30 pieces a day? I dont even have 20 pieces a year. I dont mean to be rude but you are setting your son up for obesity, diabetes and VERY poor eating habits. How old is he? You should just take it away completely. My son is 2 and wont have chocolate until he's at least 5. It shouldnt be a part of his diet, just a special treat.

That is a lot of chocolate. Don't keep all that chocolate available.

Sugar depletes the immune system tremendously. blood sugar hikes and falls contribute to Type II diabetes.

There is some great children's presentations and children's products referenced on my web site www.nosickvisits.com

Check it out and feel free to contact me with any additional questions.

Balanced nutrition should help with the craving.

Eliminate the source and replace with another "treat". I have a great recipe that is protein healthy and gives the same chocolate, sweet, fatty satisfaction as chocolate.

L.

Stop giving it to him that much.

My 3 year old daughter has 2 pieces of chocolate a day. We look at it as a special treat NOT as part of her "diet".

Nanc

Not to be funny, but it seems that your solution is to NOT BUY CHOCOLATE. If you don't have it in your house, he can't eat it.
I don't know how old your son is or if he is able to go out and purchase it himself, say at school or the corner store, but I really think you can control this if you don't keep it in your home.
Good Luck

That is definitely too much. 1-2 a day is MORE than enough. You are the parent, you are in charge, not your child. Do not allow him to have the chocolate. Take it away, dont buy it, dont make it available. He will get over it. Substitute with healthy snacks, fruit, whole-grains, etc. He doesnt "need" the chocolate, he has just gotten into a habit, most likely. You are doing your child harm by allowing HIM to make these decisions. You need to make them for him, even if he throws a fit or says he hates you. That is part of being a parent, making the tough decisions. It isnt always easy, but making the RIGHT choice is better for your child in the long run than making the EASY choice for yourself. I hope this is helpful. Good luck!

no, it;s not normal and i can't believe you even have that stuff in the house. if it was lets say 20-30 m&ms, it's still too much.
i don't know the age of your child, but let's say he's 2, it's too much. let's say he's 10, it's too much.
my kids get chocolate once in blue moon. it's supposed to be a treat not staple food. when they get it, and i mean one piece of hershey kisses, they ask for 2nd. most of the time, they don't get that second. of course kids want it so badly. it's awesome, right? it's up to parent to decide when and how much, and looks like you need to make some adjustments.

I am not sure how old your son is but sometimes offering the child the treat in another form may help satisfy the taste. Eg.. choclate milk, choclate cookies. Also the crunch of a food may help because for myself I try to chew cruchy healthy foods instead of soft food that really don't work the jaws.

it is completely possible to be addicted. he most certainly is.

cold turkey...none in house...the introduce back the ultra dark which has helath qualities, one square a day off a bar.

20-30 a day...you are setting him up for diabetes, obesity, its not normal behavior.

ps-i love chocolate too:) but everything in moderation.

20-30 chocolate candy bars or kisses? Anyhow, I was thinking the same thing as Liz. Maybe there's a vitamin deficiency. Also you might want to make sure he has 3 filling meals everyday. He can't keep eating if he's already full. Sit down and figure out exactly what is he eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Is it enough food?You might even want to try to switch it to something a little healthier like carob, if you can get it in your area. It's usually sold in health food stores. You could even offer him yogurt, which comes in different flavors. If he has a temper tantrum, then tell him he has to eat a piece of fruit first and his meals or he won't get any. Keep the piece of chocolate as a treat and only offer one piece as an evening snack. This way you know if he finished his meals or not. If not, no candy.