Rejecting Candy & Treats

Some kids just prefer savory to sweet.
Might change. Might not.
Mine used to ask for veggies and dip or cheese, pepperoni & crackers for a snack.
"Treat" is in the eye of the requester!

He sounds like a boy from my daughter's kindergarten class. That boy is now a 7th grader and eats anything and everything so enjoy it while it lasts because it's only a phase.

My GD is the same way! She really doesn't like candy, gum or sweets very much. In fact, she won't eat a cake that has frosting on it. When I make a cake I always make her a few cupcakes with no frosting. She loves dinner and good homemade food. For dessert, she will usually have leftovers from dinner or a can of soup, maybe a bowl of cereal, but never sweets. She just isn't in to it.

I foster that by not EVER suggesting that she eat sweets. I make sure we have plenty of the things she does like to eat (especially fruit) and I just leave it to her to decide what to have.

To my knowledge, she has never eaten a chocolate brownie, oreo cookie, chocolate pudding - she just doesn't like chocolate.

I would not bribe a child with any type of food or prizes.. We always bribed with compliments. our child is a pleaser so this worked well for her.

Or we would promise of more time as a bribe.. .. More time reading to her, more time outside playing, more time swimming.

But I would not stop eating or having sweets around for my on sake. I love good sweets.
If your child does not care for it.. no big deal.

I have found.. many men are not as into sweets as women are. They tend like salty snacks. Popcorn, pretzels, salted nuts.

If they have sweets, it is salty sweet.. Like salted caramel, or peanut brittle.....Chocolate for many men.. tends to be dark almost bitter dense chocolate.

I have to ask: is this tongue-in-cheek?

Rejoice. Your kid doesn't like sugar. Not to be dramatic, but sugar is like a poison to the body.

I'd hop on that no-candy bandwagon in a split second! :) Lucky mama.

Are you asking us how to fix something that isn't broken?
And when it comes to kids you can't really expect ANYTHING going forward, they have a way of surprising you at every turn!

Offer him other treats. My DD likes chocolate, but also loves fruit. I would encourage him to eat other food and make things like fruit or flavored milk his special thing instead. If he prefers savory, maybe you can go that route. I tell DD she can't have the whole pint of raspberries without eating her dinner first.

Is this a trick question?? lol!!

Why would you want to change it?? I wouldn't change a thing! But to answer your question, yes, it might change! And if it doesn't, so what! My son ate candy, sweets, etc., (in moderation) when he was younger and now, (he's 18) he doesn't really eat many sweets at all.

Everyone changes! But for your son's sake, I really hope he doesn't!! Just my opinion!!

Good luck!!

One of my grandsons used to love anything sweet, he could "smell" sugar, lol! Now that he's almost 15 the only sweet thing he likes is cake, he puts it in a bowl, covers it with milk and eats it. But candy, donuts, ice cream, pie...no more. So, yes, your son could change.

Use things like a trip to the park or zoo, or a DVD or book as rewards, food should never be used as a bribe. Encourage him in his habits by exposing him to a wide variety of fruits and veggies fixed in fun ways, so when the rest of you have a treat he can have his, too. And eat the sweet stuff yourself :)

1. Bad idea, anyway. In my opinion, food shouldn't be punishment or reward. Or, bargaining chip. (Just my opinion, like I said.)

2. You are not pushing habits on your child, he is choosing. This is not something, you should make a battle out of. Before we become parents, we swear we will and won't be or do all kinds of things. That pretty much goes out the window, once they are here. Don't try to push him into liking unhealthy stuff, or you will have a real problem on your hands.

It may change, it may not. I pretty much have zero sweet tooth. I don't like sweets, really ever. Just have healthy treats available to him, and teach him moderation. He doesn't need to like sweets, but he absolutely needs to be willing to some healthy things. Don't worry about this.

my daughter doesnt gravitate towards candy either. she does enjoy it but i limit it. she gets so much for holidays and holloween i throw hand fulls away. my daughter is like me. she enjoys sweets but is not a big sweet eater (i grew up with diabetics lol)

this may change when he is older just remind him that its ok to have some but we need not to gorge.

I understand what you are saying. My oldest is not a sweet eater, vanilla ice cream, sour apple Jolly Ranchers and glazed doughnuts, that's it. It really makes things like Easter and Christmas stockings a challenge!!

M

OMG. I should have known that this was a "F. B. post" when I started reading it. You are so much like me. Ok, there are some differences. For one thing; I grew up in a sort of healhty environment too; however, there actually was junk food in the house. It's just that I was more interested in eating the spring onions in the garden, than eating candy when I was a kid. I can still remember my father was ok with it too a certain point...like when all the onions started disapearing before they could form bulbs which is when he'd tell me to stop it and concentrate more on the peaches. When I had my kid, "the apple didn't fall too far from the tree." He's just like me. He hated chocolate and didn't like sweet stuff either. Even the fruit has to be sour. My MIL jokes about it being our German heritage. He's also skinny as a bean pole just like I was. So what to expect..........I didn't start eating chocolate until college and didn't start eating a little more sweets until now. (50) My DS just started eating chocolate and will eat certain candies. (14yro.) He won't eat chocolate in the summer, so his winter candy is regular size Reeses PB cups, Almond Joy, and Ferrero Raffaello. (Doen't like the Ferrero Rocher) He'll eat Skittles, Starbust, Now and Laters, and Sour Warheads. He still doesn't eat a lot, so bags of candy go bad before they're eaten in our house. You really don't need to do anything to foster the dislike of candy, because they pretty much monitor themselves. I think it might be the teeth. Some kids and people are more sensitive to overly sweet stuff and their teeth hurt a little when they eat it. By-the-way, I still scrape the icing off cakes.

I wouldn't even try to change it. As for the treat/bribe factor, use what he likes that's treat-worthy, regardless of what it is. Better that it's not food anyway. And again, a treat for one is not a treat for another - have his favorites, even if they seem un-exciting as treats to you.

My husband is happy cause I don't like lobster (LOL) - he likes it, and it's considered a "treat" food by many, but give me snow-crab any day :)

A tip, the more you deny it the more they want it. Stop offering and even say no to surprise your little one... He'll come around, you will see.

Oh my gosh I totally agree don't try to change it! As said, you can use other things as reward; I never use candy or sweets anyway because I think it fosters bad food habits. But also as said, sugar is SO super bad for us, especially as usually given as the aformentioned Twinkies and so on. I wish I had your—and his—problem!
And you don't have to feel guilty about the healthy household; he'll never miss the junk and rejoice in the Twinkie-free household!
S.

No, a few of mine could care less. A few get the urge every now and then and then 2 would eat your candy, my candy and their siblings.

I always had access to all the junk I wanted growing up. I rarely seek out sweets, don't get me wrong I like a good sweet every now and then, but it's not something I go out of my way for. My husband is the same way.

I think, like anything else edible, some like it and some don't. Some may outgrow it and some may not. It's just one of those things.

I think anything can change, but as long as you are not bringing in the junk into your home and or encouraging, then he'll probably have solid engrained habits of eating more healthily.. My son is similar to yours in the sense that he too doesn't enjoy overly sweet items and we NEVER eat sweetened cereal (or processed fruit juice for that matter) he grimaces whenever he smells Capri Sun and or other overly sweet things. He also loves water... never soda in our house or other sweet drinks..

That said, he does enjoy chocolate but won't overly indulge.. he is someone who can actually have an entire box of chocolate around and not feel compelled to eat more than a piece or two...
He's been this way all his life.. he's now 11 and I am hoping he keeps making sensible choices... but anything is possible..

sounds like you are doing a fine job with your child.. keep it up !:)

Lucky you! I had a sweet tooth when I was young, but pregnancy turned meaway from sweets. I still like some, but easily get over-sugared. I don't even like many Asian restaurant foods because of the sweetness. I kept my daughter away from sugar until she was introduced by a neighbor kid at around the age of 3. She did, sadly, develop quite a sweet tooth.

I've been watching with great interest the emerging science of epigenetics; how environmental factors help determine how genes express themselves. There are foods and chemical exposures, or famine, or degrees of fitness, that have an effect not only on one's own children, but on their children, as well, and perhaps ongoing generations, too. It makes me wonder if you were doing something particularly healthy before or during your pregnancy!

He could change but there is no way to know. I was limited as a child now I have a major sweet tooth and so do my boys.