Cookie Monster | Baby Talkers

The Cookie Monster

Ok, so my child is totally obsessed with cookies. I was so good about not feeding him sweets for the first year, but apparently that went completely out the window the second he tasted his first bite of birthday cake. I still try to offer and make sure he eats healthily but the kid is literally obsessed with cookies. I don’t even know where this came from but it is getting ridiculous. At all hours of the day, he is asking for cookies. He tells me he’s hungry every 20 minutes and I really don’t think it’s possible. Boy can eat!! Yesterday for breakfast he ate two pancakes, two eggs and fruit (banana, strawberries, and blueberries). There is no way he is still hungry after that. He also had a cup of chocolate milk. I’m thinking he might be getting belly aches and mistaking it for hunger. The problem is, every time he’s hungry, he asks for cookies. Help! Do I just pretend I don’t hear him (say cookie) and offer him something healthy? There’s always a cup of water around for him but that usually doesn’t cut it. He wants to eat whenever he sees anyone else eating. What about when I know he can’t possibly be hungry? What do I do?

Comments:

J is the same way with cheese. He will ask for it from the time he gets up til the time he goes to bed. Obviously it a little better for him than cookies. But sometimes, I just have to say no and offer him something else.

As far as saying he's hungry, no real suggestions. J does this at meals sometimes. He will eat a lot but keep saying he's hungry. We finally have to tell him he's had enough. If he says later, like over an hour, that he is hungry then we'll offer a snack. by CC21
we have the opposite with Nicole, she never wants to eat meals. But she has a HUGE sweet tooth and ask for m&m's and cookies for breakfast. I always tell her that those things are treats, not for breakfast (or lunch or whatever).
I just try to strive for balance. Although she eats extemely small portions, I always offer fruits/veggies, protein, etc. And truthfully she probably gets at least one treat a day. I just try really hard not to tie the treat to anything (like, "if you are a good girl" or "if you eat all you dinner" -- dh does that a lot - he will say she has to eat everything on her plate before she gets a treat... and I don't agree with that tactic). I am so worried about creating food issues for her. by Deana
Toddlers can drive you to the edge, can't they?

Some suggestions from someone who has ?successfully made it through the toddler years with two kids. If there are no cookies in the house, there are no cookies to feed him. He cannot shop for his own cookies, right? So keep them (and anything else you don't want him to eat) totally out of the house. Then, when he asks for them, you can say, "we don't have any cookies, but you can have this banana, or this cheese." Don't give him a list of choices. That's overwhelming for a toddler. Just pick two things he CAN eat, and offer those. Don't try to "hide" cookies and still say there aren't any. Toddlers will figure you out and then you've lost the trust factor. Then he'll never believe you if you tell them you are out of cookies!

As for the amount he eats....wow! That's a LOT of food for a toddler. I'd be tempted to discuss it with your pediatrician. There are some problems that can cause incredible appetites like that and it's best to rule them out.

HTH! by ohiominnie
Thanks for the advice ladies! My husband and I are thinking he must be going through a growth spurt. He is soooo tall. He towers over other kids his age and looks like he is about 4 years old (he only just turned two!). He is pretty thin too so it's not like he's overeating and just storing it as fat. He's very active and quite muscular. If the appetite does not decrease in a few days or so, I will definitely mention it to his pediatrician. Thanks again! by Csara
I like a suggestion Jana (I think it was her) made in a different thread about setting out a plate with several snacks that he can just eat when he gets hungry. You can put maybe a cookie or two, and the rest more healthy. Once the cookies are gone, they are gone and he can eat something else off of his tray. by B'sgirl
Yes, Jana suggested the snack tray and I love that idea. We've tried it a few times and my son was absolutely ecstatic about it. I put all completely healthy foods in it and he sat down and ate almost every single bite out of the tray. That's the problem. He won't pace himself and he won't just graze a little at a time. He'll sit down and eat the whole thing all at once so it kind of defeats the purpose. It is good for getting him to eat some foods he wouldn't normally want to eat, but as far as it keeping him from telling me he is hungry every half hour or so, I'm not sure. It is definitely worth another shot though. Thanks for the reminder. by Csara
I agree about not having cookies in the house. However, I wouldn't worry too much about it since he does eat other healthy items. It's not like cookies are the ONLY thing he'll eat. Hopefully, this will just be a passing phase.

My daughter used to only eat hot dogs! Yuck! She outgrew it eventually and is a very healthy eater now. In fact, now she'll choose fruits for her snack. by Kailani

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