How bad are Poptarts for breakfast?

FutureMrsCaesar

DS is going through a really picky breakfast phase and will hardly eat anything.  Out of desperation my Grandma convinced me to give him a pop tart and he freakin loved it.  So for the last couple weeks he's been eating a pop tart and like 1/2 a banana for breakfast.  How bad is that?  I do at least buy the high fiber pop tarts, if that counts for anything.

lwilkinson

Oh man, that's bad. My SD loves those and then she wants me to slather butter all over it. Drives me crazy. They are tasty though!

FinallyMrsT

DD went through a poptart phase. She is a really picky eater too (we are lucky if she eats anything). IMO, it was better than nothing. We did buy the high fiber ones too. She doesn't seem to care for them anymore though.

DarthNBJenni

It's probably just a phase she'll outgrow soon enough. My girls go through phases where they'll really love strawberry waffles, and then want nothing to do with them. As long as you aren't feeding her cheese puffs and mountain dew for breakfast, I think you're fine

FutureMrsCaesar

Ha thanks...no, cheese puffs here.  I think he'll outgrow it too.  He was eating oatmeal like a champ for a while then one day acted like I was trying to poison him with it.  I should have known that was too good to last!

sarahns80

If you put some fruit on the side mabe that will help the nutrient factor.

kelbrian

Meh, not a huge fan of high fructose corn syrup.

southernbelle82

I would continue to try and get him to eat other things...I know it's frustrating when they go through those phases though  Pop tarts are so full of sugar...they may have some fiber but still not a good way to start the day. 

SparkFish

Pretty bad. You're basically giving him candy for breakfast. If it's really the only thing he'll eat, maybe you can try making your own with whole wheat pie crust and real fruit jam - it would still be a lot of sugar, but then at least he wouldn't get all the HFCS and processed flour. 

tifvolley

DS has had a steady breakfast of fruit snacks and cheese for the past two weeks, so I would say not to worry!  If he eats well the rest of the day and it's only a temporary phase, I don't see the problem. 

wellfleet04

Honestly, I think they are pretty bad for anything other than an occasional treat.  All processed crap and sugar.  If he doesn't have a weight gain issue, I'd stop feeding him things you don't want him to eat, and if he chooses not to eat anything, so be it.  Offer a variety of healthy choices, and let him decide what and how much to eat.  If he skips breakfast, no big deal.  He won't starve, really.  Most parents think they have the exceptional child that is just the pickiest eater ever, but I really think it's just a toddler thing in almost all cases, and it's your job to not "give in" to it unless there's a medical reason they NEED calories.    

TexasLadyBug

I would pass on the pop tart there are just way to many other things you can try and if you dont give him the pop tart he cant eat it. Kids will put up a good fight to and hold out for what they want, but if you hold your ground he will eat.

For breakfast DS will have different things on different days or a combo of them. Waffles, eggs, potatoes, fruit, cereal, sometimes we have done the nutragrain breakfast bars. 

Good luck. 

TMs1stBaby

I wouldn't give them to my kids regularly, I think they are pure junk food.  But the occasional pop tart won't hurt anyone.

samfish2bcrab

They're very bad.  Here's the ingredient list:

ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, DEXTROSE, SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL (WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS), SUGAR, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF CRACKER MEAL, WHEAT STARCH, SALT, DRIED STRAWBERRIES, DRIED PEARS, DRIED APPLES, CORNSTARCH, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), MILLED CORN, CITRIC ACID, GELATIN, CARAMEL COLOR, SOY LECITHIN, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OIL?, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, XANTHAN GUM, MODIFIED WHEAT STARCH, COLOR ADDED, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, RED #40, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), YELLOW #6, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), TURMERIC COLOR, FOLIC ACID, BLUE #1.

My daughter is a terribly picky eater, so i get your frustration.   Will he eat peanut butter on toast?   Pancakes? 

LuckySunshineBaby

I don't have the energy in the morning to battle a toddler.  DD eats fruit and a carb.  The carb could be a bagel, pancakes (don't get excited, think mini pancakes I don't have to cut from Aunt Jemima), a doughnut this weekend (chocolate too:), toast...whatever we have/I can find.

I'm not a morning person.  Oh, and she loves toaster strudels with extra icing.  My thoughts (just mine) are that if she eats healthy the rest of the day, she'll likely live.  

lite-bright

Bon Appetit had a recipe for homemade poptarts in one of its recent issues. I haven't had a chance to try making them yet, but I thought they sounded really tasty and a good kid food! And since you make them with fruit preserves, you could do all kinds of fruit flavors. 

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/04/strawberry_pop_tarts 

KathrynMD

I'd rather DD just ate the half banana instead of regularly adding in the pop tart.  Have you tried cinnamon raisin bread or toast or try putting some jam on regular toast?  DD was stealing cinnamon raisin bread or bagels from other kids at daycare so much, I bought it for her. 

Luckystar2

wellfleet04:

Honestly, I think they are pretty bad for anything other than an occasional treat.  All processed crap and sugar.  If he doesn't have a weight gain issue, I'd stop feeding him things you don't want him to eat, and if he chooses not to eat anything, so be it.  Offer a variety of healthy choices, and let him decide what and how much to eat.  If he skips breakfast, no big deal.  He won't starve, really.  Most parents think they have the exceptional child that is just the pickiest eater ever, but I really think it's just a toddler thing in almost all cases, and it's your job to not "give in" to it unless there's a medical reason they NEED calories.    

Ditto.

And really, I'm not super anti poptart.  I love an occasional poptart for myself, as a dessert/treat. 

But I guess I don't see the point in feeding one to my kid for breakfast.  If there isn't a serious weight gain issue, I would just offer up healthy foods. If he chooses to eat great, if not...so be it.  Like pp said, people stress a lot about how much their kid is eating.  But they really don't need a ton of food (serving sizes are small!).  And they won't starve themselves. If there truly is a medical problem with gaining weight, that's a different issue and I'd talk with his dr about it.

He ate half a banana with it...why not just let him eat half a banana and let that be his breakfast?  That's fine.  Offer up some yogurt and maybe some other fruit.  If he just chooses the half a banana then maybe that's all he really wants. 

I just know with DD if I offered her up something sweet/bad for her, she'd be requesting that instead of other foods that she would have eaten anyways had I not offered up the "bad" food. 

melissaandgreg

i wouldnt give that to him on a regular basis. they have zero nutritional value. can you try making pancakes with oats in it or try to make something and sneak in nutritional value foods. once in awhile it is fine, but i would not make a habit of it

MattnNat

There are probably some better options out there if you think he might be eating them on a regular basis. (though who doesn't want a pop tart once in awhile...) Natures path makes a yummy toaster pastry with much better ingredients than the pop tart. There is a good review with ingredient comparison here.

DD is a super picky breakfast eater and our go-tos when she wont eat a thing are always organic cereal bars and organic yogurt/ yogurt smoothies and yogurt melts. She has a major sweet tooth so when I do give in with the sweets I try to get things that don't have all of the extra crap/ artificial ingredients, which usually ends up being organic versions. (we're def. not organic nazis all around!)

 But yeah a Pop Tart once in awhile isn't  going to hurt anyone, but if you think it will be something you will end up giving him often, I would look for a healthier alternative. 

spunkielexis196

I guess I will be the one person who says, what will it hurt, they aren't that bad for you, we have all eaten worse things for breakfast.  My son eats a steady diet of chocolate chip cookie dough poptarts.   He loves them, they are no mess and he gets some nutritional value from them, his pediatrician told me they will not hurt him and he needs the extra calories.  I guess we could have him sit and eat a bowl of fruit and a piece of whole grain toast w/no butter, but it won't happen so I'm not going to force a 2 year old to eat "healthy" when the important thing is he's eating.

I guess my main point is he was obsessed with mandrian oranges and that is all he wanted to eat, I fed them to him, he got over it and moved on and will move on from his poptart obsession.  I realize I'm comparing oranges and "junk food" but nothing is good for you in excess, everything in moderation.

My son is below the 5% in weight so that is why we are going with whatever he wants to eat, within reason he does.

melissaandgreg

spunkielexis196:

I guess I will be the one person who says, what will it hurt, they aren't that bad for you, we have all eaten worse things for breakfast.  My son eats a steady diet of chocolate chip cookie dough poptarts.   He loves them, they are no mess and he gets some nutritional value from them, his pediatrician told me they will not hurt him and he needs the extra calories.  I guess we could have him sit and eat a bowl of fruit and a piece of whole grain toast w/no butter, but it won't happen so I'm not going to force a 2 year old to eat "healthy" when the important thing is he's eating.

I guess my main point is he was obsessed with mandrian oranges and that is all he wanted to eat, I fed them to him, he got over it and moved on and will move on from his poptart obsession.  I realize I'm comparing oranges and "junk food" but nothing is good for you in excess, everything in moderation.

My son is below the 5% in weight so that is why we are going with whatever he wants to eat, within reason he does.

 

thats different. he needs high fat/calorie foods although there are probably better options. but if it is a weight issue, i can understand more

melissaandgreg

spunkielexis196:

I guess I will be the one person who says, what will it hurt, they aren't that bad for you, we have all eaten worse things for breakfast.  My son eats a steady diet of chocolate chip cookie dough poptarts.   He loves them, they are no mess and he gets some nutritional value from them, his pediatrician told me they will not hurt him and he needs the extra calories.  I guess we could have him sit and eat a bowl of fruit and a piece of whole grain toast w/no butter, but it won't happen so I'm not going to force a 2 year old to eat "healthy" when the important thing is he's eating.

I guess my main point is he was obsessed with mandrian oranges and that is all he wanted to eat, I fed them to him, he got over it and moved on and will move on from his poptart obsession.  I realize I'm comparing oranges and "junk food" but nothing is good for you in excess, everything in moderation.

My son is below the 5% in weight so that is why we are going with whatever he wants to eat, within reason he does.

 

thats different. he needs high fat/calorie foods although there are probably better options. but if it is a weight issue, i can understand more

almostabuck

I try not to introduce things like that in the first place. If they've never had it, they don't know what they are missing. Then on days that DD is being picky, she is still eating something moderately healthy.

carlab44

Amy's Kitchen makes Organic Toaster Pops. I still wouldn't think they are good for you, but probably less bad than the Kellog's version. Not as much processed junk/ingredients (no HFCS) and they have about half the sugar.