Is this reasonable? Candy for eating breakfast?

cranburycakes · January 2010

My husband thinks it's reasonable to give our son a treat, such as a bag of gummy candies (Welsh's Fruit Snacks to be fair) for eating his breakfast. I don't think he needs to be "paid" for every meal with candy AND I don't think he needs to be eating candy early in the morning. I think he should be able to eat and enjoy his meals on their own. What do you think? Is it ok to have candy (even if it's fruit-based) at 7 AM?

I should say, that I am not opposed to candy in general at all. We eat plenty of it, so our son is by no means deprived. I just don't want him to view regular food as something that's a chore to eat.

stillhoping · January 2010

I do not like rewarding kids for doing things they should be doing, like eating breakfast, going to bed on time etc.

Jen2124 · January 2010

Everyday, no...but we do tell the boys they can have a treat if they eat their dinner a lot of the time. I don't think fruit snacks are really candy, so I might tell the boys they could have some if they eat their breakfast every once in awhile, but definitely not every day. (Fwiw, we don't eat fruit snacks, but I also dont' think they are that big of a deal every now and then).

ETA: When we do say this, I don't really think of it as a "reward" for eating their food...more like, they can have a treat, but not if they don't eat their food...kwim? I know that sounds like the same thing, but really I'd give them a treat normally, but I would not do so if they don't even eat their meal, if that makes sense.

veloelle · January 2010

I'd be ok w/ giving fruit snacks at mid-morning snack time, not after breakfast. A lot of time DD will ask for a treat after breakfast, like, actual candy. She got some at a b-day party last week. I'll say "if you eat all of your breakfast, you can have the treat at snack time." Half the time she forgets, and I don't remind her. But right after breakfast, no.

JOEBunny · January 2010

I would not. DD does get one treat a day, but sometimes it is yogurt, sometimes it is goldfish, ect.

KrisBriMcBunny · January 2010

I dont consider fruit snacks to be candy. Rewarding every now and then is ok....just not on a daily basis. And yes there probably could be something a little bit better to use in the moring. Unless you got a kid that eats like crap like I do. Perfect example M wanted a freeze pop before dinner....had meltdown when I told her no she had to eat dinner first. She refused any of the choices I gave her because she was hung up on getting the damn freeze pop first. I finally said you eat all of your dinner you can have it. So she told me what she wanted and ate every single bite.

Temp159135562506975 · January 2010

i don't see fruit snacks as candy - and i give them to Griffin as a morning snack often... if he was asking for them in the am I'd tell him he has to eat all his breakfast first and then can have them -- not as a reward though- just as "more food" if he's still hungry... they aren't candy to me- but aren't healthy enough as a breakfast either.

butterbeansmama · January 2010

I do not consider fruit snacks (especially Welch's which are 100% fruit with no added sugar) candy.

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Is this reasonable? Candy for eating breakfast?

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