Hellobee Boards

I've always practiced baby led weaning, and my daughter eats off our plates extensively. We share all our food with her, good and bad (except beer and such, obviously). As a result, she's a great eater, and mostly prefers 'healthy' foods, although I'm trying not to label them as such for her. She's 16 months old.

I had a moment of shame recently when I was eating a piece of chocolate, and she came up and happily said 'chocolate!', and I gave her a small bite. My mother snippily said that I didn't even know that word when I was that age, and I really burned with shame for a minute. Then I thought, hey, my daughter just finished her usual breakfast of a big bowl of unsweetened yogurt, two tangerines, and a handful of cheerios. That's pretty good. I love food, and I'm not interested in teaching my daughter that some foods are ok but some aren't.

I think it's really best to not assign foods to 'good' and 'bad', and to try to avoid the shame that so pervades our culture in terms of eating. I try to look at protein, nutrients, and such. If my girl only wanted bread, I'd worry that she needed more protein, but I'd really try to change my language about 'bad' food.

@jennylynn: lol!
This worries me. I am such a terrible eater so DS is going to see some things that may shock him;) I guess I have time to wean myself from potato chips still, but I don't want to just yet:(