"Special Treats" for Toddler

Hi! My son is 2.5yo and also loves "special treats". I've found that just about anything can be "special" if you make it special/say it's special for them. For example, my son thinks ice water is special because I put an ice cube in it that is especially for him or I bought a spinach dip just for him and put it in a little bowl for him to dip his broccoli in...he loves it and really feels special! I will try to rotate the other "special" items - sometimes it is one episode of Superman (on DVD), sometimes it's a new book (I try to keep a stockpile of new books hidden away for those special occasions), I also keep little cookies or jelly beans that I can give in controlled/small doses. By keeping it fresh it keeps the items more special. But, like I said, I've found that if you say it's special for them, they love it!

You could still give her those things if they are sugar free. Then her teeth will be less likely to decay. Fruits are sweet. There are also little toys you could get at the dollar store etc to substitue for the candy treats as rewards. Stickers. Books. I get cheap ones at book nook, she loves books. I myself have fallen victim to happy meals. She LOVES chicken nuggets and its about the only thing she will eat. I have to tell her that her beef, pork etc is chicken nuggets and she will eat it. ha! She's chicken nugget crazy.

I read a few comment on using a couple things I would suggest staying away from.... Marcino cherries are very high in dyes. I would DEFINATELY stay away from items high in dyes, very hard on the bladder and other nasty stuff. Along the same line, I would never give my daughter sugar substitutes other than Xylotol, Agave, stevia and honey. I used to drink TAB like crazy and wish I never had. Sugar is better for them!

Other mothers have said that a sugar treat per day is OK... that really depends on the kid. For some it is not ok. I spoke with a mother of three autistic children, who was able to bring her children out of autisim... they probably never have sugar! that is an extreme, but it also made me understand that even though I do not see an immediate bad reaction, does not mean that the sugar did not affect my child adversely.

I am fortunate and do not have to worry when she does eat sugary food, but I do try to limit it. I would love to be able to tell you I go by what they were suggesting of once a month....not even close. But I will say that we can go days! and are working towards a week or better!

All the best!
C. Hiebel
www.abundantlight.com

check out the fruit snacks at a health food store. They have these things called fruit smooshers at Whole Foods my daughter loves--they look like junk food but are 100% fruit! I like the stickers idea though.

I use yogos, yogurt, yogurt tubes with the characters on the box. Snack puddings, applesauce. I just really transitioned from junk food and the transition has went pretty smoothly. I allow my 4 year old to pick out the snack and my 2 year old follows suit and is happy to get it. We still every now and then allow candy or chips as a surprise snack, but a lot less often. Hope this helps.

God Bless

stickers, tattoos, points toward big gifts like build-your-own-dolls (like you can find at Hobby Lobby, Target, and Walmart), crafts, coloring books and crayons, dates to parks(or the zoo, Chattahoochee Nature Center, swimming pool, etc.)

Treats as in yummy treats are fine for sometimes, too. But they can be applesauces or popsicles (more water/ less sugar).

Check out these websites for some cool downloads:
www.songsforteaching.com
http://www.akidsheart.com/
http://www.starfall.com/
oh, and http://www.momsview.com/ has a bunch of stuff on the two sides too. Check it out!

Hope some of that helps.

You wont be giving her type 2 diabetes from one sweet treat per day. I just had my sixth child and am, naturally, in the process of getting rid of the extra pounds. I am pretty tough on myself and stick to a strict diet, but only because I know that come bedtime I sit down with a piece of chocolate cake or a candybar; I wouldn't be sticking to the diet for a carrot at bedtime... that I know.

That said, I made my kids a treasure chest with inexpensive toys like the little Bon Bon nail polishes for my daughter, fruit roll-ups, tickets to computer time (this works on my three-year-old too), Thomas and Barbie tatoos...

Hope this helps.

Just read some other responses and had to respond to those. Please do not think dried fruits are low in sugar! Also, stay away from Juicy Juice...look at the lable at the amount of sugar. It it when I had a glass of my children's Juicy Juice I found out I had gestational diabetes. My own favorite snack, other than dark chocolate, which is actually good for you in moderation, I LOVE frozen grapes. I am not sure I would feed frozen grapes to a two-year-old though.

In inclement weather, a special story time (make up a list of when you were a little girl), on nice days - a walk with you around the block, push her in the swing fro 5 minutes, A little extra time in the swimming pool or bath tub with toys and your interacting with her. Now and for the next few years any activity with you or her Dad will be reward enough and help setting the stage for getting attention for good behaviour. No TV or sweets. V.

My daughter loved marachino cherries on the stem at that age! I would give her one as a small reward for doing something like using the potty.

We have tried to avoid rewarding with foods, so we use stickers, small toys, special activities (like going to a park), etc to reward and entice! It seems to have worked just fine for our kids, and the switch shouldn't be too tough for you!

Hi,

I did the same ewith my son(now 7) . Once he understood the system I slowly increased the number of good days in a row required for a treat. I started at one day now we are up to 5 days in a row of good behavior for hs choice of a lolly pop, a scoop of Ice Cream or choosing a gift from my special bag(a bag filled with items from a dollar store). A whole month of good school behavior every day, gets him a trip to Chucky Cheese. When he has a bad day, the clock starts over.

good luck

I like using stickers -cheap and kids love them! You could make a poster board where she gets stickers and if she gets a certain amount in a row or something, then she gets to select a toy or see a movie or watch an extra cartoon or something. However, one note -are you rewarding her just for being good on any given day? There are certainly many reasons and times for using reward strategies (potty training, if the child has been having problems at school, not using curse words if that has become a habit, etc.), but I think we should expect our children to behave without treats -and they should understand that. Treats are treats -special things -not everyday things -at least that's the way we do it.

How about some thin banana slices dipped in yogurt, letting her dip of course. Just a thought...

Extra attention, like reading a book or playing a game together with no interruptions is special for my kids. Even extra hugs and kisses are special. For snacks, fruit (fresh or dried) has always been a special treat.

A good alternative is bubbles, stickers, books or any small dollar store item--maybe something new for bath time. If she likes a particular fruit, that would be a good treat or something whole wheat--like goldfish crackers.

We use fruit snacks as a special edible treat, for the non edible type we use stickers.

I personally don't see the problem with the occasionally sweet, when balanced with a healthy diet, a little cheat is good. But the only reason I responded was because I didn't see anyone mention sugar-free treats? My son never tasted the difference in a s/f lollipop or choc milk versus the regular. drugstores like Walgreens usually has a pretty good variety. just a suggestion.

Hi M., I would suggest treats that contribute back to learning but are fun and special. Like erasers or pencils with her favorite character, or picking out a new book or puzzle from the $1 store. You could also buy an age appropriate puzzle. For each time she does well, she gets to put in a piece. Once the puzzle is complete, she gets a larger or more special treat like new bubble bath or characterized footie socks.

We use sticker or temporary tatoos. I have also started doing a sticker chart for behaviors I want and after so many stickers she gets a bigger reward that she has been wanting.

I would go to the dollar store and buy small little toys and maybe some coloring books,crayons,play doh

Stickers worked well for my daughter and we put there where she could see them everyday (on her bedroom door). And after 1 week's worth of stickers then we would do something special like go to the park. Good luck

I went to the Dollar Store and loaded up on toys, crayons, stickers, bubbles and such...no candy. I made a special tresure chest that I keep in the pantry and have started a chart of good deeds. My 5 year old daughter has to get a certain number and my 2 year old son has to achieve a certain number of deeds which are recorded on the chart before they can dive into the chest. They love it. I made the mistake of potty training with candy and that was a hard habit to break! Good luck.

Obviosly non food items would be best, but not always practical. My 2 year old son loves the Nature Valley granola bars(the hard ones). They are not super great for you but better than candy. There are 2 bars in a pack and I only give him a small piece of one of them. We use it for a potty training reward when we are out of the house. I don't know if other kids like these or not, but my son does.

Hey M. - I actually do not reward with food. I know it is hard. But I want to be sure that my daughters relationship with food is because she is hungry not because she is being rewrded or punished for anything. She does have sweets, she is not denied them, its just given the same way as any other random snack would be. So, for rewards, she is really big into balloons and stickers at the moment. Maybe you could have a reward poster where she gets a sticker or a star for good deeds then after so many good deeds she can have something special of her choice (within reason). Also, check out daveramsey.com. He is a financial advisor and has a jr program that teaches ways to reward and teach children through financial means that teaches children a healthy money relationship also. For example having a clear container that you can put crumpled dollars in (crumpled takes up more space and is more visually appealling to the child) when they have completed whatever task(s) you establish. You also establish something your child is working to purchase with that money. Maybe put a picture of that special toy on the container. Then when the container is full, you can go purchase that item. I will say that that the transition from sweets to other things may not be easy for a few days. She may pitch a fit. But you have to get through that and not give in. It will be better in the long run. Remember she is in one of the "testing" periods, and if she sees that you will give in, she wins. Good luck! I hope this helps!

First, get all the lollipops and such out of the house and don't buy more. Then you won't be tempted to give in if she throws a tantrum about it. You can use anything as a reward, and pretty much anything is better than using food as a reward. You could give her a hug and praise, read her an extra story, make a sticker chart or sticker book, take her to the library, play a game together, etc. Really, it's all in the advertising / presentation. If you present it as a special thing and include lots of positive reinforcement, she will most likely enjoy it. Personally, I don't do desserts for my family of 7. I figure that if the children ate a good dinner, they shouldn't need dessert. My siblings give their children candy and other treats every time they eat "all their dinner," etc. I think that is a very bad habit.

Try the little boxes of raisins. I let my two-year old take a little box to church to nibble on and keep him quiet during the services.

I would try offering fun things to do like 'Since you did well today, I am going to take you to the park' or 'we will rent your favorite movie (if she watches movies) or 'you get bubbles in your bath tonight'??? Just a thought because that is what I do with my kids.

I don't think desserts and candy are bad if used in moderation. My kids get these on occasion for doing something really good. I just make sure to have them brush their teeth afterward. You could try making your own popsicles or smoothies. My kids love those as treats and they like helping me to make them too. The grocery stores carry sugar-free popsicles as well if you don't want to make your own. My kids also like fruit snacks.

I think someone has already said my idea but I was thinking along the idea of some dollar toy items, toys, etc. Maybe switch back and forth with toys and healthy treats that have been suggested, so she doesn't get use to just one type of treat.

You can use non-sweet rewards based on the things she likes most or what motivates her. Show lots of enthusiasm to make that particular "prize" the greatest prize ever to your daughter. Some examples may be: stickers to put on a sticker chart or book, to play the game of her choice for 30 minutes or so, go see grandma, read her favorite book, go to the library to pick out a book to read later that night, cook one of her favorite dinner items, etc. You can even make doing "grown-up" things a reward, like helping Mommy cook dinner (with play utensils), or help clean up (wipe the table), sweep with a play broom, etc.

Good luck! :)

My kids love it when I put the go-gurts in the frezer cuz they they are like popsciles. Also my kids love dried mango and apricots they are very sweet. Or just plan yougurt with fresh fruit of some kind, you make a kind of fruit bar for a yougurt sundae. Also fruit smoothies, a little yougurt and frozen berries and milk and youre good to go. Costco just came out with a package and all you do is add milk it comes with the berries and yougurt my kids 3 1/2 and 2 think they are the best treat ever. GOOD LUCK

I also use the fruit treats that are like gummy bears but contain fruit juice. I know that they still have a lot of sugar, but they also have 100% vitamin c and some nutritional value. My 2 1/2 year old daughter loves them.