Don’t Waste Your Money on “healthy” Baby Foods
Babies: they are just like us. They love snacking on cookies and puff cheese and eating sweet smoothies – hey, who doesn’t? But toddler snacks are sold in such a way that parents think they are buying something healthier and healthier.
Let’s be real: Annie’s organic bunnies are candy. These organic “breakfast cookies” with Elmo’s face on the box are cookies. Cheddar-flavored Gerber Lil ‘crunchy flakes are cheesy scribbles.
I have three children, so I understand perfectly why these products exist. You are busy and your child probably has a weird opinion about food (if not in general, then definitely when they are out and about and tend to go hungry). When your first baby starts eating food, you think, why the hell should I feed him now? Baby food in the form of mashed potatoes is a natural first step, and then all the other shelves in this part of the store beckon: feed him that too.
Everything about this aisle is convenient, but largely overpriced and unnecessary. There are children’s “meals” which are regular food but cut into small pieces. The aforementioned biscuits and cheesecakes. Packages that are mostly smoothies. And toddler milk, which is marketed as the next drink your child should drink after it develops into formula. (Your pediatrician will tell you: When your baby is 1 year old, you can switch to regular milk right away.)
But in order to pass by all these subjects, you must be aware of several things. Organic doesn’t mean healthier. Green and brown packaging doesn’t mean it’s healthier. The special packaging for babies does not make the meal more suitable for the baby than the same in the other aisle. Many snacks, illustrated with pictures of fruits and vegetables, contain only a tiny piece of these fruits or vegetables, just enough to make them look special. As reported by the Washington Post , parents think that foods in this range are healthier than snacks for adults, but this is usually not the case.
I mean, I understand. I didn’t buy yogurt puffs for my kids, so they ended up burning them with other kids’ moms. They taste good! But if I’m going to buy sugary snacks, I can save money and go buy them in the adult aisles.