He Screams for Ice Cream -- Literally

Our pediatrician tells us that MacBaby (now MacToddler, but I'll stick with MacBaby for consistency purposes) is a good eater. He loves his fruits and veggies and has been known to snack on noodles at all hours of the day.

But the kid's got a serious sweet tooth. Since his first birthday, I knew we were in trouble. He learned to say "ice cream" soon after his first bite. His love for cake and cookies know no bounds. We mistakenly picked up a birthday cake for my brother in the middle of the day, and the kid screamed in the store. He was not about to wait until after dinner for the opportunity to smear icing all over his face.

While I've been known to sneak MacBaby the occasional sweet treat, I turn a request down at the same time everyday -- bedtime. You would think that favorite children's books would bring pleasure to parent and child as they wind down their day. But, these innocuous stories end up with the boy running town the stairs begging for cake.

Take, for example, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. There is one page in this book that MacBaby immediately turns to. Not the page listing the caterpillar's fruit intake for the week, but the page filled with junk food. He points out the cake, pie and ice cream followed by a "yum." At least the watermelon and cheese bring us back to healthy.

Good Night Little Bear is no better. The story comes to a crux when father bear sneakily eats a piece of chocolate cake to find little bear. Sometimes the reading of this page ends with tears when MacBaby realizes there will be no cake for him. Don't even get me started on The Poky Little Puppy, but least favorite children's book ever. Not only is the book long and boring, but it is all about dessert. MacBaby has never had strawberry shortcake, and yet he knows he would like it. Clearly, there was no childhood obesity epidemic when these books were published.

Our compromise seems to be Sammy the Seal. Like his impressionable father who must have a Whopper after seeing a Burger King commercial, MacBaby demands a banana when he sees what the monkey in the zoo are consuming. So, he gets a banana before bed.

How do you balance sweets and good treats? Are you surprised about the number of bad food influences lurking in the pages of your kids' books?