Yes, We Have a Third Tooth, and No, I Am Not Listening to My Pediatrician

On Friday, after months of waiting, one of Evelyn's top teeth is finally popping through! I thought she would be heading to kindergarten with just two bottom teeth : ) She was a bit fussy-just sensitive really-but slept fine, which is nice. It's so odd to see her take actual bites of food. Just the sound says "growing up" to me. My baby is definitely not a baby for much longer.

Now, on to Pandora's box. Last summer (actually on my birthday), the American Academy of Pediatrics changed it's longstanding recommendations that children between the ages of 1 and 2 drink whole milk and after 2 drink 2%. The new recommendations are for children to switch straight to 2% at 12 months and forgo drinking whole milk due to the childhood obesity epidemic. Now, to be clear, the recommendation is for children who are at risk for being overweight or who have a family history of heart disease or high cholesterol. However, I am not sure I know anyone who does not have some family history of heart disease or high cholesterol, so I think that pretty much applies to everyone.

At our one year appointment our pediatrician said quite specifically that we should start our children on 2%. I emphatically disagree and actually have already started giving Evelyn whole milk. Here is Pandora's Box, because I realize that I have many friends who are in the medical field and/or have very strong opinions on the health of their children, and may think I am wrong for not following this guideline. I welcome your comments, of course if you know me at all you know your arguments are more likely to make me stubbornly dig my heels in ; ) Now, it will probably surprise most of you (and you will either be relieved or disappointed) that I did not make a big stink about this to my pediatrician. But, it was the end of the day, I wanted to go home and watch LOST, and I honestly just didn't care! But, I'll share my reasoning with you.

The AAP is right to be concerned about obesity amongst children, it is truly horrible. And they state that the reason they have discontinued recommending whole milk to children, is not that they don't need the fat (fat is very important for brain development), but more because they are getting the fat elsewhere and don't need the added fat from whole milk. Well here is a duh moment for me. Instead of removing whole milk from our children's diets, wouldn't it make more sense to remove the ice cream, cheetos, and McDonalds? If I had to hazard a guess I would say the junk food is worse for our toddlers than milk is for them. Now, don't get me wrong, I love all those foods and in fact had two out of three of them just in the last week! However, I don't eat them often, I don't feed them to my daughter and when I do, it will be in moderation. There is nothing wrong with fatty foods. I've read the whole bible and although some rather embarrassingly large chunks of the old testament are a bit blurry, I'm fairly sure that sweets and treats are not a sin and won't send you to hell. I am a firm believer in chocolate cake, and since God invented the cocoa bean, I'm pretty sure He is too!

My guess is that the AAP, having said for years that children need to eat more healthy, having finally despaired and just decided to remove fat from children's diets any way they can. But it seems rather ironic to me that the underlying message is if we can't beat 'em join 'em. Okay, maybe not that extreme, but I do find it odd that as parents we should never stop telling our children the right thing to do, no matter how much they ignore us, yet here is the AAP doing just that! I know, I know, I have to live in the real world. But I can still disagree with the way it is!

So, Evelyn is eating dinner right now and enjoying her whole milk. Both Bard and I have parents/grandparents with cholesterol issues and heart problems. But Evelyn eats very healthy in every sense of the word. Most of the food she has is organic, no added preservatives, salt or sugar. She eats more than the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables, whole grains- in breads, cereal, oatmeal, and rice/soy cakes, and lean ground turkey or chicken. Her typical day is oatmeal with applesauce or bananas for breakfast, soy cakes for snack, some chicken with peas and bread for lunch, yogurt for snack, and chicken with peas, corn, and bread for dinner. Bard and I are not quite that militant but we eat pretty healthy, don't watch much TV and both have regular work outs and active lifestyles. Of course as she grows, if I see her developing a weight issue, I will adjust her diet and activities. I think it's sad that the AAP has to adjust what are perfectly fine guidelines just because many parents are unable to set good eating habits for their children.

Wow, I can see a lot from up on this soapbox, but I better come down now and go eat some cheetos!