I feel a little sweaty about this episode, you guys. Anything that involves family, family dynamics, it's a lot to take on. But we're going to talk about it. We're going to talk about what to do when grandparents want to give your kids all the treats. I heard from so many of you on Instagram who are like, dude, I don't know how to get this under control.

Please help me.

So we're going to talk about it today.

Welcome back to feeding toddlers made easy.

I'm Casey Burns, registered dietitian nutritionist, mom of two, holding it down in the insanely hot Dallas, Texas, summer heat as I record this.

And I'm in my closet.

This is where I record my podcast episodes for you. It's very

cozy in here, I guess you could say. I help you guys make feeding your toddler easier. That's the

simplest way to say it. And let's do it. All right. When it comes to the grandparents, not feeding your kids the way that you'd like, not

feeding them the way that you have explicitly asked them to.

The first thing I would say is what percent of time does your child spend with them?

Like, let's put it into perspective here.

The nutritional implications, if it's less than, say, once a week,

I wouldn't worry so much about the lack of nutrition.

As long as your toddler or your child is able to slide back into the normal routine at home

and it doesn't cause any lasting issues like constipation for a few days after they visit

or really not being able to get back into the routine.

So putting aside the part where they don't listen to your requests and looking only at the nutritional piece, I would say if this is infrequent, it's okay.

Nutrition is important, of course, but it won't totally ruin your child if they have a day or two of endless treats. Even if they're

only one year old, it's not what I prefer for them, but there is no lasting harm that's going to

come from them eating cookies and ice cream for a day. I really want to emphasize that because I'll

tell you how I personally felt feeding Teddy, my oldest, my first born when he was a baby.

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