# Am I crazy?? Pickles for baby???



## Cosmic Butterfly (Aug 20, 2004)

Hello,

I have a 12 month old, and my Mother in Law likes to give her pickles. It really annoys me, and I just dont like the fact that my little girl is eating them. Are they unhealthy? I know that there are healthier things in the fridge besides a sour salty pickle. She told me that they were healthy and I disagreed. Am I being silly??

Thanks


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## wombat (Nov 3, 2002)

I'd check the salt level. I'm not overzealous about salt but some manufacturers add way too much salt even for adults, that alone for babies.


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## weebitty2 (Jun 16, 2004)

They're not UNhealthy .. but there are better things in the fridge for a munchkin to chow on. Most pickles, believe it or not, have less salt than some cheeses. (Esp. american and cheddar.) Sweet pickles have less salt than dill, but IMO, taste like donkey-butt.

My dd loves pickles too, but we don't let her have more than maybe two or three spears, or 6 or 7 minis a week .. and NEVER EVER mix them with peanut butter. The resulting barf stains. (My aunt fed ds baby dills and peanut butter cups when he was about 18mo .. we had to replace my g'ma's carpet after the subsequent vomiting incident. SUPER GROSS!)


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## VikingKvinna (Dec 31, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Cosmic Butterfly*
I know that there are healthier things in the fridge besides a sour salty pickle. Thanks

There are also many *less* healthful things that she could be feeding your DC. No, pickles aren't great, but I'd rather it be pickles than Cheetos or cookies or candy (which is what my mom wants to feed 13-month DS).

That's not to say, however, that you should acquiesce -- bottom line, it's your kid and ergo your rules. If MIL is going against your wishes, you have every right to ask her not to and explain your parenting philosophy.

Good luck!
~nick


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## Attila the Honey (Mar 15, 2003)

I have been blessed with a 10 month old who loves to eat, and wants to eat everything I am eating. She's had pickles and she loves them! (she also loves saurkraut and spicy food. she ate jerk TVP yesterday, her little eyes were watering but she was like a baby bird begging for more!) Of course you wouldn't want to give her a side dish of pickles with her dinner, but there are worse things she could snack on.

I personally do not have a problem with it, but if you do then your MIL should respect your wishes.


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## captain optimism (Jan 2, 2003)

We started feeding our baby pickles at 14 months. Pickles are a culturally important food for us, and especially for my dh. His mom and her parents grew up on the Lower East Side of New York and they get pickles every year at Passover as a special seasonal food.

Pickles are supposed to be a spur to appetite, and we found that our ds would eat more other food if we gave him some pickle. They are very salty and high in sodium, but since they got our son interested in his food, we liked him to have them.

If you don't feel comfortable with your 12 month old eating pickles, then your MIL shouldn't give them to her. It's just like with any other food: your MIL will have many opportunities in the future, when the child is older, to feed her pickles, ice cream, sugar cereal, you name it. For now, she should lay off!


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## HollyBearsMom (May 13, 2002)

My son loves sweet gherkins. I treat them like any other kind of sweet snack which means I limit them. I could be wrong but I still think a sweet gherkin beats a cookie, cake, icecream or candy nutritionally. I'd rather he have a pickle than those.

He used to love the big NY sour dills but no more. Probably sw me making faces whenever his dad ate one, LOL.


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## mamagranola (Jun 6, 2004)

One note of caution: If they are pickles bought from the grocery store they almost definitely have yellow dye in them. Yellow dye is a petroleum derivitive and can cause a whole host of physical and behavioral side effects. Please read the label!!!!


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