Jacob basically eats what we eat, so in order to set the right example, that naturally means limiting intake of junk food! Jacob didn't have chocolate until he was around 15 months old from memory and always ate home-made food rather than tinned products. I even remember he turned his nose up at his 1st birthday cake because he didn't like it!

Since Jacob is 2 now, things are a bit more relaxed. Once a week Jacob will have fish fingers (oven-baked) but they are served with vegetables. He may have something else once a week when we have it, but that's it - and that could be some KFC or fish and chips - so he experiences whatever we do. The rest of the time he eats his cereal for brekkie (once a week he will have nutella on toast as a treat), sandwich/salad/spaghetti/leftovers for lunch (95% of the time it would be a meat sandwich, like turkey, ham or chicken), and whatever we are having for dinner which is our main meal of the day. He may not eat it of course, but it's always offered and if he chooses not to eat it, then fine. If he asks for something later, then he is offered a piece of fruit only, so he knows that he can't keep refusing dinner and wind up with whatever he fancies IYKWIM? If he eats all his dinner, we may offer him something like a chocolate custard but that only ends up happening maybe once a week. He will get a treat once a week maybe of a choccie frog or one of those little kinder chocolate bars. The other thing he loves as a treat are tiny teddies and sometimes we have to bribe him to eat his fruit by telling him he will get a tiny teddy! I know that 'bribing' him with food may be frowned upon by some, but at the end of the day, if a small treat of a tiny teddy encourages him to gobble down some much more filling and satisfying fruit or to finish off what's on his plate (whatever it may be), then so be it. That way we ensure he's got a full tummy which means a happier boy in our house!

Snacks for him include Fruche, Petit Miam, Goulburn Valley Pureed Fruit, Dried Fruit, Apples, Fruit Muffins/Fruit Cake, Heinz Muesli Bars, Rice Crackers, Corn Thins, Pretzels, cheese (although he's gone off the cheese a bit lately) etc. He sometimes has those K-Time Muffin Bars as well. Jacob is notorious for being extra hungry in the mornings ATM and not so hungry in the afternoon/evening, so we try to accomodate those needs by offering the right choices at those times. I swear he would eat corn, peas and capsicum until the cows came home too - he really enjoys those!

At the end of the day, we try to provide as much variety as possible. Currently he's eating very little red meat - only white meat in sandwiches etc. But we continue to offer it anyway, in whatever form we have it (e.g. steak, stirfry, casseroles etc) along with other vegies he currently doesn't eat so that he knows he can't just refuse it - it will always be there.

Jacob only drinks water too. He never has juice or cordials, unless he happens to have a sip of something that either DH or myself is having, but I only drink water LOL. DH will drink juice and sometimes Jacob will sip on it, but that's not often. He may get some lemonade if we are out somewhere for a meal as a special treat, but that's about as far as I'm prepared to go on fluids (clear fizzies). Because he's quite picky and grazes with his food, it's much better that he prefers water as that way we know he is not filling up on other things.

Ultimately what you do is up to you, and I personally feel that we have a responsibility to investigate all options available when it comes to our kiddies so that we can weigh up the pros and cons of whatever we are doing.

Giving your child a healthy start in life is very important, and I like to think that we have done that with Jacob, but I also like to ensure that he gets to experience treats and special things too.