Do you use food as a means of shaping your child's behavior?

I do not believe in using food as a reward or a punishment. I think you run the risk of creating an eating disorder when you use food as a form of discipline.

I don't really like to use bribes because then the child can become dependent on them. However with that said, I did have to resort to this while potty training my middle child because she did not like to go number 2 in the potty. Because we don't give our kids sweets very often and try to keep things healthy, to give her things like chocolate milk and such were really enticing for her so she quickly became potty trained after that. I don't punish by taking away food - but if my child doesn't act right or doesn't finish or at least eat a good portion of their main meal, I won't give them dessert afterward. This can be anything from Yogurt to fruit to smoothies or something of the like.

I never rewardeed or punished my step kids with food. In Child Psychology I learned that rewarding children with food can lead to obesity and punishing children by taking away food can lead to mistrust and other eating disorders.In my opinion it would be best to reward children by getting a grab bag or a box of small toys and giving her one when she behaves. Take her to the park or to buy a toy at the end of the week when she behaves consistently. We have a chart for our children and we keep track of our childrens behavior. When they misbehave we mark it as well with when they behave. If they are good the whole week then on Saturday we take them to Walmart and buy them a toy of thier choice. It works pretty well. They will behave if you are consistent. You do not need food.

I will do this if we are having a certain issue that we can't seem to tease out with regular behavior modifications. Most generally my children are rewarded with being able to stay up later, or watching something that they want to watch, or going to the park. While my 4 year old was in preschool he would have "red days" (they used a three stage system and red was the worst) and so to curb this behavior we would take him to the local ice cream store to get a special cone called a clown cone if he could have 4 out of 5 green days.

I try hard not to use food or treats as a source of reward or punishment. I try to show food as a source of nourishment for our bodies and not a source of comfort or agony. For myself I grew up using food as comfort and as a stress relief and it has caused me to struggle with weight as an adult. The best way to reward is with priveledges for responsible behavior and natural consequences for wrong behavior. That being said, I think you can reward yourself or child with a sweet treat after a period of healthy food choices, that is a positive consequence for making good food choices throughout the day or week. Blessings!