ice cream | The Mommy Insider

Here’s a common scenario at my house and I could use some advice on how to handle it.

It’s 7pm (30 minutes before bedtime) and my daughter is eating a single serving cup of ice cream. It’s tiny, really.

Having this little cup of ice cream has become such a habit for her that if we run out or I say no, she thinks the world must be coming to an end. Or that her big brother needs to walk to the store and get some ice cream.

is it a bad habit? — Showing the other snacks so you can visualize the size of the ice cream cup

Ok, she’s not that dramatic but here’s the thing..

My kids eat one of these single serving ice cream cups almost every night after dinner or before bed. I know it’s not great for them but it’s what they do. It’s one of those tiny one serving ice cream cups. So yummy! Anyway, I know they shouldn’t be eating ice cream every day especially before bed. That’s a bad habit. I know that.

The kids eat very well otherwise. They love vegetables and fruit and have them with lunch and dinner and generally eat very healthy, mostly organic food. We don’t eat junk food like cookies or sweets. We just don’t keep them in the house.

The kids don’t drink juice. They drink water and milk. That’s a plus, right?

I guess that’s how I’ve convinced myself that eating a BLUE BELL single serving ice cream every night is OK. But is it really OK. Maybe it is. This is me arguing with myself.

The reality of the situation is that..

I don’t want to deal the drama with that comes with breaking their habit.

Then I have to deal with fussing and I don’t want to do that.

Have you had to break your child(ren) of a bad habit which resulted in you dealing with huge amounts of fussing and stress?
How did you do it? Bribery, cold turkey and Xanax (for you, not the kids)?

Kids enjoying ice cream — Enjoying ice cream at Bruster's in Marietta, GA

I’ll come up with any excuse to go to the ice cream shop including..“if you clean your room, I’ll buy you ice cream”. Who ends up cleaning the kid’s rooms? I do! We don’t go to ice cream shops nearly as often I’d like (who does?) but I love to go to ice cream shops like Bruster’s and Marble Slab Creamery. We don’t go to ice cream shops just for the delicious ice cream but also for the fun family time, togetherness and if your childhood was anything like mine, going to ice cream and frozen yogurt shops provide for some great memories! One thing that stands out in my childhood memories is going to TCBY with my Dad and sister where we grew up in Orlando.

Now, when I take my kids to Bruster’s or Marble Slab, I reminisce and think about how I’m building memories for my kids by doing something so simple as taking them to the ice cream shop.

Did you know that there are gourmet ice cream shops, gelato, smoothies, and frozen yogurt shops galore in Atlanta? Just like the Cupcake Bakeries list I recently put together for our great readers, the AtlantaMoms.com ice cream shops directory is growing fast and I’m sure you’ll find a great ice cream shop to visit near you.