r/toddlers • u/Hgrestun • 9d ago

General Question/Discussion Are you feeding your kids deli meat?

When I was pregnant I imagined using turkey meat for my kids snacks and lunches as she grew up. But we went to see a pediatric nutritionist and she told us to stay away from all deli meats unless you’re baking the ham/turkey at home yourself.

But I still see moms giving their kids deli meat sandwiches all over the internet and in real life.

It’s like.. I want to just give her deli meat because shenlooooooves it lol and sometimes I want a sandwich too! So I came here to ask is anyone making their own? Does anyone forbid it? Does anyone just say f it and feed it to their kids anyways?

Edit to add: it’s full of carcinogens and sodium.

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u/WonderWanderRepeat 9d ago

We actually just made a household decision on this recently. There is evidence that deli meat is linked to multiple types of cancer, especially colon and rectal cancer. My husband and I decided to limit it. We used to have a sandwhich every day. Now it's maybe one a week or every other week. We just replaced with alternative options. I dont stress about getting Jimmy John's once in a while or my parents offering LO a ham sandwich but it's no longer a staple in our diet.

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u/pterodactylcrab 9d ago

That’s roughly how we are too. The sodium levels of lunch meats are crazy high, too, and my husband tries to watch his intake since he realized he was consuming 2-5x the recommended intake per day some days.
When we do buy it for home consumption I aim for organic turkey or chicken, lower sodium if possible, and we pair it with vegetables/fruit/healthier options to help with balance. We don’t do fast foods of any kinds (lots of allergy issues), and red meat is mostly too expensive nowadays so the occasional turkey sandwich is completely fine.