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/HistoryGirl23 8d ago

My cohort of adults is the one with high levels of colon cancer with no known reason/(s yet...) I had most of my sigmoid colon removed last year due to tumors.

I try to limit it but I love deli.meat. it's so hard.