Alison Sweeney and Gerber to launch toddler nutrition campaign

Days of Our Lives‘ Alison Sweeney and mom to Benjamin Edward, 2,has signed up with Gerber to promote toddler nutrition, the companyannounced today. Alison, who is a proponent of the GRADUATES line, saidin a statement that she is looking forward to educating parents on themaking the proper nutritional choices for their kids.

When Gerber shared its findings from a recent survey of moms, Iwas shocked to learn that many toddlers weren’t getting the recommendedamount of fruits and vegetables in a day. As a mother of a 2-year-old,I’m thrilled at the opportunity to talk to parents about how they canpositively affect their toddlers’ eating habits, which may impact thefood choices they make as adults.

The survey findings are a good reminder that many moms are looking forwholesome foods for their toddlers. I turn to GRADUATES from Gerberbecause the meals and snacks are nutritious, convenient, and designedspecially for toddlers, not adults. I feel good knowing that theGRADUATES line is helping me feed my 2-year-old son the recommendedamount of fruits and vegetables everyday.

Ben’s dad is Alison’s husband, David Sanov.

Source: Earth Times

Comments

I LOVE THAT BEAR SUIT! Where can I find it?

- Stephanie on July 27th, 2007

If she is such a big proponent of toddler nutrition, why is she in cohoots with Gerber Graduates? There are so many chemicals in those little kiddie tv dinners it’s not even funny. Is it really that hard to cut up an apple, or open a bag of baby carrots for your child?

- Rebecca on July 27th, 2007

Gerber was just bought by Nestle, a huge formula maker. They are revamping Gerber to try to promote thier brand, which has very questionable practices in pushing formula in third world countries.

I personally don’t think that little kids need ‘special’ food. If you breastfeed your child for two years like the WHO reccomends, and make healthy food options available to them, you don’t need a big coorporation to feed them artificial chemicals and vitamens.

- heather on July 27th, 2007

the suit looks like the old navy monkey costume both of my boys wore two halloweens ago.

how odd that *nutrition* = gerber graduates. what two year old can’t eat regular healthy, table food? my kids would never eat those nasty looking graduate meals when i served them!

- Linda on July 28th, 2007

i was wrong about the monkey thing. the monkey costume has more of a head on it, but they look very similar.

- Linda on July 28th, 2007

That looks a lot like the monkey suit babycenter has for sale leading up to Halloween.

- Lorus on July 28th, 2007

Like anyone in the formula/ fast-food business, she’s not doing it for kids, she’s doing it for money. If it was for kids, she’d be an advocate, not a saleperson.

- Shmoo on July 28th, 2007

There are a lot of mothers that aren’t as perfect as you apparently. I’m glad that Alison Sweeney is being an advocate for educating mothers about proper nutrition for toddlers, however it comes about.

- terri on July 28th, 2007

As a holistic nutritionist, I have to say it warms my heart to see parents who breastfeed and feed their kids real food. I’ve read the ingredients on some of those Graduates “foods”…frightening.
I’d like to ask some of the people who buy that if they could tell me exactly what some of those ingredients are. I’d bet they’d be stumped. Anyway, this blog is awesome and so are you guys.

- emily on July 28th, 2007

“I personally don’t think that little kids need ‘special’ food. If you breastfeed your child for two years like the WHO reccomends, and make healthy food options available to them, you don’t need a big coorporation to feed them artificial chemicals and vitamens.”

I agree! So nice to see another mom who recognizes the value of nursing two years as the WHO recommends. Nursing your child and feeding whole foods doesn’t indicate a “prefect” mom as Terri stated. If you can physically nurse, you should do it as long as you can for your child. Let’s educate moms to nurse and feed their children whole foods, not commercialized, packaged foods full of chemicals!

- S on July 28th, 2007

Hi Terri, of course every mother faces personal challenges, and sometimes that is cooking, or meal times. Certainly, I would rather support another mother in her strengths than berate her for her weaknesses. I hope to be treated the same. But that is not the point here. We are drawing attention to the fact that this is not advocacy on Ms. Sweeny’s part, rather it is trying to get moms to buy something. Education doesn’t come from being convinced to buy something based on misleading information. Mothers and toddlers are being done no service by concealing the added ingredients of highly processed, preserved foods.

- Shmoo on July 29th, 2007

I once read the ingredients on a gerber graduates… I ran.

It was better (though still not my first pick) to just get a can of low-sodium vegetable soup… drain the broth, and use that for a quick meal when we were out and needed to snag something like that

My first pick was to take pre-cooked foods from our leftovers and put in tupperware/first years take n’ toss ware and tote it with us.

When my kids got off mush, they just ate what we ate…. just smaller bites…. and it was given as soon as they could handle it.

And by 2yrs old, they were starting to or already using their forks and spoons… and not needing the overly-soft and overly-processed stuff like the gerber graduates.

I think if she really wants to educate moms, she should instead team up with the AAP or WHO or do a milk campaign like Mariska Hartigay.

It would be more beneficial to advocate veggies and fruit, but also an easy way to just make the ones you yourself eat doable for older infants and toddlers.

- Kat on July 29th, 2007

I personally don’t think that little kids need special food If you breastfeed your child for two years like the WHO reccomends,

- Sanjay on March 18th, 2008