When Your Baby Eats the Dog’s Dinner: Parenting Chaos and Thanksgiving Food Choices

As many of you know, kids don’t come with manuals—and most days, we parents are learning on the fly. Every day brings a new adventure; kind of like opening a questionable diaper… you never really know what you’re going to get.

Last week, Ellen took the big boys (Isaiah and Isaac) to Cub Scouts, leaving me with the littles (Ethan and Evan). Anytime I’m solely responsible for the kids, it feels a bit like the blind leading the blind. Chaos isn’t just likely—it’s guaranteed.

The evening started strong with both boys soaking themselves by splashing in Ryder’s water bowl. After wrestling them out of wet clothes and dealing with Ethan’s blowout diaper, I realized I hadn’t seen my 10-month-old, Evan, in a few minutes. I searched the whole house until I heard a suspicious rustling in the laundry room.

Conveniently, that’s where Ryder’s dog food sits. Apparently dinner hadn’t satisfied Evan, because I found him looking like a tiny chipmunk, cheeks packed full of kibble.

Now, removing dog food from a baby’s mouth is not something any parenting book warned me about—and certainly not the danger involved. Let’s just say baby teeth are sharp, and parenting should absolutely come with hazard pay. It’s a risky profession.

But it got me thinking: as adults, we often eat things we really shouldn’t—foods we’re not designed for. I doubt you’ll be sneaking bites of dog food this Thanksgiving, but sugar and highly processed foods might be a different story.

In our fast-paced lives, we gravitate toward quick, convenient foods engineered in factories to light up our taste buds. The result? Food addictions strong enough that we practically bite the hand trying to steer us toward healthier choices. We can get offended when someone offers us health advice.

And listen—I’m not recommending you point across the table at Thanksgiving and say, “Are you really going to eat that?” I’ve been on the receiving end of comments like that, and it’s never helpful. Truth be told, telling someone how or what to eat can come across rude—or even arrogant—unless you’re a trained healthcare professional.

So, in my professional chiropractic opinion, here’s my Thanksgiving advice: plan. Plan to enjoy time with your family, plan to savor a delicious meal, and plan moments of reflection and thankfulness. And for those of us with health goals or struggles around food, plan what you’ll eat.

If you’re like me and tend to overindulge this time of year, a simple plan goes a long way. My personal strategy? Load up on turkey, ham, and vegetables. Skip the breads and potatoes. And when my dad brings out his famous Persimmon Pudding, I’ll enjoy exactly one piece—because some traditions are worth keeping.

And here’s my final tip: if you’re going to eat dessert, make it a homemade one. It’s made with love… store-bought doesn’t count.

Your friend,
Dr. Mosier