Do you worry about how much sugar your kids eat?
by Rachel Sarah
Filed under Kids
When we recently read a post on The Skinny on Sugar: How Much is Too Much?, we wondered whether you’re concerned about how much sugar your kids (and you) consume.
For the record: both of us have chocolate stashes in our cupboards. And, although we try to feed our kids wholesome foods, we have served our share of instant oatmeal and chocolate milk for breakfast. And flavored yogurt and PB&J for lunch.
In her post, food sociologist Dina Rose says it’s a parents’ job to “train” their kids’ taste buds for healthy eating.
“When it comes to sugar consumption you only need to consider one thing,” explains Dina. “How often is ‘sweet’ the flavor your kids consume?”
Here’s another thing: We hear a lot of chatter from other parents about kids’ behavior and sugar consumption. We noticed during the holidays that kids acted out more as their sugar consumption rose.
Yet maybe it’s not the sugar, but rather the change in their routine and all the holiday excitement?
We’re curious (and we’re not judging because we’re in your shoes!):
Do you try to limit your kids’ sugar consumption? (Practical tips welcome!)
Do health concerns motivate your efforts to keep meals sugar-free?
Or, do you notice a real change in your kids’ behavior when they’re on “sugar over load”?
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(Photo courtesy of Babi_Santander via Flickr)
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Twitter @ http://cat804.blogspot.com
My son is 16 months. I’ve noticed a marked difference the few times he’s had sugar (birthday cake, a bite of chocolate once or twice, cupcakes at daycare parties). He gets really hyper then crashes, sometimes even falling asleep. On a regular basis, the only sugar he gets comes from fruit and breastmilk, and those naturally occuring sugars don’t seem to cause the same reaction. I also don’t let him have juice. One of my proudest moments was when he took a bite of a really sweet piece of cake my dad gave him, made a face, and spat it out. He seems to have a genuine distaste for really unnaturally sweet things. I’m going to take advantage of it for as long as I’m the only one influencing what goes in his mouth- goodness knows he’ll be doing the 4 year old begging for candy thing soon enough.
Cat´s last blog ..Secret Shopping
Twitter @ lajasa
Like most moms, I worry about my kids’ sugar intake. It’s everywhere and in almost everything. I try my best to limit how much they eat/drink – but I haven’t banned it by any means. Honestly, I believe sugar substitutes are far worse for the human body – child or adult.
And I can’t say I’ve noticed any major behavioral changes during high-sugar holidays. I’m thinking Halloween and Christmas, specifically. Sure, the boys get hyper. But I chalk it up to youthful exuberance, a fun break from the routine, and the heightening anticipation of it all. I remember the magic of anticipating the holidays when I was little. It was a natural high – nothing to do with sugar.
My mom banned sweets…. You can probably guess what happened…. These days, I’m the sugar addict. (Shhh, don’t tell my kids).
Twitter @ http://asmymotherbeforeme.blogspot.com
While my kids who are now teenagers and young adults were growing, I worried about excessive sugar intake. I do not consume a lot of sugary foods myself so there were not a lot of sugary snacks around anyway.
But, We ate balanced meals and a lot of vegetables. If they get enough nutrients and they keep a steady regiment of brushing and flossing, a little sugar is ok.
Just as it is with adults, you cut it out entirely, they will crave it. If you give it in moderation and take precautions to save their venerable teeth they will be better for it.
Also a personal preference is to only give real natural sugar. No substitutes or phony’s.
notasoccermom´s last blog ..The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it. – Patrick Young
Twitter @ http://lovebabz.blogspot.com
I limit their sugar intake. I do not however forbid sugar or say that it is evil. I do however balance it out with fruits and veggie snacks. Life is short have some dessert.
Lovebabz´s last blog ..FAITH FORWARD: NOW IS AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY…
I just try to get my kid to eat. He’s SOO damn skinny!! If he could eat Cheez-its for every meal 24-7, he would.
Twitter @ FullCustodyDad
I don’t worry at all how much sugar my kids eat. Why do you ask? Because we don’t have any sweets in the house. In addition, we model good eating habit and the kids copy us.
My kids are 10 and 6. To this day they only drinks water at restaurants. I don’t think they have seen me drink much of anything else and they copy my eating and drinking habits. My son was five before before I could get him to actually try his birthday cake. My kids believe Halloween candy is more something to be counted and traded, not necessarily something to eat.
Now before you think I’ve gone off the deep end consider this: I don’t by any means forbid it. My kids are free to order desserts, eat sweets and try everything. Last week I introduced them to smores. However, they see me eat very litle bad food and amazingly they follow suit.
I completely agree with Dina Rose, my philosophy as a parent is “to grow healthy, wealthy and wise children who grown up and leave–to ultimately make a positive difference in society.” To do that, I teach and parent everything to that one goal. I am selective of everything I eat and how I spend my time.
I only have apples and peanuts as snack food in the house. But then again what do you expect from a family that doesn’t even own a single television set. But that’s another story.
Fred Campos / FullCustodyDad´s last blog ..Be the Better Parent – My Story!
Ok-I am a preschool teacher and a mother of 2 boys (ages 5months and 2 years). I am trying to talk to parents at school about healthy snacks and it’s not working. Each parent has one snack day every other month, you would think not a big deal. Yesterday I had to tell a dad “sorry I cant give that to them for snack” ( Little Debbie Cakes, Bug Juice and gummy bears. Carrotts, apples, celery, crackers or ALMOST ANYTHING are much cheaper and much healthier. I am looking for an article to help me for our weekly newsletters, any one have a good one?
@Kayte: It’s great to hear from you! It sounds like you’re doing great work as a teacher.
We encourage you to contact Dina Rose. Please go to her site and send her an email… let us know if we can connect you two, ok? Thanks!
Twitter @ http://www.itsnotaboutnutrition.com
Kayte:
I hear you about parents and school snacks. It’s a tough topic because parents want to think they’re doing the right thing. Plus, some parents have it in their heads that childhood is a time for kids to eat all this stuff. I have the same problem with the parents at my daughter’s school. My solution? I send in fruit snack even when it’s not my turn. But as the teacher, your hands are tied. On solution would be to hand out a list of snacks organized by suggested frequency. So, for instance, you would ask parents to send something from the fruit/veg category every time they have a turn unless their turn falls on a Friday. Then they can go wild. Or, you could engage the parents by saying you are doing a tasting experiment and could they please send in an unusual fruit or veg for the kids to try.
I have a lot of resources on my website to educate parents about teaching their children to eat right and would be happy to talk to you about including some in your newsletter.
Good luck.
Dina
http://www.itsnotaboutnutrition.com
Dina Rose´s last blog ..Yogurt on the Brain!