Sweets…

by Richard Reeve on October 2, 2008

in Sand Box

The Sand Box

The lollipops above sit in a container in our pediatricians exam room (to the horror of our dentist, no doubt). Yet there’s something quite right, quite on the mark about following the physical ordeal of a shot with a sweet.  Sugar speaks to our body on an instinctual level that screams “yes, all is well”, exactly the opposite of the suffering caused by the shot.  Other’s have pointed out that chocolate seems to seductively say “oh yes, all is lovely.”  

We spend a great deal of effort monitoring sugar intake for our kids, especially that devil corn syrup they lace into most beverages.  The view we take is simple.  Can our kids move through there lives without demanding the stuff.  Can they go without, without complaining they are missing out.  We’ve bordered on those arguments a few times, especially around Halloween, but through consistency we managed to show that if you must have, it’s no longer a treat.  Experiencially, it’s a lesson that has worked.    

Sweets are tricky for parenting in an age where obesity plays such a dominant role in our children’s culture. How do you provide parameters so that the sugar fix does not get out of control?  I’d love to hear your strategies…

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  • While I don't have children but nephews and nieces, I've noticed that when I decoratively arrange fruit , e.g., make a face with apples, bananas & blueberries, they enjoy eating it. One nephew liked to share my apples when I used a section slicer. He called it an "apple flower". I used standard "delicious" apples, his favorite, and peeled them.

  • Near and dear to my heart, this topic is. For our family, it comes down to balance, moderation. From day one, food has played an extremely prominent role in our household. My wife loves to cook and we all enjoy eating. Never once...and I mean that, not one time in the lives of either of our boys (now 7 and 9) have we offered to make them something other than what the rest were eating. Breakfast/lunch/dinner, no matter, there is one meal available and the expectation is that it will be eaten by all. This went a long way to communicating the important message that food isn't a bargaining chip.
    Naturally, the food we offer is generally wholesome. Are we perfect? Nope. But our kids have never been to a fast food restaurant, we don't have prepared meals (full of preservatives) in our freezers and we take the time to consider what used to be food's primary role - namely, providing balanced nutrition.

    Having said all this, we allow our boys an occasional (non HFCS) soda, and candy, while not commonplace, is an option at times. Most notably however, we give them dessert almost every night...but typically it is something my wife has made from scratch. We believe that all sweets were not created equally.

    So, yes, it's a tricky subject, but if a solid foundation is built, common sense seems to endure as they grow and, whether they know it or not, good habits developed.

    Cheers...Jeb

  • Right now we try simply to not introduce sugary snacks to our kids (both toddlers). But I realize it will be more challenging as they get older but I hope we can teach them to make wise decisions. After reading this I started thinking about our pediatrician's office - no lollipops in sight. And actually I've never brought a sweet treat to calm my kids. They seem to just recover quickly on their own, just need a sweet hug and kiss from their mom!

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