Kids - Sweets and Chocolate

Ishtar

No, I don't think you're being mean at all. As my DD has grown older - she's 4 now - we've found ourselves relaxing the rules more and more. When we moved house about 7 months ago, things got much worse as we tried to get ourselves straight and we fell into bad habits - grabbing what we could at the supermarket (and consequently raising the weekly shopping bill!).

The main result of this was that she turned into a little horror; aggressive, rude and generally uncontrollable. She would swing from sugar high to low and back again, constantly complaining that she was hungry, and not happy with offers of healthy snacks. It was truly awful.

She has a sweetie tin now, and we restrict her to having something out of it as part of a meal. In between meals her snacks now consist of fruit, breadsticks or something else savoury. We've been gradually reintroducing healthier eating since Christmas, when we realised something had to be done in order to restore a more peaceful existence for all of us.

The main thing she is sensitive to is chocolate - give her some of this and watch her fly.....Grandparents are being advised not to give chocolate at Easter - if they do, we'll thank them, then pass it on to someone else. Difficult not to feel guilty, but....

I'm getting back into the swing of baking my own cakes, biscuits and snacks, so hopefully we can soon eradicate as much of the junk as we can.

Following our experience, I think moderation in all things is probably the best way forward. I wouldn't want to restrict her totally, so a little now and then won't hurt.

D

DonnaP

Hi

My twin DD's are 5 and they get £2 pocket money each on a Saturday to spend or save for anything they want. They know they can have as much chocolate etc at the weekend or they can save the money for a toy (consequently they haven't bought sweets in months and their money boxes are bulging!!).

They had a selection box each for xmas and they have that in their own personal 'treat box', where other sweets etc given at parties go and there is still stuff left in there. Usually they find they don't like it and it goes in the bin, or it sits in there for months!

We do have plenty of home made cakes, biscuits though and they are the envy of their friends. One of their friends came for tea the other week and told me that my cakes were the best she had ever tasted. I nearly cried because she was so excited in how she spoke and she was amazed that the cakes were home made (her mum doesn't bake or cook).

Moderation has to be key and I think you are doing right to restrict sweet intake in some way.

Donna

mrcow

leiela wrote: »

It's really getting silly, is i wrong of me to throw some of these things away? as they are the kids they arn't mine, or should i increase the amount i let them eat??

I don't want to be a mean mum, but i also think moderation is important??

How much sweet stuff is enough and how much is just too much??

Personally I'd ditch all the junk in your cupboard as I don't like the idea of kids expecting sweets or chocolate bars every day (especially as a "treat" for eating or attempting to eat your dinner up - that really gets to me - dinners should be eaten.....you don't get treats for doing something that you're supposed to do). It's just the way I was brought up though. Stuff like this was never an every day staple and I wouldn't like them to be for my kids either.

I've not noticed that many of my childrens friends eat too much junk except for a couple who are noticably overweight (and one even had to go to hospital last year to get three teeth filled :eek:) but it's more the execption than the norm. Most like and eat normal stuff for lunches & dinners etc.

morganb

I dont' think you're being mean, you're more generous with the treats than I am!!
And I hate it when people like hairdressers, etc., just come up to the children and give them lollies.
I wouldn't want my children to have sweets or chocolate every day; a couple of times a week is alright in my book. And i think I've got it well-sussed because DS1 was offered sweets the other day because his table had been the best-behaved (why does a Healthy Eating School insist on rewarding the children with sweets, that REALLY annoys me!!) but he said to his teacher that he didn't need any, as he still had some left over from Halloween!!!

Felicity

I think you are very sensible.

My 15 month old hardly ever has any cake, sweets, chocolates etc. He has never had it, so obviously doesnt miss it.

In fact, when Nana bought him an advent calender she was a little upset when he wasn't interested in the little 'treat' each day!!!

I too find though when we go to other peoples houses, they try to give him biscuits, sweets, chocolate etc as 'treats'. I dont agree with this attitude and don't see things like these as treats at all.

I don't want his little mind to be programmed into thinking that something like that is a reward or a treat. I would much rather he was given a sticker or a healthy snack (if indeed food is to be given as a treat!).

Neither hubby or I have a sweet tooth so we don't buy things like that. I suppose that helps a lot! We do however sometimes have a nastie (cornish pasty or other type of pastry thing which probably has very poor quality meat in) from Gregs or the like when we are out shopping but we are now stopping doing that as our little poppet always wants to try what we are having.

pukkamum

I really don't understand why people feel the need to give their kids sweets or chocolate every day.

These things should be a rare treat not an everyday food staple.

When i was little we had thursday night treat which was a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar and i now do the same with kids.

They don't even ask for sweets or chocolate any other day and they really look forward to treat night.

When we get a ton of sweets at halloween or easter they can eat more than usual that day but the rest get put away for treat night.

If my kids eat all their dinner they get yoghurt or fruit or any other pudding i have made.

By giving your kids sweets everyday you are setting them up for a lifetime habit.

Becles

Mine have the same with Christmas/Easter/Birthday and Halloween sweets being spread out over the course of the year!

I don't like them having sweets every night, but they do get them 2-3 nights a week.

I'd rather they had some sweets and learned that it is healthy to eat small amounts of junk food a couple of times a week.

I'm conscious of a friend I went to school with. Her mother banned all junk food so they never ever had crisps, chocolate, cake etc. At birthday parties, she would literally gorge herself on junk food, just cramming it into her mouth. Once she went off to university, she just lived on junk and I got a shock the first time she came back as she used to be stick thin and she'd put a lot of weight on. Due to seeing what happened with her, I'm wary of banning foods in case mine have a similar food problem.

Felicity

Yes Becles, I totally agree with the moderation thing.

I remember as a child never being allowed white bread or butter (in the days when marg was the healthy option) and as soon as I could get my hands on some white toast and butter I would go mad!!!!!!

So much so that I hate white bread now!!!

Thats the only thing though, we were brought up with a very healthy diet and a remember as a teenager being a bit bemused as to why my friends would spend any of their precious pocket money on crisps or chocolate!

Spendless

mrcow wrote: »

Personally I'd ditch all the junk in your cupboard as I don't like the idea of kids expecting sweets or chocolate bars every day (especially as a "treat" for eating or attempting to eat your dinner up - that really gets to me - dinners should be eaten.....you don't get treats for doing something that you're supposed to do). It's just the way I was brought up though. Stuff like this was never an every day staple and I wouldn't like them to be for my kids either.

I've not noticed that many of my childrens friends eat too much junk except for a couple who are noticably overweight (and one even had to go to hospital last year to get three teeth filled :eek:) but it's more the execption than the norm. Most like and eat normal stuff for lunches & dinners etc.

I agree with this that mrcow has put and I wouldn't out-right ban either as I talk from personal experience of having a ban on smarties and coke for my son (cos it made him more giddy than he already is!). As he got older and started going to friend's houses and parties if I hadn't remembered to say he wasn't allowed such and such he would conveniently 'forget' and eat as much as he could before I found out. When I lifted this ban, they didn't hold the same appeal to him.

Mado

Your kids get a lot more than mine!!!!!

Sweets from parties or Halloween go into the sweetie jar and have to be shared [STRIKE]depending on the selection parents sometimes take a cut[/STRIKE]:p . At the moment they have a tin of Roses, and ask for them for "pudding" some nights. Not every night because they already know the answer would be "NO".
We also only have crisps for parties, when we have guests or leftovers from either...

The only way to make sure pester power doesn't win is by being firm and consistant.
So good behaviour and asked nicely they may have a sweet/chocolate. Demand it and the answer is always no.
Also, "out of sight, out of mind". Sweeties are never on obvious display. It just makes life harder [STRIKE]for me to resist[/STRIKE]!!!!:D