How to Keep Your Children From Eating Too Many Sweets

Do your kids seem to grow obsessed with eating sweets? Goin' crazy to have sugar? And they only think about when they could eat their next dessert?

Obesity affected 13.7 million both young teens and children. The childhood obesity rate was 13.9 percent in children aged 2 to 5, 18.4 percent in children aged 6 to 11, and 20.6 percent in children aged 12 to 19. 

As your kids grow older, treating them with foods tends to become a bigger deal, especially at the age of two or three years old. And without you, parents knowing, them eating desserts becomes an obsession and are the things they always long to have. 

It will become natural for kids to want more sweet delicious dessert foods. Kids have a biologically induced affinity for sweeter foods, a protective feature, or we can say energy-rich foods. 

Parents should know that kids have more tastebuds buds than adults usually have. It may explain why they start turning their noses into bitter vegetables and start eating desserts more often, especially when they reach age two or three. 

Eating desserts may be part of a healthy lifestyle,  but for parents, we shall also keep in our mind that our kids can have no more than six teaspoons or 24 grams only of added sugar per day on their foods. But what commonly happens, kids often triple the amount of sugar almost every day on their diet. 

So when it comes to your kids eating desserts, what does a mom can do about it? What is the right approach to take for parents to control kids in their obsession with sweets?

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Some helpful tips for your kids

Please make time to say yes to them rather than saying no.

Whenever your kid demands time to eat his favorite dessert, take time to think before you answer him. As much as possible, avoid escalating the situation to his tantrum. The best way to approach gives them a yes in having a treat but see to it that you both agreed when he could eat the treat and how much of dessert he can only take. 

When your kids a constructed choice in eating desserts, their desire for sweets becomes less, parents must understand that when kids feel like they can't have anything, they become desperate to have it immediately. 

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Also, make it normal to have whole food in your household.

Your kids would be more likely to want these items if they often see that your pantry is filled with pastries and many sweets. Think about it: If the pantry does not have licorice, they are less likely to ask for it, so think about what else you can fill your kitchen with instead of sweets. You can fill your kitchen with nutritious whole-food snacks, such as vegetables, whole grains, and many more than chocolates. 

If your pantry is full of colorful pastries and candy, your kids will be more likely to want these things. Think about it: they are less likely to ask for it in the pantry doesn't have licorice, and if they do, it's an easy answer! Instead of candy, fill your kitchen with nutritious whole-food treats, including vegetables, fruit, whole grains, milk, beans, and nuts.

Remember that you can always help your kids feel good about eating. The best thing you can do in helping them is for you to balanced food and body relationship. If your child can see you eating a selection of foods without feeling guilty, that may include candy and desserts. Your kids can understand and put in their minds that they can also take all kinds of food. 

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