Part 1 of 5 Part Article on Sugar and Kids

The first time I remember tasting ice cream was when I was five. I fell in love with it and we've been going steady ever since. But as a child I didn't see it every night, and before me and my true love could be together I had to eat a healthy meal.

There are some new parents who have grand plans. They intend to be militant about their children's sugar intake. Other parents go to the far left with the attitude, "What's the point, my kids will see lots of sugary foods in the real world." I had a friend whose parents believed this. Their house was like a mini candy store. It was a kid's paradise. My friend didn't have a sweet tooth, preferring salty foods instead like pickles and nuts (Which also should be monitored with kids. Because too much salt isn't a good thing either.). So she wasn't tempted by the sweets she said. However, with her sister it was a different matter. She had a sweet tooth and ate and ate sweets. While my friend stayed thin and never had a cavity until she was an adult, her sister became obese and had many cavities. I do believe some children crave sweets more than others. So what is a parent to do?

As a former nanny this is my take. Unless your child has a medical condition where they shouldn't have sweets, I personally don't believe in totally denying your child of sweets. Case in point: There was a mother who had a rule her children couldn't have any brown or white sugar sweets. Her children would see other kids eat sweets in school, at birthday parties and other places. Her kids saw relatives eating sweets with delight at get-togethers. One of her children desperately wanted to try sweets. At a family gathering, behind their mother's back, this child consumed a very large amount of sugary treats. The child got a belly ache. But there was no going back. The more this child's mother wouldn't let her have treats the more she wanted it. Even if she had to steal it at family functions. It got worse. The child felt bad for having a small sliver of cake at birthday parties. When the child would come home her mother would ask, "Did you have any cake at the party?" The child would purposely lie, knowing if she said yes her mother would be very disappointed. All this because she was denied something other kids in her circle got. This child was a very loving, honest child except when it came to sweets. Horrible tantrums were soon happening over sugary treats. Since things weren't working out the child's mother, thankfully, got rid of her absolutely "no sugar" policy. The child felt a lot better not having to lie to her mother about having a small amount of treats at parties and at friends' houses.