When Should Sweets Be Given to Children?

You give your child the best and healthiest foods, but what do you do when it comes to sweets? We know that many mothers have question marks about desserts.

In order to answer these questions, we have compiled information from the book “Baby and Child Meals” written by Nutritionists Karen Ansel and Charity Ferreira, where you can learn when and how you can feed your child sweets. Let’s sweeten their mouths a little!

1- Should sweets be given to the child?

The basis of a healthy diet is to stay away from artificial foods. We don’t need to point out how harmful refined sugar is. But there are many ways to make desserts by staying away from them.

Experts say that the occasional dessert can be allowed in the children’s diet. Although in our culture it is common to pamper the child with sweets, don’t worry, we will offer you all-natural, energizing desserts.

2- What you need to know about sugar

There is a wrong you know right; Too much sugar doesn’t make your child hyperactive! Many studies on the subject have revealed that any sugar, natural or unnatural, does not affect the activity value of children.

But there are bad situations that excess sugar causes in your child’s life. These include providing artificial satiety by filling the stomach with empty calories and, of course, tooth decay.

Another negative situation caused by excess sugar is stomach problems! When your child consumes foods containing artificial sugar in excess, he or she will most likely experience heartburn. There is a risk that these burns will turn into reflux in the future, be careful!

3- Do’s and don’ts for dessert

• Give your child sweet treats once in a while. So your child will learn to eat in moderation rather than develop an overindulgence in sweets.
• Don’t reward your child with dessert. For example, if you say that you will give him dessert if he finishes all the food on his plate, that is, if you present it as a bribe, your child will perceive it as more delicious and important than any other meal.
• Again, don’t threaten your child by saying that if she doesn’t eat vegetables or any other food, she can’t have dessert either. This tactic may prevent your child from enjoying healthy foods.
• Offer your child a dessert with pieces of fruit or dairy products. In this way, he learns to balance dessert with healthy foods.
• Pay attention to portion size. If you serve sweets to everyone in the house in large portions and to him in small portions, he may ask for more. Offer the same amount of sweets to everyone in the house, so that the idea of ​​injustice is eliminated and his stomach is not completely filled with sweets.
• Do not give dessert to your child before meals. If you do this, he will feel full and his interest in food will decrease. But if you give it after meals, your child will eat these sweets only if he is hungry.
• Be an example to your child. It will not be effective if you do not give it to him while he is eating sweets and say “These are harmful”. Eat dessert with him and in moderation. This way, the child will know when and how to eat.
• Tell your child that dessert is not unhealthy, just that it should be eaten in moderation. This way, you can make him less picky.

4- Sweet alternatives you can offer to your child

• You can add sliced ​​banana and strawberry pieces to a spoonful of frozen yogurt.
• You can serve lightly melted, frozen vanilla yogurt between two small cookies.
• You can create a light dessert by adding whole grain cereals and fruit slices between the yogurt layers.
• You can make a sugar-free rice pudding and add apricots, peaches and forest fruits to sweeten it.
• You can melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and add them to the watermelon and strawberry slices as a sauce.
• You can sprinkle whipped cream and chocolate chips on the banana slices.
• You can make pancakes from whole wheat flour and add nectarines and powdered sugar.
• You can make oatmeal cookies to serve with a glass of milk.
• You can bake apple slices until soft and sprinkle whole-grain cereal on top.
• You can put a marshmallow between two crackers and place it in the microwave for 30 seconds, just until the marshmallows have melted. A delicious sandwich is ready!
• You can melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and make sauces and serve them with whole grain bagels.
• You can create a different flavor by dividing the cinnamon carrot mini cakes in half and spreading cream cheese between them.