Curbing that sweet tooth
MANY children have a sweet tooth and will go to all lengths to satisfy their cravings. Even when they are warned of the dangers of eating too many sweets, they will find ways and means of having it, especially the older kids who have started school.
Of course this leaves you the parent worrying about not just their teeth, but how this will affect their development and physical health.
“First of all, it’s a bad idea to feed your kids sweets,” Dr Martine Geoghagen, pediatrician at Kidz Klinik on Old Hope Road said.
“You can get them hooked on sweets and this can make them unhealthy.”
Dr Geoghagen noted that three major problems could arise from feeding your child too many sweets:
1. Weight gain: “Weight gain happens easily, but losing it is hard,” the pediatrician pointed out.
2. Tooth decay: This occurs from hard sweets sticking to the teeth especially if left overnight. Medical doctor and author of Your Child’s Health BD Schmitt noted that your child is at greatest risk of tooth decay if he falls asleep or walks around with a
bottle of sugary liquid in his mouth (such as fruit juice, Kool-Aid, or milk). Constant access to a sippy cup filled with a sugary drink can also cause tooth decay.
3. Bad eating habits: The child can become addicted to sweets and refuse to eat healthy food as they develop a deeper craving for sweets. It’s probably a good
idea to avoid giving your child sweets before he is one year old. If sweets are included in your child’s diet too early, they may interfere with the child’s willingness to sample new foods that are unsweetened. However, don’t forbid sugar completely.
“It is ok to give the child sweet occasionally as a treat, but not too much,” Dr Geoghagen said.
She noted that by extension the child could become malnourished since sweets do not provide them with the correct nourishment that their body needs.
Dr Geoghagen says though sweets are not a healthy habit for your child, it does not cause illnesses such as diabetes, as many believe.
Tips on preventing too much sweet intake
1. Limit the amount of sweets you buy. The more sweets there are available at home, the more your child will eat. Try to purchase breakfast cereals and cookies in which sugar is not the main ingredient.
2. Limit the amount of sweets your child eats. While one candy bar is fine, eating an entire bag of candy is unacceptable. Try to eliminate bingeing on candy and sweets. You can best do this by setting a good example. Make exceptions and allow extra candy on birthdays, and at parties. The worst that could happen is your child could become extra sleepy or have a mild stomachache.
3. Allow sweets for desserts. Sweets cause physical symptoms only if they are eaten in excess. As long as they are eaten after a well-balanced meal, they cause no symptoms. An acceptable dessert can be just about anything, including cookies, cake, or even a candy bar. This will even encourage the child to eat the meal in an effort to get to the dessert.
4. Discourage sweets for snacks.
Candy, soft drinks, and other sweets are not good choices for snacks. Because very little else is eaten with a snack, consuming mainly refined sugar alone may cause some rebound symptoms several hours later. Keep plenty of nutritious snacks and drinks (such as fruits juices, yogurt, graham crackers, oatmeal cookies, popcorn and fruits) on hand.