Does it really always have to be so much sugar?
Even with the mother’s milk, which tastes slightly sweet, a taste for the sweet taste is created. And although some children enthusiastically fall for hearty things as soon as they are allowed to eat other things, in most of them the desire for sweetness remains lifelong.
Even in foods where we do not suspect — as liver sausage or ready spaghetti sauce — there is sugar inside. In some even very much. A tablespoon of ketchup, for example, contains on average a whole sugar cube. A child should actually only take 6 pieces of sugar per day (around 25 grams). How can we manage to reduce the consumption of sugar by children to a healthy level while still satisfying their desire for sweets? Prohibitions have little meaning. We all know that what is forbidden is rather interesting and tempting.
Instead of completely banishing sweets, it makes more sense to offer it at fixed times. For example, as a dessert or as usual in France in the afternoon. When school ends at around 15.30, the kids get a “goûter” – a sweet snack that helps them keep up until dinner. In this way the appetite for something sweet is satisfied and there is no craving for it.
It is important to teach the children that “all in moderation” is the best rule for healthy eating.
Discovering together how delicious fruit can be or involving children in cooking and baking can help older children to become more aware of the ingredients of food and healthy eating.
Even with drinks you can try new things. In Germany, juice spritzers are still very popular. Still better than sugar sweetened sodas, but unfortunately juices contain a lot of sugar. Instead, you can try adding fruit to water or soda and then enjoy it as a refreshing drink.
The children do not taste anything? Maybe it works, if you let them test blindfolded and the one who guesses the right fruit taste will get a small prize :-). With playful actions like this you can help children to refine their sense of taste and also to inspire for things other than candy bars or gummy bears!
