Soothing Your Children’s Sweet Tooth without Giving Them Too Much Sugar

October 17, 2018

Got children with a sweet tooth? I often see children running around mall food courts, bakeries, and cake shops, rabid for anything chocolate, sugary, and sweet. And all too often, their parents struggle to keep these sugary delights out of their children’s little mouths. Can you relate?

Do you tend to give in to your children when they ask over and over again for a sweet dessert? If you are like most parents, you get pushed to your limits of being annoyed and decide your sanity is worth more than a little bit of sugar for your child. But we need to consider the harmful effects of allowing our children sugary treats. Keep reading to educate yourself on a few of the negative aspects of sugar.

• The first negative thing about sugar is not necessarily one with harmful effects (although there are plenty of those). Sugar is known as having “empty calories” meaning it contains no essential nutrients, no proteins, and nothing beneficial for your children. Just lots of unnecessary calories—period.
• The next negative thing is one you may have heard before: due to its highly acidic state, sugar rots your children’s teeth.
• Third, sugar can lead to multiple health problems including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, kidney damage, high cholesterol, diarrhea, and gas.

In addition to these health problems, sugar can also have psychological effects as well. Some studies have shown a link between large consumptions of sugar and depression. Finally, sugar is a pleasure-inducing chemical for the brain, and these signals can lead your children to become addicted to sugar and sweets which, in turn, lead to the health problems mentioned previously.

All in all, sugar consumption can be a dangerous, and even deadly, cycle.

So, how do you satisfy your children when they crave something sweet? I am going to give you two methods:

1. Low sugar desserts – Yes, you can give your children sweet snacks without a lot of sugar. Learn how to make low sugar desserts and snacks for your children. See the list below for a few examples to get you started, but I encourage you to go out and find recipes of your own as well to better fit your children’s preferences.

Oreo Cake

Cookie Dough Dip

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Moose Tracks Ice Cream

Frozen Yogurt Bark

Apple Pie Blondies

2. Small portion sizes – Learn to provide your children with small portion sizes when you do allow them to splurge on a high sugar dessert, such as ice cream. In today’s world, portion sizes have grown two to three times the recommended size. Teach your children to be satisfied with less. It does not take much to give that sweet tooth just what it needs.

I strongly encourage you to consider using the two methods above with your children if you want to lower your children’s sugar intake as well as health issues related to sugar consumption. In the end, your children will learn to be satisfied with less, and you will be able to satisfy their sweet tooth with low sugar, yet sweet treats.

 

 

References

11 Ingredient Oreo Cake. September 2014. Purely Twins. http://purelytwins.com/2014/09/02/11-ingredient-oreo-cake-grain-egg-and-sugar-free/

Atwell, Ciara. Frozen Yogurt Bark. September 2014. My Fussy Eater. http://www.myfussyeater.com/frozen-yogurt-bark/

Thomas, Briana. Horsetracks Ice Cream. July 2014. Briana Thomas. http://www.briana-thomas.com/mock-moosetracks-ice-cream-s/

Healthy Apple Pie Blondies with Brown Sugar Frosting and Caramel Drizzle. December 2012. Desserts with Benefits. https://dessertswithbenefits.com/apple-pie-blondies-with-brown-sugar-frosting/

Hughes, Lock. How Does too Much Sugar Affect Your Body? March 2017. WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/how-sugar-affects-your-body Gunnars, Kris. 10 Reasons Why Sugar is Bad for You. September 2013. Healthline. http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-disturbing-reasons-why-sugar-is-bad#section12

(No Sugar!) Cookie Dough Dip. September 2011. Chocolate Covered Katie. http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/27/new-recipe-sugar-free-cookie-dough-dip/

The Best Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. May 2015. Chelsea’s Messy Apron. http://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/the-best-healthy-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/

The Harmful Effects of Sugar. April 2017. Wellness Mama. https://wellnessmama.com/15/harmful-effects-of-sugar/

 

---

Also in Samuraw articles