Children’s sugar intake is alarmingly high, suggests a recent survey of children’s diets. The average schoolchild eats around 19 teaspoons of sugar a day; four times the advised daily intake for children. Meanwhile 27% of 5 year olds have tooth decay (1), and hospital admissions for children and teenagers with obesity-related complications have quadrupled in the last decade (2). Of course the connection between these observations and children’s sugar intake does not necessarily mean that one causes the other, but it’s unlikely that anyone would argue that this level of sugar intake is healthy or desirable.
Where are children getting their sugar?
When I speak to parents about children and sugar they are aware that sugar is not nutritious, but they have other factors to consider as well. The most important consideration for parents is that their child has a healthy relationship with food. Anorexia nervosa is still a serious concern, particularly for girls, and parents are concerned that if they forbid certain foods or bother their children too much about getting fat, they will encourage disordered eating patterns, and contribute to their child having an unhealthy relationship with food. Parents also want to give their children a happy childhood. They see sugar as a ‘pleasure’ or a ‘treat’, which they want their child to enjoy.
Children perceived as fat can be ostracised by peers, and are often victims of teasing or bullying
I can understand these concerns. It does not seem to me to be healthy for a child to worry about their weight no matter what size they are, but I know from spending many years teaching the 10-13 age group that weight and body image are a concern. If a child is obese, other children are less likely to make friends with them or play with them than a child who is not obese, or even a child with a physical disability (3). It is little wonder that, by their teens, if not before, obese children are likely to have lower self-regard and quality of life than their peers (4).
The good news is that it is quite possible for your child to have a healthy relationship with food, enjoy a variety of tastes and have a healthy social life without piling on the sugar. In these two articles I look at how to achieve this. I should say at the outset that I’m not a parent, but I’ve been a teacher, play worker, nursery assessor and educational leader for nearly 2 decades, so although I can’t speak as a mum, I don’t lack experience of children.
Today, I have some general advice, and tomorrow I will discuss food choices in detail. Here are my top 5 tips for parents regarding healthy eating attitudes around children.
- NEVER tell your child that they are fat, or make snide remarks about their weight. Believe me, if they are overweight, they know it. If they are not teased on a daily basis at school, they are bombarded with media images, or they are in tears when they can’t wear the same clothes as their friends. They need you to be on their side. Do you love them less if they gain weight? Of course not, but that’s the way they will see it, so never give them cause to let that thought cross their mind. Instead, teach them to love themselves exactly the way they are. Don’t give them scare stories about foods making them fat or rotting their teeth either. If your child is sensitive they may become upset, and if they are not, they won’t care. Children live in the present, so make the present an exciting place to be!
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If you would love your children to be healthy, embrace healthy habits as a family.
Adjust your own behaviours if you need to. Children learn by observation, and if they see that others in their family have access to foods from which they are restricted or forbidden, they will develop resentment, and may be less likely to adhere to your restrictions. It is surprising (or perhaps not) how many of my hypnosis clients have issues, particularly around food, which are rooted in what they perceived as unfair treatment during their childhood. If you want your children to have a healthy attitude to food, you need to have one too. This starts with language. Don’t use positive language around sugar; if you label it as a ‘treat’ or ‘for special occasions’ it will seem desirable. Equally, don’t expressly forbid it; forbidden things are exciting for children. Use neutral, indifferent language, and your children will not see sugar as a big deal. It’s not inevitable that children will love sugar; I never ate cakes or biscuits when I was small, not because anyone had lectured me about my weight or told me how bad they were, but because they just didn’t interest me.
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Children love to help in the kitchen
Get your children excited about helping in the kitchen; promote cooking as a fun activity. This way you not only get help with your busy day, but you develop skills for life. Even reluctant eaters will generally react more positively to something they have made themselves. Introduce them to different tastes, but if they don’t like something, don’t make a fuss; just move on. Children’s tastes take time to develop; there is a theory that very young children perceive vegetables as bitter, as this was a defence mechanism to prevent them eating poisonous plants. Personal experience suggests that sugar desensitises the taste buds; introducing sugar may mean that the child perceives other tastes as bland, and so may restrict what they will eat. Use exciting, positive language around the foods you want your children to enjoy. It’s great to have positive conversations around healthy eating and explain why you love to make healthy choices!
- Play to their interests. If your child likes to be outside, try picnics. If your child is obsessed with Lego, have food arrive by Lego truck. If your child loves art, encourage them to present the food in creative ways. There are some great stories to read featuring healthy food and cooking. If they love to sing, make up silly songs as you cook, or just sing their favourites, or put the radio on and shake what mamma gave you as you cook (make sure this doesn’t happen during mealtimes, though – it’s important to develop the habit of taking time to chew and enjoy food).
Young children don’t always enjoy vegetables the first time they try them!
- What if you do have a concern about your child’s weight? If you believe your child is overweight, the above advice applies; encourage the whole family to develop healthier habits for life through a healthy diet and fun physical activity. I have had the privilege of seeing many children grow up over the years, and some of them do carry extra weight towards the end of primary school. In the vast majority of these cases, the children have a growth spurt in their teens. They have laid down the extra fat to provide for this. So if you focus too much on weight before your child is fully developed, you may affect their natural growth process. If your child asks about weight or expresses concerns, answer their questions honestly in a way that is most appropriate to their needs; you are their parent and know them best. If, on the other hand, you suspect your child may be developing an eating disorder such as anorexia, it is essential to seek help from a medical professional. It is beyond the remit of any reputable Nutritional Therapist to manage these conditions, although they may support a return to a healthy lifestyle once the young person has achieved a certain body weight. Hypnotherapy can be invaluable to a young person with an eating disorder.
In the second part of this article I will look at the main sources of sugar in children’s diets, and suggest some fun and tasty alternatives.
References:
- http://www.nationalsmilemonth.org/facts-figures/ [Accessed 1 June 2016].
- http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/06June/Pages/Childhood-obesity-related-hospital-visits-quadruple.aspx [Accessed 1 June 2016].
- Bell, S.K., & Morgan, S.B., (1999). Children’s Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions Toward a Peer Presented as Obese: Does a Medical Explanation for the Obesity Make a Difference? Journal of Paediatric Psychology, 25(3), 137-145.
- https://www.noo.org.uk/NOO_about_obesity/obesity_and_health/health_risk_child [Accessed 1 June 2016].