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Sugar and Kids: Let’s Find the Sweet Spot 🍭 Sugar doesn’t need to be the villain in your child’s diet, but balance is key! Completely banning sugar at home can make it the forbidden fruit 🍩—and we all know how tempting that can be! Instead of setting kids up to binge on sweets at birthday parties or friends’ houses, let’s focus on teaching balance and moderation. 💡 Here’s what you need to know: 👉 For kids under 2: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no added sugar at all. Stick with whole, unprocessed foods like fruits, veggies, grains, and proteins for little ones. 🥦🍎 ✔️My take: Giving your child of this age an occasional taste of ice cream or cake as part of a balanced diet won’t lead then down a path of obesity and sugar addition. Use your discretion. We gave our daughter a smash cake with sugar at her first birthday and avoid added sugars regularly, but if Im eating something with added sugar and she want’s a taste—I’ll allow her to have some. We in general do monitor added sugars including in packaged/processed foods and reading labels. We enjoy sugar without guilt but we do believe in true balance. 👉 For kids 2 and older: Keep added sugar to less than 25% of daily calories—that’s about 6 teaspoons (25 grams) per day for ages 2-18. 🍪 ✔️ I don’t expect most of you to count calories or sugar content. But use this as a general rule of thumb. They key is looking at the other foods that make up that diet and not vilifying sugar. 👉 Watch those drinks! Sugary beverages like soda, sweetened fruit drinks, and sports drinks pack a sugary punch with little to no nutrition. Limit these to avoid unnecessary sugar overload. 🚫🥤 ✔️Children don’t need drinks with added sugars. This is a hill I will die on. Balance can be hard here. An occasional sip won’t hurt but to be honest added sugar beverages on a regular basis has a negative impact on health
By Patsy
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Posted in Chronic Pediatric Care. 🩹 Strategies for asthma, diabetes, and other chronic pediatric conditions.
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