How well would you say you regulate your child's sugar intake?
You can’t avoid sugar. Sugar is everywhere. Even foods that say sugar-free sometimes mean that there is no ADDED sugar, but natural sugar is still there.
Our bodies need sugar; it’s a form of energy. Your kids need energy to perform in school and keep up with their extracurricular activities. I know that for me, I need sugar during Finals Week of college. I load up on sweets to get me through finals…something that you SHOULDN’T let your kids do.
What you SHOULD do is…
Stop worrying about sugar content in everyday foods like pasta, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bread, soup…sugar in these types of food is OK.
If your kids are eating sugar cereals like Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast, drinking chocolate milk, having a mid-day sugary snack, sipping on a juice box when they get home (well, you get the idea), something needs to be done.
Allow your kids to have one sugary snack a day. But even then, they may still be going over their daily sugar content (which nutritionists set at 25-30 grams). Imagine: an 8-oz juice box is already 30g, ONE Mrs. Fields semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie is 28g. Unbelievable!
The bottom line is, don’t worry too much about sugar content. You don’t have to read every food label — just use your common sense and think reasonably.
I’m still trying to get over how much sugar a Mrs. Fields cookie has, since I’m addicted to those. And as for my Finals Week sugar craze, I’m trying to work on toning the snacks down…
How do you monitor your children’s daily sugar intake? Or do you? Obesity is a big problem among kids in America – has that affected what you do/don’t allow your kids to eat?
The Skinny on Sugar: How Much Is Too Much? [It's Not About Nutrition]
