Parents: A Better Sweet for Your Sweetie

Some kids just love sweets. The trick is to find a healthier substitute that they enjoy just as much. If you need ideas to help your child eat less candy, cakes and other sugary foods and instead reach more often for nutrient-dense alternatives that pack a flavor punch, you’ve come to the right place.

Here are 12 ways to help reduce your child’s intake of refined sugars.

1. Go natural. Buy fresh fruits or fruits packed in water or juice, rather than packed in light or heavy syrup.

2. Buy fewer sugary foods. Fewer prepared baked goods, candies, sweet desserts, soft drinks and fruit-flavored drinks means less temptation.

3. Reduce the sugar in foods you prepare at home. Out of sight, out of mind. Start by reducing sugar gradually until you’ve reduced it by one-third or more.

4. Add less sugar. Have your child add less sugar to cereal. It’s easy to get used to using half as much.

5. Eat regular meals. Offer meals and snacks throughout the day to help curb your child’s sweet tooth. Hunger is a sure-fire way to tempt your child to eat a sugary snack.

6. Read labels. If any sugar is listed first on the ingredient list, use discretion or look for another option.

7. Add a pinch of salt. It will enhance a food’s natural sweetness.

8. Buy breakfast cereals without added sugars. Your child will consume less sugar even with a sprinkle of their own sugar on top. (Some cerealsare more like a dessert with over 3 teaspoons of sugar per serving, and kids often don’t stop at one serving).

9. Train taste buds to be accustomed to less. By avoiding sugary foods for as little as a week, your child will be able to taste the natural sweetness in foods and be less tempted by sugary foods.

10. Keep within the empty-calorie limit and use wisely. These foods are typically high in added fat or sugar, but devoid of any nutritional value. They won’t derail an otherwise healthy diet in small amounts (less than 15% of total daily calories). Don’t waste these calories on sodas and sugary breakfast cereals. Choose foods that really count, which for most kids, means desserts.

11. Experiment with spices. Cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, ginger and other spices enhance flavor without sugar.

12. Serve sweet foods warm. Heat enhances sweetness.

There you have it. A dozen ways to lighten your child’s intake of refined sugars.

Ready to get started? Here’s a goal to aim for this month that can make a big difference:

Monthly Goal: I will help my child brainstorm a healthier option for one of their common sugary food choices.

Here’s to a sweet April (with less sugar)!

Lorna & Kathleen
Co-authors of Eating for A’s

P.S. Like this tip? For more, check out Eating for A’s: A month-by-month nutrition and lifestyle guide to help raise smarter kids. Kindergarten to 6th grade. (Second Edition)

P.S.S. Need goal tracking forms? You’ll find a full set in Eating for A’s—one for each pre-set monthly goal and extra credit. We call them My Smart Tracker forms. You can call them one of the easiest ways to help your kids reach their full potential in the classroom and beyond.