Restricting Sweets Will Only Make Kids Obsess About Them More: Here Is What You Can Do Instead

Are you nervous about feeding your kid sweets? Feel like it’s a struggle with your kid constantly asking for sweets?

What doesn’t work:

• Saying that sweets are unhealthy.

• Telling your child they could only have one.

• Let them have sweets only after they have eaten their vegetables.

Kids' minds do not work like adults. (Side note: Even adults struggle when it comes to balancing their need for pleasure and physical needs). When you make kids "earn" their sweets, you give sweets more power and kids obsess over them more. If your child does not get sweets regularly, they will learn that sweets are scarce and eat them like they are going out of style.

How to handle sweets and desserts:

• Offer them as part of structured meals and snacks.

• You decide how often, let your child decide how much to eat.

• Do not police your child's sweet intake.

If your family has a tradition of having dessert after dinner daily, offer a single portion together with the rest of the dinner. Let your child decide if he or she wants to eat the dessert first or last. At snack time, let your child have sweets ad lib so they can learn how to regulate their intake. Offer snacks at the table without electronics.

We learn how to regulate our intake by experiencing different sensations of fullness. Trust that your child will learn this intuitively without adult interference.