Almost everyone has a sweet tooth, and that attraction to sweets can make it difficult to keep toddlers and preschoolers from choosing candy, cookies, and cakes over healthier fare. You can’t do much to take the sweet tooth out of the kid, but you can keep sweets out of your pantry.
Children who feast on sugary foods wind up with little appetite for better food choices, so let sweets be a “once-in- a-while” snack. This way you’ll help your child develop a taste for other foods.
If, like most kids, your child loves cereals, make sure to buy unsweetened varieties and sweeten them up with slices of fruit or raisins. At some point your child may beg you to buy some high-sugar, low-nutrition cereal. If you give in, “dilute” the sugary cereal with an equal amount of low- sugar, whole-grain cereal. Brush up on ways to sweeten foods without adding processed sugar. Fruit juices, unsweetened applesauce, and prune purees can be used in place of fats and sugars in many recipes.
While you’re at it, ditch the caffeine as well. Caffeine doesn’t belong in a child’s diet. Since it’s a stimulant, it can interfere with your child’s concentration and ability to sleep well. Avoid soft drinks and iced tea, since these can contain large quantities of caffeine.
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Remember to keep snack time healthful. Provide attractive, nutritious alternatives to high-calorie, low-nutrition packaged snack foods. A snack can be a little bit of a leftover meal or half a sandwich. Children love finger foods at snack time, so stock up on:
1. Bite-sized pieces of cheese or cheese sticks
2. Cut-up fresh veggies and fruit (beware of choke foods)
3. Dried fruits, such as raisins, figs, and prunes
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4. Graham crackers and whole-grain crackers
5. Pretzels
6. Frozen fruit juice bars