Sugar has become an evil word these days, and some people are even comparing feeding kids sugary foods to giving them cigarettes! One mom has written about her plan to have a sugar-free baby, and how she would even delay giving her child fruits so that they don’t get used to eating sugar at a young age. She hopes that by encouraging her baby to eat healthy foods at a young age, then maybe her child will be able to turn down sugary foods later in life. As great as it would be to have your child make all of the right dietary choices, I just don’t think this diet is for my family.

Are sugar and children a bad mix?

First of all, I worry that if you totally prohibit something, it makes it seem more appealing. If I were to put my children on a sugar-free diet, I can picture them going to a party and eating two pieces of cake instead of one just because they’ve missed out on it all this time. To be quite honest, I also want my children to have the opportunity to try all of the delicious foods that I had when I was growing up, such as homemade chocolate chip cookies, Swedish pancakes with maple syrup, M&Ms, etc. I’m not saying that I want my children to be hyped up on sugar all of the time, but I do want them to be able to have the occasional treat.

Moderation isn’t easy for any of us, but I want my children to learn to limit their sugar intake–something which I don’t think is possible if we completely prohibit sugar. I would be a flat-out hypocrite if I told them that they couldn’t have any junk food, because I have quite a sweet tooth myself. I’m an Oreo-with-my-coffee kind of person, and I don’t want to have to resort to hiding cookies in the kitchen and eating them in secret.

So even though I totally respect this mom for trying to limit something that isn’t so healthy, I guess I don’t think I could actually execute on what she’s doing.  Plus, I don’t think I’m willing to live a sugar-free life, and I don’t expect my children to, either. There’s already enough in life that you’re not supposed to do, so I don’t want to take this away on top of everything else.

Am I on the right track here, or do you disagree? How do you balance your children’s sugar intake? Please share your thoughts with me below, I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can!