How Much Sugar Does Your Pre-schooler Eat?

My kids probably have about 1-2 special treats a day in addition to a pretty healthy diet. I'm not worried about it, they get tons of exercise playing and running around outside. They've never had soda but they do drink juice, watered down quite a bit. My kids go to the dentist and their teeth are fine, they also brush their teeth 1-2X/day. I think some people's teeth, no matter how well they take care of them, are just more prone to cavities.

This is a small soap box of mine... in no small part because I was working in the ER and Surgical PreAdmit during the atkins craze.

We NEED sugar.

Or, to be more specific, our BRAINS need sugar. It is the ONLY substance that our brains run off of. Each and every single other organ and tissue can cope with other nutrient sources (and combos) but NOT our brain. When we have zero (or way too low) sugar content in our diet we shift into ketosis. Which is our body trying to make sugar for our brain out of other molecules. And failing. It's like drinking saltwater instead of water. It will "work" for a little while (buy you an extra day or two), but then it makes you crazy and kills you.

Long story short. Ketosis = Seizure & Brain Damage & Death.

Then there's also ketoacidosis ... which is what is common amongst typeI diabetics and terminal alcoholics. Also. Very. Very. Very. BAD.

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Now... if what you're REALLY talking about is candy/donuts/cake/icecream/etc. Then, yah. Ditch the candy. Save them for holidays and birthdays. Or use 10 calories worth of high quality dark chocolate (callebaut 60% +) to "seal the palate" after a meal.

But DO NOT get rid of sugar in your diet!!!

Galactose & Lactose in Milk
Fructose in Fruit
A whole bunch of other "oses" in grains and veg (cereals, breads, potatoes, carrots, etc.)

These area GOOD things to have in our diet.

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My son is ADHD, as well. But he's hypoglycemic (hence part of the sugar rant... I've had to make sure his blood sugar stays high enough since he was a toddler), so we make sure he's consuming fast acting sugars as well as longer burning proteins and lipids on an hourly and 3 hour basis. Chocolate Whole Milk was our godsend when he was a toddler. They hershey's chocolate syrup acted as an instant up, and then the slower acticing lactose and glactose belled the curve, and then his levels were held steady by the proteins and lipids. Every 3 hours he'd eat a half meal (6 meals a day instead of 3 big meals).

My son is five. We have about three 'treat days' a week; usually Tues, Thurs and Sat. It's nice for him to know when they are. Those treats are often a small ice cream cone (maybe with a few chocolate chips in it), part of a scone, rugelach (when we're out on walks to the local cafe that sells it-- he loves it), a few peanut M&Ms, or a natural-ingredients soda if we are out. Home made smoothie popsicles in summertime I have no problem with, because they're all fresh fruit with apple or orange juice. We don't ever buy juice, but do allow him to have some fizzy water or milk. And of course, if there's a party, we allow him to have a cupcake or piece of cake-- I think it's important for kids not to feel 'other' or left out completely. He does have a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar on his oatmeal, and his cereal isn't too sweet. We also get the honey greek yogurt and serve this with berries, but he gets mostly berries or fruit and just a bit of yogurt, no more than half a cup at most.

One thing we stand very firm on is no aspartame/nutrasweet/splenda sweetened foods. I'd rather he have real sugar or none at all.

Try to aim toward moderation. When at events where sweets are being served, say yes to one or two, but then put them on a plate and make your child sit down to eat them. They will enjoy them more (because they are less distracted) and feel like they've had the same treat as everyone else.

Refined sugar? Almost never. It's not really a health conscience thing. I have never been one for sugar, and my husband has a serious addiction to it. He can't simple have a piece or two of candy. It turns him into a sugar eating lunatic. I'm serious. (I'm just talking processed sweets and junk, he can eat naturally occurring sugar.) I don't worry about treats. If my parents, or friend's parents (etc.) give him something. no big deal. It's a treat. I don't really ever worry about holidays and birthday parties, because it's a special time. I want him to be able to enjoy something everyone else is, and not long for something that is forbidden. We don't tell him he can't have anything, he just knows it's not something I really buy. There are other opportunities for him to have treats, so he doesn't crave them.

My son eats plenty of sugar from natural sources. He eats lots and lots of fruit. He eats things like whole wheat bread, milk, cheese, carrots, baked potatoes, etc. Our bodies really do NEED the energy of sugar and complex carbs (essentially sugar.) I think it's a great thing to not want to serve so much junk, but keep the healthy sugars there.

My kids have orange juice with their breakfast, and then a treat after lunch (usually candy). Sometimes they have an extra treat or two if we go shopping and the store has suckers, etc. And on the weekends they might have dessert (I like to bake)....

I don't worry about it. But I'm not one of those parents that worries about how many veggies they have over the course of a week, etc. We don't eat processed foods, and I try to put balanced meals in front of them. With that said, I don't want peas for lunch, so I don't usually serve veggies for lunch. My life expectancy is something like 98. I come from a long line of people that live long lives, and these are folks that didn't eat all their veggies, rather, they started every day with bacon and sausage and eggs, etc.

My son is intentionally on a sugar reduced diet - I TRY to keep his intake under 20grams a day but it is HARD to do. He has ADHD and I notice a HUGE downward spiral in his behaivior after having too much. I talk to him about how he acts when he's had too much and give him too much so he can understand. He is learning that everything has sugar (to a degree) and how to have a moderate sugar intake. My son is 6. I think if you villanize sugar it will backfire, but if you talk about it honestly - what it does how it effects ppl etc it can be healthy to understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWoKF9Zesz4

This video is insightful.

My kids get a sugary treat once a week, usually a doughnut on Saturday morning as we are running around from one weekend activity to another. I will occasionally let my oldest (6 year old) to take a piece of candy in her lunch on Fridays if she has no behavioral problems throughout the week and has done all of her homework without any gripe. I agree that moderation is definitely the key here.

Moderation is the key. You don't want to "ban" sugar, because when your child is old enough to obtain food on his own that will likely backfire and he'll go nuts for the candy.

However, you can eliminate sugar from easy sources and offer it from more healthy ones.

My 2.5 year old only eats candy on special occasions, like Halloween (a few pieces, and the rest she couldn't even have because of CD.) or Christmas (a candy cane.)

Other than that, her daily intake of sugar comes from whatever is in her healthy cereal (Chex or GF Rice Krispies), what naturally occurs in fruit, or whatever small amount is in her LF yogurt.

Because my toddler has CD (Celiac disease) she doesn't get sugar from a lot of sources other kids might, like cookies, pop-tarts, brownies, little debbies, etc. She just can't have those foods, and because she eats a largely "whole foods" diet, she hasn't developed a sweet tooth.

She doesn't drink soda or juice. She's still breastfed, and if it's not that, it's water...with ALL meals, and sometimes I flavor it with MiO, which is sugar free. She doesn't drink juice...not that I wouldn't let her, but she doesn't like it, possibly because it's too sweet.

My older child is almost 8 and again, she doesn't eat much for sugar except what occurs naturally in fruit, yogurt, etc. Again, she's allowed treats on special occasions and I am not adverse to buying her a candy bar once a month at the grocery store, but that's about it.

If your son can handle it, start him on gum. You can get sugar free gum that has a sweet taste, and that really helps. My 7 year old chews at least a few pieces of sugar free gum a day. She particularly likes these new dessert flavors they have, like Root Beer Float, Mint Ice Cream, and Apple Pie. She also likes all the mints.

I agree with Bug below that our bodies do need sugar, but it needs to come largely from natural sources as we've both suggested. Again, if he has a sweet tooth, try the gum!