According to a recent survey, 73% of parents do not consider food like sweets, chocolate or crisps to be treats but as part of their kiddies daily diet. However the truth is chocolate, sweets and crisps have little if any nutritional value - and why many are labelled as having 'empty calories'.
Short-term, they bring very little to the table and long-term, eaten in large quantities - they can take their toll on the body causing health problems such as obesity or other chronic illnesses as well as dental problems. The other thing is that sugar highs can lead children to become more hyperactive and lack concentration.
Dr Cliodhna Foley Nolan, Director of Human Health and Nutrition with Safefood, said that: "Up to a fifth of children's daily calorie intake is coming from treats such as crisps and sweets" and this is way too much. The recommended amount of treats food would be small amounts and not every day.
The solution is not to ban all sweets - which will only make them more appealing. You just have to limit the amount of sweets, to times such as during the weekend or every second day. For the other days, fruits, nuts or yogurt are perfect and healthy snacks. "What we're talking about is if children need snacks or whatever then it should be a banana, a little packet of raisins, whatever you know, between say school or dinner" added Foley Nolan.
Giving them a lunch with a fruit, convincing them to do some sport and cooking vegetables for dinner, are some of the ideas to help your children eat healthier. Another good way to change their habit is to stop buying sweets every time you go to the supermarket, children can already get sweets from their friends, at school,... so you should try to avoid keeping and storing them at home. The Safefood website has a lot of information about how to manage treats.
