kids sneaking sweets.

[Beestie]

We have a problem with this too. I have a 5 and 6 yo girl and boy.

I intentionally leave candy and sweets out on the counter and keep an eye on how fast they disappear. I also note how much they eat at dinner. From these two things, I get an idea of how "out of hand" their candy eating is.

What I have settled on is to frequently discuss nutrition with them to give them a reason not to eat too much. I can't police them at school and I don't want to make them neurotic about eating - I'm concerned especially about my daughter to make sure her self-image is independent of her eating habits.

Our conversation might go like this:

I see them going for the candy (Me in blue, them in grn)
Are you hungry?
Yes.
What does it mean when you are hungry?
puzzled looks
I think it means that your body is telling your tummy that it needs food to keep growing and your tummy, in turn, is telling you to give it some fuel. So what do you think your body wants you to give it? Its not like your tummy has hands and legs and can go to the fridge and pick what it really needs. You are in charge of that so what do you think you should do???
Give it some food?
I'd say that's probably what your tummy really wants.
I love candy, though.
You do!?!?
You bet!! And just as soon as I've given my tummy what it needs then I can have some.
Hey kids - what is Daddy supposed to do when my car is running out of gas?
Stop at 7-11 and put some gas in it?
Can I tell you kids something if you promise not to tell anyone? There was this one time that I was out of gas but instead of gas, I filled my car with Skittles! My car was sooooo happy!! Guess what happened next?!?!
It broke down?
Exactly! Why?
It wanted gas but you gave it Skittles???
Because my car doesn't run on Skittles! And little boys and girls don't run on Skittles either! But they are yummy tho.

I gave up on hiding candy. They need to learn at home from me and their mother how to manage the decision of when and how much candy and food to eat. Its not easy but we agreed a while back that not keeping candy in the house was just depriving them of the opportunity to learn how to think it through and make the right decision under our guidance. Same with soft drinks and cereal. My kids can pretty much go down the cereal aisle with me and figure out which cereals are food and which are candy disguised to look like food. And I tell them that its hard for me too - I'd rather have Lucky Charms than Raisin Bran or Cheerios but that my body expects me to give it food and it won't be healthy and strong if I don't. I think it really helps them to know that its hard for us too.

But we don't demonize candy and junk food. We just let the kids know that while candy and McDonald's are tasty, they are an occasional treat and we shouldn't pretend that our body can run on that stuff.

That works for 5 and 6 year olds. I have no idea what to tell you about the 9 year old.

[Stormieweather]

I have an 18 yr old, 10 yr old and a 14 mo old at home. I've also raised a now 23 yr old as well as another teen who lived with us for a couple of years when they were in their mid-teens. I used to have problems with one or two of the kids scarfing ALL of the sweets and leaving none for anyone else. This effectively screwed those that ate responsibly.

I developed a system whereby each person is allowed to order (via me, the grocery shopper) a snack item for the week. It could be anything from cookies, popcorn, gummy bears, ice cream, nuts, or a chunk of cheese to pudding or yogurt. But this snack was all they would get for the week. They had the choice of eating it all in one sitting or spreading it out for 7 days. If they took a snack belonging to someone else, they forfeited their snack for the following week in favor of the shorted person (who got two). They also have the same plan for drinks. Each person gets assigned drinks (usually soda/tea) and they have to use them sparingly or they will be drinking nothing but water by week's end.

I also stock the less expensive and healthier snacks for the family such as pretzels and apples/oranges. If they run out of their sweets, they can always eat the household snacks. Juice and Milk are provided in unlimited quantities.

I found that this system gives each person control over how much they want to eat at a time and still teaches them to save and conserve. They also learn to respect each other's property.

I am on a tight budget so meal planning is a big issue. I always serve home cooked, well balanced meals for dinner and everyone is expected to participate (or go hungry).

It has worked well for me so far . They're all healthy and none appear to have any food issues (overeating/undereating/addictions/excessive tooth decay).

Stormie

[LabRat]

Originally Posted by Beestie

~snip~ Its not easy but we agreed a while back that not keeping candy in the house was just depriving them of the opportunity to learn how to think it through and make the right decision under our guidance. ~snip~ we don't demonize candy and junk food. We just let the kids know that while candy and McDonald's are tasty, they are an occasional treat and we shouldn't pretend that our body can run on that stuff.

I totally 100% agree with you. Our daughter is 3.75 yrs old, and we have explained it like this: Proteins like chicken make big muscles so you are strong, carbohydrates like bread and cereal give you energy to run, fruits and vegetables give you vitamins so you can grow, and help your body fight germs to keep you from getting sick. Sweets are treats that if you eat too many, make you fat and slow because you don't have enough room to eat good stuff. I believe in total truth in our house

I have a bowl on top of the fridge with 'her' treats in it. M&M's, Twizzlers, Tootsie Pops etc. She knows that she gets some for eating her meal well, or doing something good. (picking up toys without being asked, etc.) We can leave things down where she can reach them, and not have to worry about them dissappearing. Her fruit snacks and fruit rollups are in the pantry where she can reach them, but so far we haven't had any trouble with her taking them without asking. She knows she won't get any later if she does!

Were lucky that we can use a 'No snacks if you are naughty' approach because she's got a sweet tooth the size of a basketball.