An increasingly sedentary lifestyle coupled with the rates of obesity in children sky rocking globally, sugar intake is something that needs to be kept in check from a very early age by parents. Here are some recommendations to help…

(Note: These guidelines may not apply to children who have diabetes.)

Allow sugar at the right time: It is probably a good idea to avoid giving your child sweets before he is one-year-old. If sweets are included in your child’s diet too early, they may interfere with the child’s willingness to sample new foods that are unsweetened.

Don’t forbid sugar completely: Some parents forbid sweets in hopes of preventing a preference for them. However, because this preference is present at birth, we have little influence over it. Forbidding sweets completely may increase a child’s fascination with them and cause candy binges. With candy and other sweets so readily available in stores and vending machines, sugar consumption can’t always be monitored. A taboo against sugar becomes unenforceable as a child grows older.

Limit the amount of sweets you buy: The more sweets there are available at home, the more your child will eat. Try to purchase breakfast cereals and cookies in which sugar is not the main ingredient.

Limit the amount of sweets your child eats: While one candy bar is fine, eating an entire bag of candy is unacceptable. Try to eliminate binging on candy and sweets. You can best do this by setting a good example. Make exceptions and allow extra candy on Halloween and other holidays, birthdays, and at parties.

Discourage sweets for snacks: Candy, soft drinks, and other sweets are not good choices for snacks. Because very little else is eaten with a snack, consuming mainly refined sugar alone may cause some rebound symptoms several hours later. Teach your child that if he has a soft drink or Kool-Aid as a snack, he should eat something from the grain or fruit food groups along with it.

Insist that the teeth are brushed properly after eating sweets: Unless you encourage this good habit, a “sweet tooth” can become a decayed tooth.