Spare those sweet treats for kids

Special occasion: One time children had ice-cream on a day out, not on a regular basis, as can be the case now.

TWENTY percent of children’s calories now come from treat foods, according to studies.

The occasions for sweet treats seem to be limitless. You’re in the supermarket, you pop to the shop for a newspaper, or you pull in for petrol and the kids are right on cue — ‘can I have?’ ‘I want’.

Time was when children had ice-cream on a day out and bought sweets with their pocket money on Saturdays, says director of Human Health and Nutrition at Safefood, Dr Cliodhna Foley Nolan. She warns against imposing an outright ban on treats. “Over-controlling parental behaviour can make forbidden foods seem all the more appealing.”

She likes to think of treats in terms of an ‘indulgence’ — the word has an occasional quality to it, in keeping with her guideline for children’s consumption of sweet things: not too much and not too often. “Avoid using food that should be an indulgence as a stopgap between meals or to keep a child quiet in the car or as a welcome home from school.”

She sees merit in small snack packs and says that teachers sometimes give two Smarties as a way of saying ‘well done’.

It’s also wise to consider non-food treats when you want to encourage or praise children – DVD, trip to cinema or a book. “Lots of evidence shows children greatly value parents spending time with them,” says Foley Nolan.

Good questions to ask when planning dessert include is it fruit-based or is it home-made. In each case, it’s likely to be more nutritious. Highly-processed desserts bought straight out of the shop refrigerator are likely to contain lots of hidden sugar and fat.

Foley Nolan urges against making a treat food dependent on whether a child eats his entire main course. “You don’t want your child to ignore signals from his brain indicating a full stomach. Children can go through peaks and troughs of hunger. If he has eaten at least some of the nutritional elements of his dinner, perhaps keep the treat for later or give it to him, particularly if he has been eating well all week.”

Rather than responding with an outright ‘no’ when a child asks for a treat or second helpings of dessert, remind them that it’s not yet treat-time but it will be tomorrow.

nFor desserts with lower levels of sugar and fat, visit www.safefood.eu/Healthy-Eating/Recipes/Desserts/Wholemeal-scones.aspx.

TIPS

* Offer small treats along with some fruit slices.

* Don’t allow treats to displace nutritious foods.

* Make on-the-spot snacks nutritious: bananas, slice of toast, rice cakes.

* Limit number of treat foods in the house.