Who gives a 16 month old chocolate every day?

Such a non issue. Food should not be demonised. Poor education about food is the problem. A slice of bread can be nutritionally identical to many ‘treats’.

Is this stat for first born babes or younger siblings who hoover up whatever is being handed out?

We are programmed to like high fat and sugar foods so you can’t just say “treat all food the same, don’t label some as treat food” will never work - we need to learn control and to restrict ourselves

I don't agree that kids portions here are humongous, they're usually quite small, I am more saddened that the food is shit and it's all chicken nuggets and the odd pizza.

Nothing wrong with either in your freezer for an easy playdate tea, but it's sad it's the only thing people want to buy when they go to a restaurant and they pay for someone else to do the cooking!

I knew someone who gave her child chocolate buttons after evedy evening meal as a "treat" because he'd done so well. I don't think a 1 year old needed a daily chocolately treat....this was before my kids came along so I didn't really know what to say at the time but still knew it was not right!

sadly it's more this way of thinking than will cause eating disorders than anything else.

The simple concept of "treat" food, as opposed to food is also the worst thing you can teach your child. Why do you think adults "dieting" but including "cheat days" are failing in their weight loss?

Food should be fuel, not a reward, not a treat. Some of it you like, some less.
It's beige food, rewards, treats, snacks the issue, expecting to cater for fussy eaters you created. Not a balanced diet instead of getting excited about a carrot or a piece of chocolate.

I give my daughter the odd chocolate button here and there or a little nibble of whatever I'm having most days and it hasn't done her any harm! She also eats plenty of veg and fruit so I don't personally see an issue

What's even worse is that trying to do the right thing feels like an uphill battle. When my eldest started nursery (she's 9 now) and I asked she didn't have cake for dessert, they looked at me like I was an alien. When I asked them not to let her have multiple portions of tea in after school club (she doesn't have a stop if she likes what she's eating), they made me sign a piece of paper to say it wasn't their fault if she was hungry. Sweets are everywhere, children portions in restaurants are humongous. I want to cry when I think about my poor 9 year old, that loves all kind of food, and the amount of time I spend reatricting it....

Thank you! Its crazy how people just read the OP and believe it is true without actually looking at the study.

It’s really not. Most people don’t have dessert everyday. Once a week on a Sunday maybe.

I would also add that if you buy decent chocolate and not shit there's absolutely nothing wrong with giving your kids a little bit each day. What's so bad about chocolate? It has some nutritional benefit and teaches them to enjoy a complex flavour. If you're thinking Mars bars and not 70 % then maybe you should improve your own tastes.

My kids probably have a 'treat' (biscuit / chocolate / scone / cake) every day, including the one who is under two years old.

We don't call them treats in our household because we don't distinguish between good and bad foods or make things like cake and chocolate out to be big, exciting things they only get occasionally. They eat really well, enjoy fruit and veg, eat all their meals and aren't fussy.

I truly don't care what anyone thinks about it. They're all comfortably within the healthy weight bracket for their heights, they do inordinate amounts of exercise daily and weekly, they're healthy as horses and we're all happy with the way things are.

I think dessert and pudding every day is normal. I don’t think they are a treat, just a normal part of a meal.

Apple sauce behaves exactly like white sugar in the body. It’s still a free sugar…

Eating disorders almost inevitable 😁that's really made me laugh.

The question said “such as” chocolate, crisps, ice cream or sweets which leaves it open to interpretation.

The report even points out this could have happened when it explains why there’s discrepancies in the data;
“Nearly half (49%) of caregivers said they gave their child a treat once a day. This appears to be inconsistent with responses to an earlier question where caregivers said 13% of children had ‘biscuits, sweets, chocolate or cakes’ every day, and 14% had ‘crisps and corn snacks’ every day. This may be due to:

• differences in the way these questions were asked in the survey
• limited answer options in the ‘treat’ question
• differences in the interpretation of ‘treats’ by caregivers”

I think this is just so silly. Some homemade cake or a piece of good quality chocolate per day is just not a big deal. When kids eat a lot of good food and vegetables there's a lot of fibre there and they fill up fast. If you teach them early on to enjoy a small amount of something sweet they'll retain a sense of proportion about it. People would rather get themselves worked up though.

I completely agree with this.

So at that age mine would have had a treat everyday- however all homemade
Made homemade cake- with apple sauce rather than sugar
Made cake with tinned peaches rather than sugar
Made cake with carrot, orange, avocado or courgette and not sugar
Made flapjack with grated carrot, apple sauce and raisins
She had pizza pinwheels and cheese twists
I made homemade crackers rather than giving crisps
However at that age I had time with maternity leave etc to make things- I no longer have the luxury .... And I got creative to give her food without added sugar or salt. ..

Tbh most people in the UK seem to have no idea about nutrition or guidelines. It’s estimated that 75-80% of adults will be overweight or obese by 2050.

People are also totally brainwashed by what I call ‘health washing’. You know, the kids yoghurt drops that claim to have calcium and probiotics and real fruit (but don’t mention a pack is 9g of sugar) or the purees that claim to be fruit and veg but only have 2% spinach and the rest is blended fruit (Aka free sugars).

So I’m not surprised that half of parents think giving their kid cake everyday is ok… they likely eat sweets or cakes or crisps every day too as part of a ‘normal’ lunch.

Half of Britain is overweight and many people won’t even realise it. And I know it’s hard, I was overweight myself (BMI) and fit in a size 10. But we really really need to educate the public more… and people need to care and listen.

Well, I am that parent - at least with my second who demanded everything her brother had. They are 4 and 2 and are bribed with chocolate most days. We have a tub of miniature heroes which are the current bribes/rewards. Potty training started the whole saga and it’s carried on from there.

However, I don’t see it as a big deal because I care hugely about their diets and try to expose them to lots of different foods to enjoy. Today they had chicken lentil soup for tea, yesterday they had salmon, potatoes and green beans. I like to think their diet overall is pretty good and a miniature hero a day hopefully won’t cause any long term problems.

@user2255679541🤣

That's not true or everyone in France would be obese and have EDs when in fact they have a much better relationship with food than us. We've lost sight of moderation.

Our kitchen was always stocked with crisps, crackers, sweets, goodies - everything you could possibly desire.
We never over-indulged, we never even thought about raiding the kitchen - because we didn’t have to - everything was right there.
It takes the desire away, I suppose.
But chocolates - every Christmas my father’s business associate would gift us a 5 pound (weight) box of very fancy chocolates. I can’t imagine how much he spent.
Mum would allow each of us one piece and then she’d hide the rest. She’d eat 5 pounds of chocolate.
Otherwise, she was rational.
Some people are irrational over chocolate. Some people are irrational over crisps. Others over ice cream. Some people can’t get a grip on sugar.
Some people aren’t irrational over anything.

We had some junk food when I was a child, my kids had some junk food when they were little. We're all now healthy adults with great relationships with food and all are also keen cooks and love healthy and nutritious food as well as the occasional piece of chocolate, and all on the slim end of normal, so go figure.

@childofthe607080s

treats - something perhaps at the weekend / a Friday trip to the sweatshop for one thing and a home made cake for Sunday.

If you're sending your kids to a sweatshop on a Friday, I think a few sweets is the least you can do. 😂Sorry, couldn't resist.