Dealing with the Sugar Onslaught

[Greentrees2021]

Does anyone else feel increasingly fed up with the constant onslaught of sugary food at kids in todays world? I like to think I'm a fairly sensible and relaxed parent when it comes to food, I'm quite happy to let my 2 primary age kids have sweet things but it's the volume of it coming at us from all angles which is starting to really bother me.

It seems there's no such thing as treats anymore. In the past week alone my kids have faced the following "treats":

• child's birthday in class - sweets given out

• DC1 went to birthday party - sweets in party bag

• Saturday football match - DC1 given sweets by coach at end of game. DC2 was spectating and constantly given sweets and choc biscuits by parents of other spectating siblings.

• dance lesson- sweet each from the teacher at the end

• After school cakes from grandparents as a "treat" (on both occasions they went to their house)

• next door neighbour- has a "treat bag" for her DD after school and offered items to my DC from this when they were getting out of car at same time

• DC1 friends dad has been away to another country and brought back sweets which friend brought to share

• Remembrance day parade - friends start handing around sweets & biscuits for all the kids spectating

It just feels like any activities with the kids now end up with sugary snacks present! Yes of course you expect these at parties but it's everywhere we go. Apparently it's not possible to watch a 20 minute parade or a football match without snacks. Any of these things in isolation would be fine, but cumulatively when day after day there's some event or reason I'm finding it's just too much.

Maybe I should just be stronger at saying no but it's so hard - you offend the parents offering them round and you publicly upset your children who can't understand why other children are having them and not them. As it is I have a constant battle with DC1 about the fact that I send her to school with fruit as a snack (school rule which is not followed up) and the majority of other parents seem to send packs of biscuits or oaty bars.

Does anyone have any advice or tips? How do I deal with this? Should I just chill out? DC are somehow slim but I wonder about the long term health consequences. When I was a kid, a treat was a treat!

christmas is worse still!

It is a lot. Even separating children from the issue it seems increasingly socially ingrained to 'celebrate' any event or even meeting up whatsoever to include large portions or hugely sugary treats. I can't remember the last time I had a friend over, or visited a friend and wasn't presented with cake/brownies/chocolates. Don't get me wrong, it's generous and I love cake but I did recently notice I've even got myself into the habit of treating myself for absolutely any reason with the same and it just isn't healthy. There are surely other ways to make people feel welcome or be welcoming.

OP I share this worry. Birthday parties, desserts every day at school, hallowe'en treats, christmas treats, constant begging and expectation for sugar, etc etc

I don't know what the answer is. The forces of culture, habit and advertising and hard to counteract.

There is a lot, but very hard to stop it. When our kids were younger we ate almoost no sugar at home so that we didn;t have to say no when we were out. It gets miles better once they leave primary school (pretty much everything gets better when they leave primary school!)

That is more than here as no sweets after ballet class, for birthdays in class or after sport

Parties yes, gps yes but not very often, Halloween was a fair few though which felt like it upped the ante. Just dialling back from that

@carefulcalculator I think that's what we're going to have to do! Good thought. Up to now I've been reasonably liberal at home but now there's just so much offered to them in other environments, I think we will have to stop or very much curtail sugar consumption at home.