To ask how old your children were when you allowed candy?

[jayisforjessica]

I am aware that I already have a twelve year old DS and I made my choices with him. I now have twins on the way and I'm going to be raising them in a world that is twelve years on from the world in which I raised DS1. I'm curious about sweets, fizzy drinks and the like. How old were your DC when you allowed them?

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here - if I say what choices I made for DS1, that'll get accused of being performance parenting, and if I decline to say but answer the inevitable question later, it'll get accused of being a drip feed, so I'm aware of the awkwardness of this post!! Just know that I'm holding off on saying so I can get some genuine answers rather than knee-jerk "ooh, performance parenting thread" comments :) Haha.

[wornoutboots]

eldest was 3 and was given some because it was someone in nursery's birthday
second was about 2
third was 18 months (it was too hard to stop her brothers feeding her it any time my back is turned)

They all mostly drink milk or water though, eldest is 6 now.

[Proudmummytodc2]

Mine first was 8 months is was xmas and I gave him milky bar buttons ect he got given and my second was 9 months which was the same given milky bar buttons at xmas but they aren't big on sweeties they would prefer and apple or banana they have never been big in sweets also dizzy drink mine get a dizzy drink if we go out for dinner as a treat but other than that no dizzy drinks allowed I don't care if people say I'm miserable but I don't drink fizzy juice because of the rubbish in them why would I put that in to my child..I wouldn't.

[Embolio]

I think ds1 was probably 2, ds2 as soon as he could get them off ds1 and - I'm not proud of this, it was a one off!- yesterday I caught ds2 posting a chocolate button into dd's mouth. She's 8 months old.

Having said that, they don't have fuzzy drinks

[corythatwas]

I never experienced that "alone with your first baby in a bubble with no other children around" thing which is supposed to be a feature of modern parenting. We spend all our holidays at my parents' house which was replete with cousins, and at home we met up with other parents several times a week, went to parties and meals together, did outings together; we never seemed to exist in a vacuum. This may explain why I can't quite remember when my dc had their first taste of this or that: chances are I didn't even notice because they were on the lap of an uncle or whisked out by older cousins. I was careful about choking hazards when little, but other than that I didn't think it was that important if they had something when out which they wouldn't be getting at home.

Having said this, we stick to quite a healthy everyday diet, with water and milk as everyday drinks.

[SpookyPotato]

He was about 5 months, my mum gave him a champagne liqeur I wanted to be easygoing about food and not make an issue. A few posters have mentioned being denied treats as a youngster and that made them seek them out at any opportunity, whereas I was allowed whatever I wanted and I am still a total binger. It can be hard to know what approach.. DS loves chocolate and he has it once a week probably, sometimes more.. maybe the key will be getting into a sport when he's older!

[dietcokeandwine]

Ds had no chocolate, sweets etc till around 3.

Ds2 could identify the purple Cadbury wrapper by 14m

Ds3 I can't even remember but it would have been similar to ds2.

I am pretty relaxed about that kind of stuff now but do have a rule that they are not allowed fizzy drinks till 11. In all honesty once they are at secondary school you have far more limited control over what they eat and drink anyway and I suspect the DC of the poster saying 'no fizzy drinks or McDonald's ever' will totally ignore that rule once they are in their teens!

As a case in point, I bloody love a McDonald's and eat far too many of them. They were utterly banned in my childhood (my mum swears that she will go to her grave having never set foot in one) and I am sure her obsessive banning of it led to my obsessive consumption of it now!

Everything in moderation has to be the sensible rule. Extremist food banning of any sort cannot be a good thing for DC in the long term.

[NickyEds]

Both of mine (almost 3 and 16 months)have had chocolate and cake from being weaned more or less, so 6 months. Both also have a biscuit a week at toddler group. Neither every have juice, just water but they have tried it (again at toddler group) and they don't like it. Ds had his first sweet last week when a local cafe was giving them away for Halloween, he wasn't keen. Ds had a mouthful of my diet coke at a family meal and it made him cough!

[witsender]

6 and 4, probably within the last couple of years? So younger for the second child. They have a pound they can spend on whatever sweets they like on a Saturday which they normally spend on a selection of penny style sweets.

[5minutestobed]

Ds has had biscuits probably from about 1. Chocolate from 18 months ish and haribo type sweets from age 3(more to do with the fact I never buy them so he thinks they only exist at parties) fizzy drinks I would not allow until he is much older 10+ as I only drank fizzy juice as a child and my teeth paid the price!

[FeliciaJollygoodfellow]

When weaning was established, so maybe 8 months or so? I personally feel that not giving it makes it that much more desirable as they get older - it's often those kids that aren't allowed sugar that are to be found stuffing their faces until they're sick at parties.

[Laiste]

It's interesting. I have a gap between my eldest and youngest of 20 years (with 2 more in the middle) and i've stuck with the same philosophy regarding sweets for the whole time.

When pregnant with DD1 I was adamant that she was going to stay sweet, choc and fizzy drink free until at least school age. That lasted till she was about 7 months when i couldn't resist the temptation to give her a chocolate button

My philosophy has been that i've treated treats as treats, but without putting them on some massive pedestal. ie: make it a rare thing - but not make a huge fuss of it. Have a big slice of cake or a second helping of pudding if you wish (and if you've eaten your dinner) and you wont be offered it very often because it is a treat. (My mother used to make a 6'' victoria sandwich serve about 8 bloody people with some left over to ''keep for the later in week because we can't eat it all at once'' Why? It's not bloomin poison. Enjoy the damn food when it's there and get it eaten up!)

The only thing i am and ever have been really anal about is fizzy drink. I don't buy it even now. There was never been a problem over it when the older ones were young because there's usually always an alternative on offer, and now 3 of them are old enough to buy their own they still don't bother with it much.

[SpookyPotato]

I know two sisters whose mum banned all chocolate and treats for their whole childhood. One is now a secret binger and the other carried on that path but to the extreme.. she has been a fruitarian since her teens and now has brittle bone disease aged 30. When you look at them though they are very slim and healthy looking so the mum probably thinks she did right..

[weeblueberry]

With my first she had cake at a year (her birthday) then very occasionally chocolate after that as a treat. It's evolved into less of a treat and more of a reward. . We tend not to have sweets but that's purely because I don't like sweets so there's rarely any around.

DD2 it was earlier and, at 19mo, she's having treats probably once a week? We're avoiding chocolate as much as possible because DD1 becomes devil child when she has it. But the occasional ice cream, cake, biscuit just isn't on my stress list now...

[titchy]

Gosh does it really matter? Posting angst about sweets is a bit performance parenting if you ask me. Particularly as you gave your oldest raisins...

If you want to be strict then be strict. I'm sure your 12 yo is old enough to understand that his baby siblings are too young for sweets if that's what you choose.

If you want to take a more laissez-faire approach do so.

No harm done either way.

[Purplebluebird]

DS 2,5 does not get sweets/candy. He has occasional small piece of chocolate, cake or ice cream - but only as a special treat.

[Love51]

I'm fussy about candy, as in hard candy cane candy, and hard lollies. Due to choking not sugar. As for the rest, they eat the same sorts of foods I do, mostly at the same sorts of times, except I give them a substantial snack if I suspect lunch will be late (usually when eating with friends). The plus side of this is I was forced to eat quite healthily when they were tiny! My kids are quite context dependent (is they expect cake at one grandparents house and not another) - they aren't going to ask for food I don't buy.
I was surprised that toddler groups round here offer squash. The council ones offer diet milk. Mine ask for water at the non council one - in our house it's the 'default' drink for everyone (along with tea for adults).

[Isitadoubleentendre]

Ds had his first 'treat' on his first birthday.

Let's just say DD was younger than that. And her first proper word was 'biscuit'.

[Soubriquet]

Can't remember

Under 1 though. Not a lot of it but little bits here and there

Fizzy drink...none yet. Though they have had a sip of my lemonade (3 and 1)

[Isitadoubleentendre]

I do have to say that neither of them even now ever really have fizzy drinks as they really are shite. Ds will have it occasionally and DD doesn't even really like them.

[PhantasmMode]

Sweets at 2. Chocolate too and crisps.

Dd1 is still just 3.9 so no fizzy drinks. Probably allow a sip at 4/5 and have it as treat 6 onwards if they like it like parties or weddings.

Dd1 is a bit sweet obsessed and my parents give her way too much so dd2 (9 months) will probably be later and I'll be putting my foot down with others giving sweets before 3.

I will let dd2 have cake on her first birthday though and biscuits as a treat.
Everything in moderation.

[DeleteOrDecay]

Dd1 we waited until her first birthday to give her cake/chocolate/sweets etc. We felt at the time that when weaning it was more important to try and get her used to the healthier foods first, before introducing the less healthy stuff (or something along those lines, can't really remember now).

Dd2 was a little younger but not by much. Have been a bit more relaxed with her this time round. Mainly because dd1 loves 'sharing' with her and has often given her stuff without our knowledge and by the time we notice it's too late to just take it away.

Dd1 had her first taste of lemonade on her 4th birthday and hated it (secretly happy about this). We won't be allowing either of them to have cola or anything until they're much older.

[Isawthepigsfly]

I relaxed what I let DD have after she turned 2. However, she is now 5.5 and fizzy drinks are a no. I don't normally drink them so it's quite easy.

[ILoveDolly]

I was denied any sugary foods as a child. We had carob and watered down fruit juice. I am a total sweetaholic and went totally nuts as soon as I got my own money.
I have adopted a slightly more lenient attitude with my kids although as several have already noted it's harder to deny small children these things when there are older kids about.
I have just recently started letting my 10 and 6 year olds have fizzy if we are eating out but I try to stick to water at home for most meals as it's just a good habit.

[Flisspaps]

Both of mine had the odd bit cake and chocolate from the start of weaning.

They're now 4 and 6, they're allowed a can of fizzy drink on a Saturday which they think is a massive treat.

I'd sooner that than restrict it all and then go crazy for it when they're older. Besides, I like cake.

[Heatherjayne1972]

I found grandparents the hardest to 'train'. Children will eat what you buy so be wise in those choices
But gp on both sides had to be told to stop buying sweets !
Found that surprisingly frustrating