Kids Easter Baskets: Bring on the Candy!

  I'm annoyed with the trend where parents are omitting sweets from holidays. No chocolate bunnies on Easter, no candy hearts on Valentines, and no candy canes on Christmas. Instead they load Easter baskets with plastic toys and concoct gluten free carrot "cakes" dressed with organic coconut flakes. I feel for the parents of diabetic children. My family is riddled with type 2 diabetes and I feel so sorry for people born with type 1. It is a miserable and nerve wracking disease that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Luckily, the girls and I are healthy individuals who partake of sugar on a regular basis. GASP! Sugar before one year old!?! Many parents brag about their child's lips NEVER touching sugar until their first Birthday cake. First of all keeping sugar completely out of your kids mouth would be extremely hard. Fruits contain sugar so I guess you're not feeding your baby applesauce or juice. "But that's natural sugar, so it's ok." Sugar is sugar is sugar. Some is white, some is brown, and some claims to be organic all natural GMO gluten free but in the end your body does the same thing with it. Either your body burns the sugar for energy or it turns it into fat. I know I'm oversimplifying the process but many people over complicate food to the point that everyone's afraid to eat anything.
  So let me share my secret to enjoying sugar without becoming fat, diabetic, hyperactive, or [insert new bad sugar claim here]. Moderation. Oh, heaven help us someone is asking you to control yourself. Refusing your child any sugar is much easier than giving them the occasional treat. The first time I fed my girls chocolate ice cream you could see their faces light up. Unfortunately, this also became the girls first taste of disappointment. Once the small bowel was empty those little eyes filled with tears and a 20min tantrum ensued. If I refilled the bowl with more ice cream then I could have easily stopped the tantrum but I didn't want the girls to miss out on this important life lesson. Sometimes you can't have what you want. With every new treat the girls had to experience the disappointment of the treat running out. Every time I would show them the empty container, shrug my shoulders, and say "all gone."  Soon the tantrums stopped and now the girls enjoy shrugging their shoulders along with me when the bowel is empty. You can tell that they still really enjoy the sugar but it doesn't seem to have the same hold on them as it did in the beginning. Most of the girls treats consist of fresh or pureed fruit but occasionally we'll all share a piece of cake or chocolate pudding. I love the ritual of sharing dessert with my girls. We all giggle and smile after every bite. Everyone gets just enough to satisfy their sweet tooth but not so much as to cause a belly ache.
  I have seen the result of both letting your child overindulge in sweets and completely cutting them off from them. The child who has complete access to a kitchen full of Oreos is usually the token fat kid in class or will eventually grow up to become fat when they're not burning calories on the playground anymore. The child that is forbidden sugar will probably rebel the first chance they are given. It is human nature to want what we can't have and if the child has never been taught to manage their instinct to overindulge then they will go crazy when their parents aren't around to stop them. Ever see that kid at the Halloween party covered in melted chocolate and rubbing their belly while moaning for more candy? He had no idea how to handle himself around sweets. You can not shield your child from the world. The world is full of fattening fast food, sugar, and numerous temptations. They need to have the tools to take care of themselves when you're not around to hold their hands.

Enjoying a sugary popsicle.

  Tonight is Cookie and Peanut's one year Birthday party. They will be eating lemon flavored cake with strawberry filling topped with buttercream icing. Easter is next week and we will all share a Cadbury egg and enjoy a handful of jelly beans. I hope they enjoy every bite.