It only takes a couple of eggs before your child has eaten their recommended daily intake of sugar! If you are familiar with post sugar rush meltdowns and irritability, then these tips by our kid’s nutritionist, Sarah Appleford are for you.
Sugar. It’s delicious but oh so deadly. As a mum, I can relate to the constant struggle of managing your child’s sugar intake and when events like Easter come about, anxiety hits. Thankfully you can enjoy Easter and all the chocolate and treats that come with it without the guilt and excessive sugar consumption.
Here are my top tips for avoiding the sugar rush and managing your child’s sugar intake this Easter.
- Serve balanced meals that include protein, fibre and healthy fats. These nutrients will not only help your child feel full and satisfied for longer but also help slow the effects of sugar and minimise the spike.
- Consider Easter gift baskets that replace the abundant amount of chocolate. Think one or two quality chocolates with a book, natural paints, a cute toy and a game of some sort.
- Focus on experiences you can have with the family. Perhaps you take your children to the movies as a treat or for a bike ride to an exciting playground.
- Introduce the Easter Fairy to your family. This is something I do with my son every year (we also do the switch witch for Halloween). He enjoys Easter with eggs and treats before deciding how much he would like to give to the Easter Fairy. That night, the fairy swaps the choccies for an easter gift like a basket with the above suggestions. Our motto: the more you give, the more you receive.
- Have a hunt that is out of the box. An Easter hunt doesn’t have to involve eggs. It could be finding clues that lead to a surprise or a scavenger hunt where the amount of numbers they get right determines the treat at the end. Get creative and have some fun with it.
- Choose your chocolate wisely by opting for products that don’t contain copious amounts of sugar in addition to colours, additives and emulsifiers. Here are a few tips:
– Opt for just chocolate, not flavour-filled
– Choose a higher cacao content
– Go for milk over white chocolate
– Look for chocolates sweetened with coconut sugar over refined sugar
– Go organic if the budget allows it
– Choose one with minimal ingredients
– Ditch the chocolates with numbers Some of my favourites are Pana, Loving Earth and Banjos from The Carob Kitchen. - Designate a time for chocolate eggs to be eaten rather than leaving them in plain sight or giving your child full control. I recommend you offer the eggs after your child has eaten a balanced snack or meal so that they won’t experience a sharp spike in their blood sugar levels.
- Encourage your child to share their choccy egg haul. This could be with members of their family, friends, neighbours or even a local charity.
Limiting your child’s sugar intake over Easter isn’t about being a grinch. Health issues resulting from poor diets are increasing in children. Conditions like type 2 diabetes were once a problem in only the adult population. Now, children as young as three years old have been diagnosed. Likewise, toddlers are now being flagged as overweight.
Excessive sugar consumption is common in children and can lead to tooth decay, obesity and metabolic syndrome.
If you’re concerned about your child’s sugar intake or diet in general, why not book a complimentary wellness call with our nutritionist Sarah Appleford? Sarah can help determine whether more support would be beneficial and give you some tips on improving your child’s health. You can book here.
Keeping a cap on how much sure your child enjoys over the Easter break will not only help navigate blood sugar imbalances but support their overall health long term.