“My child only eats junk food”, she told me. 

Lisa, a mother of 3, sounded at the end of her rope. Through the other end of the phone, I could hear her desperation and frustration about her 9 year old daughter, who only cared for eating packaged snack foods. She reached her breaking point when she found out her daughter was sneaking food and hiding to eat in secret.

She felt her child was addicted to junk food and so the only solution was to keep all of these foods out of their house. But it only seemed to make the problem worse. 

Maybe you’ve found yourself in a similar situation with one of your children who seems to gravitate towards foods commonly labeled as “junk food”; whether this means packaged snack foods or sweets of all kinds, these types of foods can bring up a power struggle between children and their caregivers. 

As parents, we’re fed the messages that our children can’t be trusted to eat these foods or that we’re ruining their health if we allow them access to these types of foods. And again, “junk food” is a category of food that often refers to a variety of processed, packaged foods that many children show a preference for eating. 

So what can you do if your child shows a high preference for these types of foods? Does that mean your child is obsessed with snack foods or addicted to junk food? 

The idea of junk food being addictive is something that has created so much fear and confusion around food, especially for parents who may be navigating how to best feed their children in a world where these types of foods do exist. 

And while your child may be showing signs of erratic behavior around snacks and sweets, I want to encourage you to look beyond the symptoms themselves to see what underlying issues might be hiding beneath the surface. 

The truth is, no matter what your child’s history has looked like with food, all children have the innate capabilities to self-regulate their intake and are born with the desire to learn how to eat a variety of foods. 

This can be challenging to trust when we encounter fear-mongering messages around food from the world around us. Diet culture is commonly the culprit behind these fear-based messages that fuel confusion around feeding ourselves and our children. 

Things like: “Processed foods are filled with toxic chemicals!”, “Sugar is going to ruin your child’s health!”, and of course, “Letting them eat that is going to leave your child addicted to junk food!

I mean, what is a parent supposed to do in the face of fearful messages like this around food? Any good parent would take the steps to prevent their child from accessing these foods that are supposedly so harmful. It seems like the logical thing to do, especially if certain foods can cause more harm than good. 

So if limiting access to foods, like packaged snacks and sweets, was supposedly the answer, why isn’t this approach working? 

Parents I work with, like Lisa, are coming to me for help with their child’s obsession with food. They’ve tried every trick in the book. They’ve tried keeping those foods out of the house. They’ve tried locking up the fridge and pantry. They’ve tried rationing out the foods their children show an obsession around. But no matter what they try, it only seems to make the problem worse. 

Furthermore, as food obsessive behaviors intensify in their children, it reinforces the damaging idea that their kids are in fact addicted to junk food or sweets, which perpetuates the vicious cycle of restricting and limiting access. 

When it comes to children and food, I’d like to be so bold as to make the claim that a food addiction doesn’t really exist. That your child is not in fact addicted to junk food or sweets. But in reality, your child may be dealing with the consequences of restricted access to these foods. 

Addiction to Junk Food - Is it Real? 

Contrary to popular belief, there’s not actually any scientific evidence that supports the idea that food is addictive in the same way that a drug or mind altering substance might become addictive. 

Now, this is not to discredit behaviors you might observe in your child around food that mimic addictive behavior. I’m not here to tell you that what you’re observing isn’t real. Those behaviors are very real and concerning for parents to observe. However, are they the result of a true addiction or could there be other influencing factors involved? 

I’ve written more on this topic here, as it pertains to the idea of sugar being addictive. You can read more about this through this link here: “5 Myths About Sugar and Kids: Sugar and Diabetes Myth Vs Fact”

In a nutshell, when it comes to children and food, kids will develop erratic behaviors around restricted foods, whether it’s snack foods or sweets, that often mimic addictive behaviors that we see in individuals who might become addicted to substances. 

Some of these behaviors might include things like: 

• Seeking out the foods at all costs, including sneaking or hiding foods

• Compulsive behaviors around obtaining and eating the foods

• Constant obsessiveness around the food itself (may continually talk about the foods, ask for them, whine for them, etc)

• Anxiousness or stress around not having enough or access to the foods

• Difficulty focusing on other things outside of the foods they want to eat

Contrary to popular opinion, these behaviors are not attributed to the foods themselves. 

Instead, what we see from research is that restricting children’s access to a palatable food increases their intake, selection, and behavioral response for that food.

In other words, restricting access to a palatable food, whether it’s packaged snack foods or sweets, increases children’s interest and attempts to access this food immediately after it becomes restricted. Studies have also concluded that restricting energy-dense foods is not an effective approach to moderating children’s consumption of these foods. 

These findings are similar to other animal research studies, where restricted access to food increased the drive to seek out and consume higher quantities of those foods. 

This is important to consider if you’re observing erratic behaviors around food in your own child. It may not be the actual food itself triggering the want for more of these foods but the approach around these foods in general. 

Your child’s body (and all of our bodies) are highly capable of breaking down and utilizing nutrition from a variety of foods. However, children fed with more controlling feeding practices may be more susceptible to erratic behaviors around food. 

Common Reasons Your Child Addicted to Junk Food

So now that we’ve debunked this idea of junk food (packaged, processed snack foods, sweets, etc) being a thing, what are some of the underlying reasons your child may show erratic behaviors around these foods? 

Consider these following factors if you're worried about your child showing a high interest in snacks and sweets or who may seem obsessed with packaged snack foods:

1. Limited Exposure or Access to These Foods:

A common culprit for obsessiveness around certain foods often has to do with limited access to those foods. I know this may sound counterintuitive. Again, the tendency is to prevent access to the foods our children may seem obsessive about.

However, when food (regardless of what it is) feels inaccessible or limited, this can increase feelings of scarcity around those foods. When something feels scarce, the default reaction is to want more of it. An example of this is the societal reaction to toilet paper at the onset of the pandemic.

With a stay at home order for an indefinite period of time and retail stores showing footage of empty shelves, hoarding emerged as a primal instinct.

Lo and behold, people found themselves stocking up on hoards of toilet paper. We want to have more of the things that feel scarce. This is especially true with food.

Foods that feel limited instantly become more desirable. When children are aware of certain foods, like their favorite snack foods, but those foods feel limited, they become elevated on a pedestal. Again, this could trigger a child to seek out these foods at whatever means necessary. 

2. Negative Approach Around Food:

How we approach food with our children can influence how they feel about food. It’s easy to take a dichotomous approach to food. Meaning, drawing the line in the sand and labeling some foods as “good” and others as “bad”.

This is something perpetuated by diet culture, which often makes food more confusing and chaotic than it should be. This type of approach also creates unnecessary guilt and shame around food and eating, especially for our children.

Developmentally, children are literal thinkers - meaning, they tend to translate things at face-value and have a harder time understanding nuances of certain expressions. So when they hear things like, “This food is junk” - they may interpret that to mean they are in fact “junk” for wanting to eat that food.

Along with this, if children are repeatedly shut down at every request for eating the foods they like and enjoy, this can also increase feelings of deprivation around food and eating.

Look at it like this: when children are constantly persuaded to eat certain foods but discouraged and prevented from having access to other foods (like their favorite snack foods), this can create aversion to one while elevating the other. 

3. Lack of Quantities that Feel Satisfying:

So often, we underestimate how much of certain foods our children may need to register satisfaction.

We tend to dish out certain foods in portions and quantities that feel more comfortable for us rather than offering what our children might really need to feel content.

This often comes up around sweets and snack foods that may feel uncomfortable for many caregivers to navigate. If your child is getting exposure and access to the foods they love to eat, like their favorite chips and crackers, but not being allowed to eat a quantity that feels satisfying to them, this often leaves them wanting more.

This is an important area of reflection for caregivers, as we’re often the gateway to food for our children.

Again, in comparison to foods like fruits and vegetables, there tends to be an unequal distribution of sweets and snack foods, simply because we may feel these are foods to be controlled and limited, rather than offered in amounts that support our children in trusting they’re able to eat a quantity that feels satisfying to them. 

4. Lack of Supportive Environment Around Food:

Lastly, a lack of a supportive approach to all foods can also be a trigger for erratic behaviors around food. Children need structure and healthy boundaries around food.

They also thrive and do better with eating when food is offered predictably throughout the day and they are given regular opportunities to eat.

Engaging with caregivers at mealtimes versus just being fed is also an important factor for helping children build positive associations with food and eating experiences.

For many families, getting into a routine with food and eating can feel like a struggle, and for good reason - feeding kids is HARD work. It’s repetitive, monotonous and includes many moving parts that are difficult to manage.

If kids are left to fend for themselves when it comes to food and caregivers aren’t able to provide leadership with respect to structure around food, this can create chaos around food in general. Kids might be sneaking food or eating in secret when they don’t understand when, where and what they’re able to eat.

In the absence of structure and predictability, children may adapt erratic behaviors around food and eating. They may also be more inclined to gravitate toward the foods that feel more predictable and reliable to them, which often includes their favorite snack foods. 

Steps to Normalize Snack Foods

If you’ve read through the reasons above and identified an area where you might be able to help support your child, I want you to know you’re not alone! You’re doing the best you can to navigate feeding children in a diet culture that makes food chaotic and confusing. 

You don’t have to stay stuck in this cycle anymore, and you and your family deserve to enjoy freedom with food as a family. 

The good news is that there are some simple steps you can take if you’re ready to help normalize snack foods in your home to end the obsession around food. It starts with the willingness to try something new and bravely learn to build a trusting feeding relationship with your children.

Before I share some of these steps with you, I want to be sure to clarify an important point. 

You see, when people hear this idea of normalizing snack foods and sweets, it’s easy to misconstrue this to mean something that it’s not. 

When I talk about allowing access to sweets and increasing the quantities of your child’s favorite snack foods to help them feel satisfied, I’m not saying that you should just let them eat whatever they want, whenever they want it. These things are not the same, and this is not the approach I’m endorsing in this post. 

Remember, children need and thrive from a supportive environment around food. 

This means parents taking leadership with respect to structure with food. Without this key factor in place, food will continue to feel chaotic and out of control, for both you and your child. It means taking a proactive approach in offering regular meals and snacks. It means intentionally incorporating the foods your child is showing a high interest in within the context of their meals and snacks and giving them regular opportunities to eat the foods they love alongside other foods they’re learning to eat. 

So as you learn about these strategies, keep this point in mind.

The goal is to support your child in having a positive relationship with all foods. It doesn’t mean “not caring” about what they eat and letting them have free rein over the fridge and pantry. It’s about taking a positive approach to food that includes support and structure. 

Here are some tips to help you toward this as you navigate snack foods and sweets in your own home: 

• Offer a supportive approach to food: Creating predictability around food is going to help bring down some of the obsessiveness around eating. Having a meal rhythm or structure around your family’s eating times can play a big part in creating this predictability. Remember - support doesn’t mean restrictive or rigid. It means making eating times a priority and having some predictability around it so your child doesn’t need to question when the next meal or snack is. For more on creating a meal routine in your home, be sure to check out this post here: “Build Healthy Habits For Kids With a Feeding Schedule”

• Increase access to your child’s favorite foods: If your child isn’t given permission to eat the foods they enjoy, this can be a prime breeding ground for obsession around food. Remember - this doesn’t mean just giving them a free pass on eating whatever whenever. This means intentionally allowing these foods more frequently in the context of your eating times. Incorporating your child’s favorite packaged snack foods and sweets alongside foods they’re already used to seeing can help normalize these foods for them. This also means not creating any stipulations for eating certain foods. For example, let go of any rules of what or how much your child needs to eat before being allowed to enjoy other foods. This type of approach and mentality will continue to elevate the snack foods they’re gravitating toward above all other foods. Offer all foods equally and be deliberate about regularly incorporating the foods they’re showing interest in. 

• Speak neutrally of all foods: We talked a bit about how children are literal thinkers and often interpret what we say about food at face value. So instead of labeling food as something “good” versus “bad”, try taking a more neutral approach to food. This will go a long way in helping children form better relationships with food and prevent any unnecessary guilt or shame around eating the foods they love. Also, consider your response when your children ask for their favorite packaged snack foods. Are they constantly being shut down and told no? Again, this type of language can increase the desire for the foods they’re wanting to eat. Instead, consider leading with a yes - saying yes to the request and assuring it will be available in the near future.Learn more about this approach here: “Child Always Asking For Snacks? How to Respond to the Snack Obsession”

• Offer snacks with higher quantities: Lastly, consider the portion of snack food you might be offering to your child, especially the packaged snacks they love to eat and frequently ask about. If they’re getting portions that don’t feel quite satisfying, this can leave them wanting more and seeking out ways to get more. Consider allowing strategic snack times where they get more of an unlimited amount of any particular packaged snack food they’re showing a higher interest in. For example, if your child is showing a higher interest in chips, consider putting out a bowl of chips on the table with 1-2 other food items and allowing your child to choose how much to eat from the foods provided. Allowing and trusting your children to eat a quantity that feels more satisfying to them will go a long way in helping them learn that food is safe and accessible. For more help on normalizing snacks in your home, be sure to check out this post here “My Child Won't Eat Anything But Junk Food: How to Deal With Snacks”

I hope this helps give you some practical tools to help end the chaos around food in your home and support your children in normalizing their relationships with all food. 

And as for my client Lisa, we worked to come up with a plan that helped her regularly incorporate those high-palatable snack foods in her home in a way that offered her children more structure and support. This helped her children feel more relaxed around packaged snack foods and end the “junk food” obsession. 

If sweets and snack foods feel out of control, leaving you overwhelmed and unsure about how to untangle the mess, be sure to check out Simplify Sweets Academy, my virtual coaching program for parents. Having some individualized expert guidance and accountability within a community of like-minded parents can help you take powerful steps forward toward freedom with food as a family. 

What are your thoughts and questions about this? Feel free to leave a comment below!