This Child Dietitian Nutritionist Lets Kids Eat Candy For Breakfast
Yes, I am a child dietitian nutritionist. And yes, I let my kids eat candy for breakfast.
No, this is not an oxymoron. And yes, I care about my children’s health and well-being. Very much so.
So what gives?
Now, before you jump to conclusions, let me explain myself here.
Candy is one of those hot-disputed topics among parents everywhere. Here are some of the many common questions I hear parents asking:
Should you allow it in your house?
How much should you let your kids eat?
Are you kids going to get addicted to sugar if they eat too much candy?
How much candy is too much?
How can you offer sweets to your children in a way that strikes a balance with other foods and without your child feeling restricted?
If you’ve thought about these questions yourself, you’re not alone. And I know you want the best for your kids.
Halloween is almost here, the candy-laden capital of all holidays. The candy is out in full force, and so many parents I know are already reeling in stress about how to handle the influx of sugar.
But let’s face it.
The reality is that we live in a world where candy co-exists with our children. No matter how we try to tightly control it in our own homes, our kids will be exposed to it at some time or another. Real life scenarios WILL include situations where your child will encounter sugar. Candy. Desserts. Sweets. All the above. And if your children haven’t learned how to self-regulate their intake of these foods in your home, they’re going to have a much more difficult time dealing with these real life situations outside of your home.
This is where it’s so important to zoom out and look at the big picture here:
Do you want to raise a child in a sugar-free home who doesn’t have exposure to real life foods?
OR…
Do you want to raise kids who have a positive relationship with all foods and who’re able to trust their bodies to help them self-regulate their intake - sugar included?
I’m betting you want the latter for your children. I do, too. And as a dietitian mom, I know that limiting my children’s sugar intake is not the way to help them reach this end goal.
In fact, I understand that strictly controlling sugar intake would make for a child obsessed with sugar. I know that not allowing them to have candy and dessert with other foods may increase their risk of overeating or binging on these foods down the road.
And while it may seem unconventional - even counterintuitive - to allow sugar and candy in your home, it’s a brave step toward supporting your child in building a positive relationship with all foods.
The truth is there’s so much conflicting information out there about how to raise healthy kids. Much of this well-meaning advice is steeped in diet culture.
For example, sugar is often demonized, which creates so much fear around these foods for parents.
Our own experiences around food also influence how we feed our kids as well. So if sweets were withheld from you as a child, or if you’ve had a difficult relationship with sugar yourself, this may also impact how you feel about your child eating sweets, like candy.
No matter what your past has been or what the current situation in your home is like, I want you to know that you can be the one to empower your children to grow up having a positive relationship with all foods, including candy and sweets.
It starts with baby steps, like allowing sugar in your home. And permitting your child to explore eating a variety of foods.
Because sugar is such a sore subject for many parents, the first step is often legalizing sugar in your home in the first place.
This means, not keeping it off limits, and thereby, putting it on a pedestal. It means giving your child permission to enjoy sweets alongside other foods to establish an equal playing field for all foods. Serving sweets, like candy, with meals, can be a powerful strategy for establishing this.
And before I get into the reasons WHY I allow my kids to eat candy with breakfast (sometimes) - let me clarify what I am NOT saying here:
Legalizing sugar in your home doesn’t mean you don’t care about your child’s health: Often when parents hear me say, “Give your child permission to eat sweets!”, it’s interpreted to mean that you shouldn’t care about your child’s health. Nothing could be further from the truth here. From firsthand experience, I’ve seen how allowing sugar and intentionally incorporating it into children’s regular meals and snacks actually helps children have a better relationship with food and their bodies. This in turn, helps decrease the risk of many adverse health conditions, including eating disorders. Permitting your child to enjoy sweets does NOT mean you don’t care about their health. You DO care, which is why you’re exploring strategies that support their health over the long term.
Permitting sugar doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all: Another common misconception with this approach is that kids should just be permitted to eat candy whenever they want, all day everyday. However, that’s not what I’m saying here either. Offering sweets with structure and support is also essential to helping kids build a positive relationship with food. As parents, we’re still responsible for deciding what foods we are offering our children and WHEN we are providing them with food. Within that context, we can be intentional about including sweets, like candy. But when it comes to eating, it's our kids’ jobs to decide: 1) whether or not they want to eat, and 2) how much they want to eat from the food we’ve provided.
Offering candy with meals doesn’t mean that’s all you serve: Allowing kids to have sweets with their meals, whatever meal that might be, doesn’t mean you’re not offering other foods as well. When I allow my children to have candy with a meal, other foods are included as well. However, there are no stipulations for my kids to have dessert. Meaning, they don’t have to eat a certain amount of their food in order to get a “treat”, nor do they need to eat their veggies, etc. It’s all served together, and they get to decide the order of what they want to eat and the quantity from the food provided.
So now that we cleared that up, let me share with you why I let my kids have candy with their breakfast. And yes, I literally mean allowing my kids to pick out a couple pieces of candy to have alongside whatever we’re eating for breakfast, like eggs, toast and fruit, etc.
3 Reasons to Let Your Kids Eat Candy For Breakfast
It breaks down into these 3 main reasons:
Nulls the Novelty of Candy:
When something is new, it’s more exciting.
A perfect example of this is when the movie Frozen first came out. My daughter, who was 3 at the time, was infatuated from the first time she watched it. She wanted to watch it everyday. She had all the Frozen toys and Elsa dresses. She sang all the songs and knew all the words. It was Frozen Fever for sure. And just when I thought her obsession would never end, she got bored of it and soon moved on to something else. She started showing interest in other movies and cartoon characters.
And sure, she still enjoyed Frozen from time to time, but it wasn’t nearly the novelty it was when she saw it for the first time.
The repetitiveness of watching the same thing over and over, listening to the same songs on repeat, eventually nulled the initial excitement of the movie and story line.
And while this may be a cheesy analogy, food is a lot like this for kids, too. If your child doesn’t get much exposure to candy, it will be a novelty to them.
Meaning, it will be something they keep on a pedestal, something that always feels super special.
The danger of this with food, particularly candy, is that it can create an obsession and preoccupation with sweets. But if it’s something your child sees more frequently, especially alongside other foods they’re used to having regularly, that novelty goes away.
Just like repeated interactions with Frozen put out the fever fire, the same is true for candy too.
The more interactions your child has with candy, the less of a big deal it will be. Decreasing the novelty around candy means your child will be better able to listen to their bodies, versus eating candy just because it’s there.
2. Reduces Rigidity and Rules:
Kids begin to form rules around food from young ages based on what they learn and hear around food, especially sugar. Including things like, "dessert is only after dinner" or "you have to eat your veggies first" but where do these food rules come from and are they beneficial in supporting children in building a healthy relationship with food?
The truth is, rigid rules around sugar and sweets only contribute to making these foods more exciting and novel to kids.
Anything that feels forbidden instantly becomes more desirable.
I mean, think about Belle from Beauty and the Beast (sorry, another Disney analogy here!). The Beast forbade her from going into the West Wing, which sparked curiosity that eventually drew her there.
Or think about your kids and how they react anytime you tell them they can't do something or can't have something they really want.
They obsess over it and persist.
Kids need unconditional permission to explore all foods equally to learn how to self-regulate what feels best in their bodies, and this is only possible in the absence of food rules. So allowing your kids to have a piece of candy with breakfast might seem unconventional, but in reality, you're giving your child permission to learn to eat without rigid food rules involved.
3. Supports Self-Regulation of Sugar:
When kids are allowed to eat sugar in the absence of rules or restrictions, they’re better able to listen to their internal cues to regulate their appetites.
On the other hand, when sugar is a novelty AND there are a lot of rules around it, they’re less likely to listen to their bodies.
When kids see candy alongside other foods they’re used to eating, it creates an emotionally equal playing field for them. This is key to helping them better self-regulate their sugar intake, and not just during their childhood years, but for a lifetime.
In fact, research has found that when children have restricted access to desserts or high-palatable foods, they’re more likely to eat in the absence of hunger and overeat these foods over the long-run.
On the other hand, kids who have regular access to sweets within the structure of scheduled meals and snacks, are better able to self-regulate their intake in a way that best supports their growth and development.
Taking this approach to sweets also supports children in learning how to listen to and trust their own bodies, which is foundational to support a positive relationship with all foods. Regular access to sweets also prevents feelings of deprivation around these foods, which helps a child eat according to appetite and not due to fear of missing out.
How to Get Started With Offering Sweets With Meals
If you’re interested in implementing this approach in your own home, it’s easy to get started. This doesn’t have to be complicated; in fact, it’s meant to make things easier for you and your family. Here are some simple steps to keep in mind:
Offer sweets with meals: As a parent, you are in charge of WHEN you’re offering candy/sweets with meals and how much. You can pick the meal and/or snack, and it doesn't have to be breakfast if you feel uncomfortable. Having regular meals and snacks gives your children the support they need around food, and within that structure, you can offer a variety of foods, including sweets and desserts. For more support on implement this, be sure to check out this post here: “7 Practical Reasons Why To Offer Your Kids Dessert With Dinner”
Allow your child to pick an amount of your choosing: Remember - as the parent, you are in charge of deciding the amount of dessert being offered with the meal. For example, you can tell your kids they’re allowed to pick out 3 pieces of candy to have with lunch or offer a couple small cookies to eat with dinner. Generally, I recommend offering a single serving of dessert with meals so as to give your child an opportunity to explore other foods served as well. For more on this, you can read this post here: “Child Obsessed With Sweets: How Much Sugar is Ok For My Child to Eat?”
Agree on set location of candy: When it comes to candy, I’m a huge proponent of keeping it in an accessible place for your child. When your child knows candy is in the home but isn’t able to find/access it, it can trigger an anxiety around it. This sometimes leads to sneaking and hiding candy/sweets. This can be prevented by having an agreed upon place in your kitchen/pantry where candy or other sweets are kept. Communicate with your child about expectations around it. For example, you might tell your child, “This is where we’re keeping the candy bag. When it’s lunch time, you can come and pick out 3 pieces of candy to have with your lunch.” This helps set a healthy boundary with your child and creates the expectation. If you’re stuck on how to communicate with your child about sweets, I’ve got you covered in this post here: “Child Only Wants to Eat Sweets? Here are 11 Simple Ways to Respond”
The key with this approach is to focus on consistency over time. If you’re just trying this out, your kids may inevitably focus on eating the sweet portion of their meals for a while.
But over time, as your kids can trust that sweets are a certain part of their future, you’ll see them start to show interest in eating other foods and feeling more emotionally neutral about sugar. It takes commitment and consistency to make this approach effective.
And yes, while it might seem crazy to let your kids eat candy for breakfast, when you think about the big picture, it’s easier to understand the strategy behind it.
If you need more support navigating kids and sugar, check out my upcoming program for parents, Simplify Sweets Academy.
I’d love to hear from you - what questions do you have about this? Be sure to drop them in the comments below - I’d love to learn how I can help you!