My Obsession with Sugar

By Stefanie Bellucci, 4-day parent and board member

My transition from the Explorer world of healthy snacks into the big-kid, elementary school snacking world has been quite the eye-opener.  Sugar has become my enemy and is constantly in my thoughts.  I am pretty much convinced that SUGAR, in one form or another, is my children’s main food group and source of calories.  Amidst softball game and girl scout camp snacks, frequent birthday party treats, and the seemingly daily celebrations at school and their grandparents' house, my kids have no room left in their diet for the forgotten meat, dairy, and vegetable/fruit food groups.


I often wonder how my family got to this point.  What used to be the occasional treat has not only become daily (and sometimes hourly) but is often a packaged, unrecognizable snack with more ingredients than I can count on two hands.  Looking back now at my pre-kids self, I can only laugh at my naivety, for thinking that I would actually have some control over what my kids ate. 

One of my biggest sources of frustration with the sugar fixation is that among a group of well educated adults at my children's elementary school, I often feel like the lone voice of reason.  Does that parent really need to bring juice, packaged cupcakes, and gummy worms for snack after softball?  And then there is my friend who declares an eat-as-many-as-you-want popsicle day for her daughter when the weather is hot.  I even had a child's family member once tell me that unlimited cookies are "just a part of childhood."  Umm, I thought that childhood was when we learned healthy eating habits?  And with all these constant treats, when do I, the parent, actually get a chance to make cookies with my kids or buy them frozen yogurt without feeling guilty for giving them even more sugar?

Unfortunately, my obsession is becoming a part of every food conversation I have with my children.  I find myself doing all those bad-food-parent acts, such as labeling good food and bad food, struggling with the kids over eating healthy food rather than unhealthy treats, and creating general discontent at the dinner table.  And yet, the words just tumble out.  The irony of the situation is that maybe those parents are right.  Will allowing all the treats and avoiding the food battle make our kids healthier eaters in the long run?  I don’t have the answer and as with all questions kid related, I will continue to figure it out as I go along.  Meanwhile, I would love to hear how you moms in the same boat deal with this.  Do you find yourselves in a constant battle, or do you have a go-to strategy that you know always works?  How do you regulate sugar levels---not to mention sanity levels (umm, your own!)---in your kids' lives?