I remember a decade ago sitting in front of my 9-month-old daughter, who was in her high chair, and trying to spoon-feed her a pureed green vegetable. It didn’t matter if it was peas, green beans, or something else, because the outcome was the same: I spooned it into her mouth, and it came right back out.
Compare this with feeding her applesauce, for which she would open her mouth after each bite and almost bounce in her chair with pleasure. I nearly danced along with her. This was easier! Let’s just keep doing this! But as a nutritional epidemiologist, I knew that solely satisfying her desire for sweetness wouldn’t benefit her health in the long run.
From birth to 24 months, proper growth and development require calories and nutrients. Foods and beverages high in added sugars provide a lot of calories—referred to as “empty calories”—but not a lot of nutrients. Offering foods with added sugars to children from birth to 24 months is problematic because they eat relatively small amounts of food at this stage. To ensure healthy nutrition, the food they eat must be high in nutrients. If young kids fill up on high-calorie, sugar-laden foods or drinks, it leaves less room for nutritious foods.
1. Look on the Food Label
Check the amount of added sugars on the nutrition facts label on foods and drinks before you buy them. Labels include the amount of “Total Sugars” and, below that, the amount of “Added Sugars.” One eight-ounce serving of chocolate milk contains 15 grams of added sugar, for example, while regular cow’s milk has no added sugar.2. Switch to Healthier Drinks
Swap out sugary drinks with water or milk (breast milk, formula, or other milk, depending on the child’s age). Eliminate or limit sugary beverages such as regular soda, flavored milks, Kool-Aid, fruit drinks, juice with less than 100 percent fruit, sports drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened water or tea.3. Ditch Sugar During Food Prep
Prepare foods for your young child at home without adding sugar.4. Know the Different Names for Sugar
Some packaged foods literally have “sweetened” in their name, such as sweetened applesauces or sweetened peaches. But sugar isn’t always so easy to spot. Often foods we don’t expect to contain added sugars do, such as yogurts. Added sugars go by many different names, such as high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, cane sugar, corn sweetener, lactose, glucose, sucrose, and maple syrup. Always check the ingredient list.5. Watch for Sugar Lurking in Packaged or Store-Made Foods
If you offer your child packaged or store-prepared foods and beverages, such as dry cereal, fruit pouches, or jars of baby food, they should contain little to no added sugars.6. Try Again and Often
Offer children bitter foods such as vegetables over and over. Young children need to be exposed to foods 30 or so times before they learn to like them.As a registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist who has counseled families—and as a mother to three children—I have learned that reducing added sugar isn’t as easy as we professionals often make it seem. In fact, it may not be feasible for many people because of limited access to or the higher price of healthy foods. Some people have pressing needs that may take priority over a healthful diet. And fast-food restaurants and convenience stores seem to be everywhere you look.
So don’t try to make all of these changes with your child at once. Choose one that seems most feasible, and try that first. Gradually add another. Remember that falling off a healthy habit is normal. The important thing is getting back on the horse and trying again.
