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Why is my child snacking?
Facilitated by. The child who nibbles eats small amounts of food all day long, always ready to eat, therefore fatty and sweet. His fourth meal, the snack, then stretches until the evening meal. And once in front of his plate, he quibbles.
By habit. The child who nibbles quickly loses the habit of family meals, moments of exchange, education and very important awakening. His body gets used to repeated “flashes” of food. He does not know how to recognize the signals of satiety; perhaps he is hungry? Some snackers are simply hungry if the portions served during the meal are too small and the menus too light. A growing child will not be satisfied with a plate of ham and green beans.
Out of boredom. It is common for a small snack for lack of attractive activities. He can also try to escape a stress, a worry, by filling his stomach (just as he stuffs his eyes with television images!)
In video: My child is a little too round
A little sugar, but not too much
It needs it, as studies have shown: newborns have an innate preference for sweet flavors. No need to fight against them, so you have to live with them. And then the “pleasure” dimension of food is essential to that of nutritional balance. Moreover for the child, sweets are not food, but objects of gluttony that he invests with a very strong symbolic and emotional weight. In any case, they have the merit of quickly providing it with energy. “Fast sugars” made of small molecules that are quickly assimilated, the carbohydrates in foods with a sweet taste are essential fuels for the body (for the brain and for the muscles).
In small doses, they damage teeth: dental caries is the product of contamination of the mouth by bacteria which, in the presence of sugar, release lactic acid which is very corrosive to tooth enamel. Secondly, they provide uninteresting calories. As they trigger spikes in sugar (or hyperglycemia) and insulin in the blood, they “stall” very temporarily and immediately make you want to come back. Sugar calls for sugar. In excess and in repeated snacking, they risk causing excess weight in the long run. Examples: 100 g of gummies provide around 330 kcal, a glass of soda contains the equivalent of three or four lumps of sugar! Finally, they can quickly spoil the atmosphere? by easily becoming formidable instruments of blackmail between parents and children, and bad currencies to be loved by friends?
Tips to reduce snacking in your child
Rather at the end of meals, children should be told that sweets are part of their diet, rather than demonizing them. But it is better to give them a place on certain occasions (birthdays, Christmas parties…), but not permanently in the cupboards and the refrigerator. You can also, from time to time, integrate them into meals, offering them as a dessert or as part of a snack. Thus absorbed, they are mixed with other foods and participate, in the same way as them, in the normal hyperglycemia which follows the meal. Don’t skip the snack! If your child has had a really light breakfast, give them a snack before 10 a.m., away from their lunch. As for the snack, it should also be taken a good while before dinner. Vary its composition, and prefer chocolate square bread to a fatty pastry. Real meals at fixed times. To fight against this endless and hunger-free way of eating, you need to set meals at fixed times, in peace, around a table. Possibly increase his ration of cereal products or starches, fruits or vegetables. And review, if possible, the meal times: a dinner at 20:30 p.m. when the afternoon tea took place at 16 p.m. is an incentive to snack. It is at this age that the rituals, good or bad, set in.
Your questions
- Can I give my child cakes and candies that contain sweeteners?
- No, for several reasons: because some of these sweeteners (such as aspartame), consumed in excess, can cause diarrhea; others, such as xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, used in the composition of many candies and chewing gum, which spare tooth enamel, contain as many calories as real sugar. And all accustom the little gourmand to very sweet flavors.
- Should we prefer honey and brown sugar to sweeten dairy products?
- It’s a matter of taste, but not of food balance! Honey, brown or blond sugar, vergeoise or white sugar have the same disadvantages for the teeth and the food balance when they are consumed in excess!
- He wants to have his snack in front of the television: should I prevent him?
- Yes, because it is the inactivity of the child’s hands in front of the screen, coupled with the emotion, which makes him salivate in front of the image and which encourages him to put in the oven popcorn, chips, candies, without even realize what he’s doing! Add to this that the programs intended for toddlers are the ones that are the most interspersed with advertisements for these very dense, very sweet and fatty products.