A question we’ve been asked before. Maybe you know that I, mom am a Dietitian, and Dad is… well… not. But we try to keep things balanced around here to create a good foundation for our kids.

Do our kids get treats and junk food?

Yup.

How often?

Often-ish

Here’s what we try to do:

🍩 We try to make the treat about the event- we’re not eating donuts everyday, but 3 donut holes on Saturday during our family run… it makes it more enjoyable for everyone.

🥨 Want to have cupcakes on a random Tuesday night? Take it to the park, make a picnic out of it, make it about the event, the treat is part of the event.

🍭If they’ve had a treat earlier in the day, yesterday, or you know they are having something tomorrow.. I’ll use words like this, “Tomorrow we are going to have cake and ice cream at the Birthday party, so we aren’t going out for ice cream today.”

🧁 Having a treat with dinner? Serve an appropriate size serving as part of the meal. Kids can choose when/how much to eat #divisionofresponsibility

🍡We have healthier treats whenever possible- dark chocolate, low sugar snacks, homemade, etc.

🍿We don’t want junk food, treats, etc to be on a pedestal…food is food is food. There are foods we have all the time (veggies, fruits) and sometimes foods. There are foods that help us grow strong, and there are foods that don’t, but it’s okay to have those foods sometimes too.

🍪We do fun taste tests and “challenges” with things that are junk food (Pringle’s, candy) but also fruit and veggies!! Experimenting, removing fear of trying new foods, a healthy relationship with food in general… is just as important, if not MORE important, than eating a carrot.

🙋🏼‍♀️it’s our role as parents to set boundaries. If they eat donuts in the morning, we’re not having cake and candy and chips all afternoon. It’s our role as parents to have healthy exposures to real food, offer it again and again… and for us as parents to ROLE MODEL those healthy behaviors 🙌🏻

One of the girls’ favorite health treats is to take a ripe banana, slice into thin slices, and then top with melted chocolate. Freeze it on parchment paper. And then enjoy! You can even add a little PB in-between two banana slices for a little PB/Chocolate sandwich!

 How do you handle treats in your house?