How many times have your kids requested donuts for breakfast? How about popsicles for a mid-morning snack? Or maybe just an endless supply of juice in their sippy cup? Sugar attacks us from every angle once our kids get old enough to make food choices. And since most youngsters don’t have to watch their waistlines yet and sugar highs wear off after an hour or two, many moms are sometimes tempted to give in to the constant sugar solicitations. But there is still the issue of healthy teeth. Dental hygiene concerns cause most parents to take pause before giving into sugar binges. And if you are willing to play with the truth a little, it may cause your kids to take pause too.
A wise pediatrician once came up with a clever story to warn his young patient to heed her parents’ warnings about sugar. He told her “When we eat too much sugar, it attracts tiny little sugar bugs who grow on our teeth and give us cavities.” The girl was appalled that she had been feeding these ”sugar bugs” with her sweet treats habit. This set her on a mission to keep the sugar bugs away. She began asking her mom about which snacks sugar bugs liked and which snacks would keep them away. This resulted in the girl drinking more water and making healthier food choices.
I have not not used this on my kids yet, but I am tempted to give it a try. Not only to curb the sugar cravings, but also to motivate them to brush their teeth without constant nagging on my part(“time to brush the sugar bugs away!”). The pediatrician emphasizes that you give your children this information in a non-threatening way. You don’t want them to become paranoid about bugs crawling around in their mouth. He says that he has used this method many times and has never had any issues with the children becoming scared or upset. If you have an absolute “honesty-is-the-best-policy” approach to parenting(ie: “No Santa is not real, he is just a fun make-believe character”) this is probably not an appealing solution for you. But if you are a parent who is willing to use a bit of tomfoolery to get the job done(ie: “If you keep making those faces, your eyes will get stuck like that.”) then this is probably right up your alley.
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