DAD DIARY: Resisting temptation

Never has there been more information about the perils of sugar in our diets, yet never has there been so much temptation in front of us everywhere we go. And that’s just for the adults!
One of the challenges of raising children nowadays is trying to keep a lid on the amount of sweets and treats they get. A bit like parenting in general, it is a battle where the goalposts move quite a lot.
Frankie, who turned seven last week, did not get anything that we would consider sweets until she was three years old. Her youngest brother Séimí is not three until January, but he is far more familiar with sweets than when his sister was that age.
It is far easier to be strict with a child when there is no older sibling to alert them to the availability of ‘the good stuff’. I remember going mad at a family gathering at Frankie’s first Christmas when someone gave her a tiny taste of ice-cream. That fanaticism didn’t last!
By the time Frankie, and then Éamon, started attending school and birthday parties that accompany it, some battles were always going to be lost.
Trouble is, trying to limit the intake is easier said than done.
We have weekday and weekend breakfasts in our house, in an effort to keep a cap on the sugary breakfasts that the kids are only too aware of. So, during the week they can pick from healthier options, like Bran Flakes, porridge or Shredded Wheat. At the weekend, stuff like Rice Krispies and Cheerios are, literally, on the table.
Sometimes giving a child a lolly or ‘a treat’ is an easy comfort option when they are upset or hurt. However, they become clever enough to look for a reward every time they have any sort of mishap.
Séimí is toilet training now, and the reward for a successful number one has been a sweet, while a number two leads to a small bag of crisps. It’s not ideal, but it is working.
Visits to the shop can often lead to spiraling expectations that need to be control. The conversation has to take place in the car beforehand and not at the sweet stand, when the kids become the epitome of irrational.
Halloween saw the children get an incredible bounty from their generous neighbours. Enough to keep them going until Christmas. However, after they had a few bits that night, the next day they had forgotten about the stash, and we didn’t see the need to issue any reminders. (Of course, that meant that someone had to eat them. We’re very considerate of our children’s health that way and won’t be accused of taking candy (directly) from a baby.)
None of the kids have had fizzy drinks yet – and that’s a battle we’ll fight for as long as possible. They drink water, mostly; sometimes a glass of milk and, for a treat, some Mi-Wadi.
Christmas will bring plenty of challenges in this regard too, but with our oldest aged seven, we’re still in decent control of what they can and can’t ingest. As they get older, that won’t be as easy. Maybe we might have to lead by example. Leave that one with me….