"I don't believe sugar is addictive. I believe some people naturally like sweets more than others and I believe our attitude about sugar, about any food, creates more problems than the food itself. I think one of the best things we can do to ensure a healthy attitude about foods for our kids is to not screw up their psychology with fear and guilt and dire warnings."
—Deb Lewis
The quote is the conclusion of a longer story by Deb Lewis here: SandraDodd.com/eating/sugar
photo by Sandra Dodd, of cupcakes by Julie Anne Koetsier
Yes. My mom has what people call a "sweet tooth" and maybe, just maybe, it's a throwback to the generations that have inadvertently made dessert obligatory by "saving it for last" with the unspoken caveat that maybe it will be taken away if one doesn't "behave."
ReplyDeleteSugar can just as easily be thought of as a food to experience normally, a choice in things to eat. That's a lot easier to deal with than making sugar overladen with emotion for the rest of one's life.
Prohibit anything can create more desire to know what is prohibited. If sugar is seen as a food ban for children, they want more. It's like a provocation. So that when I allowed my children - and therefore myself -to eat what we want when we want, we are happier, we have less fear and anger. And it allows us to live better times together, like yesterday when my son asked me to go with him to buy several kinds of cookies ... and his brother went this morning with his father, even more! :-) It's more fun! And that's good for all the family !
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