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Anyone heard of moderation?

I got an email this week that I clearly shouldn’t answer. I’m a guilty party. Allison, mother of twins who are nearly 1, wants desperately to have the birthday cake photo op but is paralyzed at the thought of letting them have sugar. After all, she just went to a birthday party where “banana cake with applesauce frosting was served. The children hated it.” I have been working on an astute and intellectual response, designed to relieve Allison’s guilt while not denigrating her friendly host. To quiet my shrieking almost 9 month-old while I thought, I handed her a paper and foil covered chocolate, thinking that would keep her quiet and occupied. And never thinking for a second that she’d actually break through to the candy. Not 30 seconds later did my husband yell, “Look! Look at Eva!”

Chocolate from brow to toe. Hmm. Perhaps it isn’t ideal for a 9 month old to eat a bar of chocolate. But she also eats hummus, egg yolks, lamb, spaghetti and croissants. Can’t we live in a world of moderation? What is wrong with letting a kid have a little sugar? Is sucrose (table sugar) so different from fructose (fruit sugar)? No. I would rather my kid eat a cupcake and a piece of watermelon (fructose, glucose, and unsaturated fat plus a little fiber) than a cup of juice and a French fry (fructose and saturated fat). Pick your poison. Because we have to strike a balance between my waistline and her developing brain, I will butter half of that low-fat Starbucks muffin and let my child have her fill. After all, if she doesn’t’ get it sometimes, the first time she sees it, she’ll probably eat until she pukes. Makes sense to me.

More on this topic to follow…

Dr. Lara Zibners, Jul 18, 2010

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