Dortumd, Germany - Parents should not ban their children outright from eating sweets because this could force them to eat them secretly, nutrition expert Utel Alexy of the Research Institute for Child Nutrition in Dortmund says.
"If children eat normally with a balanced diet of fruit and vegetables they can eat sweets without a problem," the expert says.
However it is a good idea to ration sweets, perhaps allowing them only on weekends. Parents should provide school-going children with a lunch packet that includes bread with fruit, Alexy says.
"It is a matter of good education to get children to the stage where they don't spend all their pocket money on sweets," she adds.
Admonishing children with warnings that "sweets make you fat" don't impress them, Alexy warns.
Children understand that too many sweets are unhealthy and bad for the teeth, but are less capable of rationally controlling their eating habits than adults, she explains. - Sapa-dpa