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Subscribe to The Chatterbox's blogJanuary 29, 2009
First birthday cake and other sugary stuff
My twins recently celebrated their first birthday, which of course meant cake and icing for the first time. I initially planned on making a "healthy" cake, something with flavors already familiar to them, like a pumpkin or banana cake. But my husband insisted on real cake for their first birthday. So I gave in (at least halfway) and bought an organic cake mix without all the artificial gums and whatnot, and made my own icing by whipping heavy cream, cream cheese, and a bit of confectioner's sugar.
The twins LOVED the cake and icing, to my surprise. I kind of expected them to snub their noses at it, as I know many babies do when trying cake for the first time.
So the question is, now that they're a year old, should I let them have other sugary foods? A little bit of maple syrup with pancakes, for example, or some brown sugar in their oatmeal? They've had a very healthy diet so far (with virtually no sugar until the birthday cake), and they are great eaters, but I don't want to go overboard and create sugar fiends who are obsessed with sweets because their mother deprived them.
What do you think? When did you let your child have the sweet stuff, or do you keep a watchful eye on sugar intake?
Well, I don't think a birthday cake hurts once a year but I never was a big fan of sugar. It is just empty calories without any real nutritional value.
I stuck to the natural sugars--mainly fruits. Kids will eat pancakes with no syrup, they don't know what they are missing until some other kid tells them. So, I say ignorance is bliss, keep as much of it away from them as long as you can. Someday they will be exposed to it in the real world and then you won't have as much control. Try to fix their taste buds now so in the future they at least won't crave it so much.
Marti
Marti
http://www.familyeducation.com/home/
Hmmm. My daughter will be turning 1 in March, and although I try to keep sugars out of her diet, I'm planning on giving her regular cake. It's her birthday, and I think that it's about getting something different and special - a treat. That said, it's not going to change the fact that things will revert back to normal once the birthday has passed. I'm still going to do my best to keep her diet healthy and as sugar-free as I can.