How much of this stuff do you let your kids have? I was shocked today when my dentist told me that what kids eat is the main reason (at least that he sees) for the increase in tooth decay over the past 20 years. I mean, I knew diet was important, but I thought brushing was what I really needed to be worried about.

I wrote about it on my blog, but I'm more interested in finding out what other parents are doing.

Do you let your kids have juice and sodas -- the main culprits of cavities? What about candy and other junk?

Soda no. Juice yes. Candy as a special treat (not often, or much at a time). My 4 year old was told by his dentist that his teeth are in great shape. He is a a pretty good brusher and even likes to floss.

I try, but could try harder. I usually come up with sweets that arent TOO sweet, like waffles with sugar-free syrup, sugar-free gum instead of candy, and apples. And I try to restrict ice cream intake to the non-fat, sugarfree yogurt variety.

All that said, I still let them have too much sugar!

No soda...juice is half water half juice. Not much in candy..my three year old LOVES lollipops so that has to be restricted...she gets really mad when I tell her no and sometimes I admit I give in but then I do brush her teeth right after she eats one. I only allow her two in a week. other than that the kids eat pretty well. I should try those new fluoride lollipops I saw on Good morning America!!

Karen

Fluoride lollipops? That sounds really neat. I'll have to keep an eye out for those because my daughter LOVES lollipops. I rarely let her have sweets, and she never gets soda. As far as juice goes, we still dilute it. Some people think we are crazy giving our 2-year-old diluted juice, but she doesn't know the difference, so why not? However, she does enjoy an occasional juice box when she visits her cousins

Okay..here is the link to the Good Morning America page that I first read about the lollipops.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4446571

And here is the link to the actual website that sells the lollipops.

http://drjohns.com/index.html

I may have to just go ahead and get some of these. If anyone has any knowledge on these herbal ingrediants let me know. I am going to do some more research on them too!

Karen

Our two pediatricans for both children advised "NO JUICE." We followed their lead. And they said desserts are not necessary for babies/toddlers, so we didn't feed our two those either.

Our daughter (officially 14 today!) has never cared much for desserts; since she was young she picked fruits, salads and vegetables over french fries, desserts, junk foods, etc.

Our son; however (born 10.8 lbs), is limited to one dessert a day because he's a picky eater and he'd happily eat junk food & sweets all day long if allowed. We keep him in sports (due to the side of the family he takes after physically, he has the potential to be a big guy) and we plan out every meal for him.

He is now used to one dessert a day; he plans what he wants carefully. I feel so sad when I see overweight babies and children with large sodas or french fries in their hands. They are being set up for so much pain and alienation.

Our neighbor (age 14) is short and at least 250 lbs, but her parents continue to eat fast food, not make her get outside to exercise (etc) and then ask what they are doing wrong. I've held my tongue thus far because they are not truly asking for an answer. But I would LOVE to be able to beg them to help their daughter; she has few friends and she is being set up to have major health problems.

It's very sad and the responsibliy DOES lie with the parents of children. We are writing on those blank slates and helping to determine their futures...

FLNonny, did you see the new study that says being overweight isnt' necessarily a factor for being unhealthy. It's all about your level of physical activity. I thought it was very interesting, more because my son's on the other end of the spectrum. No matter what I feed him he's super skinny (he takes after his father). It just proved to me that eating right and exercising are key no matter what your weight is. Hopefully I can start those healthy habits in my boys' life early. Sounds like you've done a great job with that!

It's interesting you mention that about weight, Sarah, because when I was doing research for my most recent blog entry, a fitness center owner mentioned how parents must look at their child's BMI and not just their weight. You can read about it here. There is also a link to the CDC Web site there where you can calculate your child's BMI.