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Stop the pop, but occasional glasses are fine.

No.

I have shares in a sweet shop.

Refined sugar is poison for adults, not to mention kids… it is pretty easy to make the switch over to candies and drinks made with org. cane juice and fruit sweeteners.

I feel so much better whan I stay away from “white sugar” or “high fructose/corn syrup”.

I think it’s good to limit it. Eg, I used to have “sweetie day” every friday, and hardly any other sweets any other days. Also limit fizzy drinks and they’ll be fine. I think too many fizzy drinks and sweets is bad, as they can affect some children more than others.

Soda is very bad for children and even once in a while it is just better for your children to not drink it at all. I never let my children have it. They have probably only had it once or twice in their lifetime. I also really limit my children w/ sweets to. I only let them have desert once a week and no sugary drinks or snacks any other time of the day. For snack I give them fruits and vegetables and organic wheat crackers w/ low sodium.

If they are drinking it all the time then yes, you should cut back. I think one drink (12oz can, not 20oz bottle) a day wouldn’t hurt… like at lunch time. My 2 yr old gets sips off of my sodas every now in then (but I hardly drink them now, I drink sweet tea, which is still gonna make them hyper lol). I don’t give them to her to drink all herself though, because she is only 2, but a sip won’t hurt her. As for the chocolate & candy, the only thing like that my daughter eats is m&ms. She gets like 10 m&ms a day (thats just a guess, lol). I try to make a whole bag last a week and I don’t give the 10 to her all at once. I give her 1 here or 2 there, when I need to bribe her into doing something (for example: she just got her ears pierced, and she hates when I clean them, but I offer m&ms and she’s fine lol). Anyway, but like I said, as long as its like once a day or so (not eating/drinking it all day) then I think it should be ok. Hope I helped! =)

edit: oh & I don’t know how old your kids are, but whenever I’m at the supermarket in the checkout line, my daughter would be wanting all the candy and I would touch it and say “Oh it’s just for decoration… we can’t eat it… too bad” and she would forget about it, lol! She’s only 2, but it works………. for now lol! But if your kids are too old to fall for that, maybe if you have another one in the future you can use that tip on him/her… lol! =)

edit: hmm… after reading all the other answers, I think I might try a sweet night… lol!

There is a saying that you should never have to have a filling before you’re old enough to vote; if you have had to have one, then your parents let you have too much sweet stuff as a child. My brother is 32 and has just had his first filling, we had our fair share of sweet stuff but not too much and we cleaned our teeth regularly. It all helps.

yes it’s bad, the amount of sugar will make them hyper and then crash in an exhausted state. it rots their teeth, and teaches poor eating habits. the thing is they’re learning from you, so unless you change your dietary habits they will not know right from wrong.

Its not just the sugar in the pop and sweets that is bad, it is all the additives such as colours, flavourings and preservatives. I never let my daughter have fizzy drinks, but occasionally has fruit juice. I know this contains sugars still, but it is natural. I do let her have sweets sometimes, but usually chocolate or homemade sweets so I can control what additives she has. I don’t think you can stop children eating sweets etc completely or as soon as they are old enough to make there own minds up they will go daft for them. But I think things like that should be given maybe once or twice a week as a treat, rather than routine.
Incidently it is better to let children have their sweets for the day in one go rather than 1 or 2 at a time over the day as that just prolongs the amount of time their teeth are in contact with the sugar. Then their teeth can be cleaned after the sugary snack.
If your son is hyper is could be a combination of the sugar and the colours in the fizzy drinks and sweets. I would cut them out if he has a problem and find an alternative, or at least cut them down.
You also need to be careful when replacing sugary drinks and snack with sugar free ones. These contain sweeteners that also shouldn’t be given to children. In the UK is is a little known fact that food and drinks specifically aimed at children under 3 is not allowed to contain sweeteners. That is why drinks like Fruit shoot say they are not suitable for children under 3. They make out is is because the bottle is unsuitable, but really it’s because of the sweeteners. You are better off using natural fruit juice and encouraging your children to snack on fresh or dried fruit.

The best move would be to simple not buy the sugary pop or candy. If your children see you drinking or eating these things naturally they want them. If their not in the house they won t see them and won t crave them. The bad effects of sugar go beyond just hyper children. They include a lowered immune system(more sick days) and cavities. Not to mention that if your children have a tendency towards being heavy this could make the difference between being heavy or normal. The thing I think of when I am tempted to let my 2 children have some sugar laden dessert just to be like other children is that I am building their food likes and dislikes now that will last a life time. If I feed them fruits and avoid these things they will like to eat healthy things and become healthier adults.