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Newsletter articles for parents - prepared by Dakota County Public Health Department

Sugar: It All Adds Up

 Audience for this article: parents of pre-school, elementary, middle school, and high school  391 words  Suggested Timing: you may wish to print the article anytime during the school year  Personalize it for your district: - Add any additional information about programs in your school - Add any contact information for your district

Sugar: It All Adds Up

Your child comes home from school hungry and asks if he can have a cookie for a snack. You say “yes” - after all, it’s only one cookie. What’s the harm, right?

What you may not realize is that the cookie is not the first sugary treat your child has eaten that day. When your child has “one” small treat several times throughout the day, it can add up to too much sugar.

The healthy range for sugar for children is 6-12 teaspoons per day. How much does the average child eat? 21-24 teaspoons per day! That’s two to three times the recommended amount.

But how did it happen? You only gave your child one cookie! Let’s think about a typical day for a student:  Breakfast: pancakes with syrup = 6 teaspoons sugar  School snack: Oreos = 4 teaspoons sugar  After-school snack: Teddy Grahams = 3 teaspoons sugar  Sports practice treat: Juice box and starbursts = 14 teaspoons sugar

Grand total: 27 teaspoons of sugar! And that doesn’t include lunch or dinner.

When everyone gives your child one small treat, it can add up to too much sugar. At (school name), we are trying to help by changing our policies on treats. We have implemented a non-food reward policy, and teachers have been trained on other ways to reward students. We also have our new snack policy which limits the amount of sugar students can have in their morning snack. Our classroom celebrations are changing also, and now include more fruits, vegetables, milk and water instead of sweets, juice drinks and soda. Instead of bringing in treats for your child’s birthday, we will celebrate their special day in other ways, such as wearing the birthday crown or choosing what book to read for story time. You can continue these changes at home, too, to reduce your child’s intake of sugar. Don’t offer dessert to your kids to entice them to finish their meal. Cut back on sodas, fruit drinks and other sugary beverages. If you are in charge of a snack for your child’s sports team, choose healthier options such as fruits, vegetables or whole grains and water or 100% juice.

Remember, just as small treats can add up to too much sugar, small changes can help kids get the right amount!

-Information provided by the Dakota County Public Health Department, 11/10

Smart Choices is a partnership of the Dakota County Public Health Department and nine school districts in Dakota County, Minnesota that are committed to making the healthy choice the easy choice. Funding for Smart Choices is provided by the Minnesota Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota through its Prevention Minnesota Initiative.