Kids and artificial sweeteners?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Kids and artificial sweeteners?
6
Fri, 03-07-2008 - 9:09pm

For those of you with kids, do you feed your children mostly artificial sweeteners over sugar? I am not sure how I feel about giving them to young children.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-04-2003
Fri, 03-07-2008 - 9:21pm

The only artificial sweeteners my kids get are when the occasionally snatch my CF Diet drinks. Other than that, they get the occasional real sugar choc chip cookies or dry-free fruit snacks.


The no sugar added products are a gem. ;-)



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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-14-2003
Sat, 03-08-2008 - 1:19am
I don't give DD anything with artificial sweeteners in it. I guess it makes me nervous that at some point they will come back and say they are not safe, especially during their developmental stages. I'm lucky because she really doesn't like sweets. If she asks for a cookie she is happy with just one and sometimes won't even finish it. I wish I could do that.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-04-2006
Sat, 03-08-2008 - 8:38am

I have no problems with it. I just weight the REAL and PROVEN risks of obesity - even for kids, compared to the potential or theoretical risks. We have no products on our house that contain real sugar.

















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belizesig1
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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-23-2003
Sat, 03-08-2008 - 8:49am
They don't eat a lot of things with sugar to begin with, but I won't give them artificial sweeteners. They do have cookies, chips, and other assorted things that are not SB friendly, but again, I am on the diet, not them. They do have NSA yogurt (so maybe there is sucralose in that) but the have NSA applesauce, and they eat a lot of fruit and veggies. I don't give them MY ketchup, but rather their own. Personal preference, not that I am against it, but the kids don't LIKE any of the SB friendly sauces I buy, so since they use so little of them, why not have them eat what they like.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-17-2005
Sat, 03-08-2008 - 11:11am

My opinion may not be the most popular but I thought I would still give it. I have info. from 2 very respected doctors and any artificial sweetener is extremely bad for any one. You need to stick with very little sugar or raw honey. I would not give my small children anything artificial. Many of you won't give them processed flour/grains so why would you give them a man-made sweetener?

Judy

Judy

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-28-2008
Sun, 03-09-2008 - 12:42am

Generally I try to limit my children's 'sweet' intake altogether. But when they do have sweets its a variety. Some things are made with Splenda or have artificial sweeteners in them and some things with real sugar. Like we don't drink soda of any kind but we have Crystal Light, I buy SF jello, NSA pudding, SF jam or all fruit jam, SF hot cocoa and I try to get most other things with NSA or for example: fruit roll ups made out of real fruit. And my kids love the NSA fudgesicles! But sometimes I buy those fruit snack gummy things or marshmellows or cereal with sugar in it like frosted mini wheats, golden grahams or honey nut cherrios. So I guess in our house its a little bit of both.

I don't worry about the artificial sweeteners any more than I worry about giving them too much sugar or sweets in general. Hopefully they never find anything 'wrong' with the sweetners. Gosh, I have been drinking Crystal Light since I was a little girl, I remember as young as 7 yrs old so that was 28 yrs ago and I have no health issues. I would have thought it would have killed me by now :-)

I am trying to teach my kids to be aware of what is healthly. I point out how certain things have too much sugar or how they can have 'this' because it has NSA or is sugar-free. That way hopefully when they are on their own they will continue to make good choices.

Nicol

Nicol