gunpoint. We were at the Christmas carols by candlelight. There was face painting, singing and when Santa arrived lollies were handed out to the children. Somehow my lot received enough lollipops to feed a small village.
So what do you do when artificially coloured, flavoured and eagerly savoured junk food ends up in your child’s radar? Hopefully you have a set of rules in place to prevent arguments about when junk food or ‘sometimes’ foods can and cannot be eaten. Health experts are now recommending we teach our children about ‘sometimes’ foods. They say chocolate, lollies and cake are ‘sometimes’ foods. Biscuits, pastries, iceblocks and hot chips are ‘sometimes’ foods. Nothing is really out of bounds but some foods are ‘sometimes’ foods while others are ‘everyday’ foods such as vegetables, fruits and wholegrains. This is true and makes perfect sense to adults. However, don’t tell your child chocolate, lollies and cake are sometimes foods. Don’t even let them know that biscuits, pastries, iceblocks and lollipops are sometimes foods unless...
Unless you also tell your child when sometimes is.
For example, my child knows that lollies are for parties and special occasions. If she hassles me for a packet of Mentos she’ll be told, ‘Lollies are for parties and special occasions’, and she knows this is true because she has heard this rule many times so she won’t argue with me. The carols by candlelight event fell into the ‘special occasion’ category so I could not argue with her. So she was allowed to eat the sweets that night. Then what usually happens is the lollies mysteriously disappear a few days later after being put in the fridge, never to be seen again (hello bin lining after bed time). Luckily special occasions don’t happen too often, and my daughter and her friends decided to hand out a couple of lollies to each of their 25 class mates the next day at school.
I call these rules that restrict junk food ‘slogans’ because they are repeated like a slogan and they become ingrained into your memory. For example, my daughter loves iceblocks and about four years ago she would demand one whenever we passed the local shop on the way to her school. After all, we were in the vicinity of her favouriteicy treat and she thought it was a great opportunity to buy one. Every day I’d say ‘No, we’re going to school’. Every day there was a tantrum. Finally I said ‘Let’s set a new rule: what day should be iceblock day?’ Of course my daughter said today was iceblock day, which happened to be Friday, so iceblocks became a Friday after-school treat.
Naturally my daughter still nagged me to buy iceblocks for another week but I would always reply with the same slogan, ‘Iceblock day is Friday’. Her complaining became less frequent and soon she had replaced ‘I want an iceblock!’ with ‘Is it Friday yet?’ or ‘How many days ’til Friday?’ Within a fortnight she knew when Friday was due to occur and she no longer needed to ask. Occasionally she would try her luck and tell me her ideas for a new rule ‘Can we make iceblock day every day the sun shines?’ she’d ask. ‘No,’ I’d reply. ‘Iceblock day is Friday’. She knows this is true as she has heard and experienced this slogan (aka rule) on a consistent basis so she doesn’t argue when I inevitably say no.
What is ‘sometimes’ and when can I expect it to happen?
You can stop the lolly debate in its tracks by setting clear cut limits for your child. You do this by telling your child the exact day and time that they can expect to eat their favourite treat.
For example, the next time your child throws a tantrum at the supermarket checkout queue because they want a handy-to-reach lolly, don’t blame the clever shop layout. Simply set a new rule. Say something to the effect of ‘Chocolate can only be eaten sometimes so let’s pick a day when you can have it. What day will be chocolate day?’ You can suggest
So what do you do when artificially coloured, flavoured and eagerly savoured junk food ends up in your child’s radar? Hopefully you have a set of rules in place to prevent arguments about when junk food or ‘sometimes’ foods can and cannot be eaten. Health experts are now recommending we teach our children about ‘sometimes’ foods. They say chocolate, lollies and cake are ‘sometimes’ foods. Biscuits, pastries, iceblocks and hot chips are ‘sometimes’ foods. Nothing is really out of bounds but some foods are ‘sometimes’ foods while others are ‘everyday’ foods such as vegetables, fruits and wholegrains. This is true and makes perfect sense to adults. However, don’t tell your child chocolate, lollies and cake are sometimes foods. Don’t even let them know that biscuits, pastries, iceblocks and lollipops are sometimes foods unless...
Unless you also tell your child when sometimes is.
For example, my child knows that lollies are for parties and special occasions. If she hassles me for a packet of Mentos she’ll be told, ‘Lollies are for parties and special occasions’, and she knows this is true because she has heard this rule many times so she won’t argue with me. The carols by candlelight event fell into the ‘special occasion’ category so I could not argue with her. So she was allowed to eat the sweets that night. Then what usually happens is the lollies mysteriously disappear a few days later after being put in the fridge, never to be seen again (hello bin lining after bed time). Luckily special occasions don’t happen too often, and my daughter and her friends decided to hand out a couple of lollies to each of their 25 class mates the next day at school.
I call these rules that restrict junk food ‘slogans’ because they are repeated like a slogan and they become ingrained into your memory. For example, my daughter loves iceblocks and about four years ago she would demand one whenever we passed the local shop on the way to her school. After all, we were in the vicinity of her favouriteicy treat and she thought it was a great opportunity to buy one. Every day I’d say ‘No, we’re going to school’. Every day there was a tantrum. Finally I said ‘Let’s set a new rule: what day should be iceblock day?’ Of course my daughter said today was iceblock day, which happened to be Friday, so iceblocks became a Friday after-school treat.
Naturally my daughter still nagged me to buy iceblocks for another week but I would always reply with the same slogan, ‘Iceblock day is Friday’. Her complaining became less frequent and soon she had replaced ‘I want an iceblock!’ with ‘Is it Friday yet?’ or ‘How many days ’til Friday?’ Within a fortnight she knew when Friday was due to occur and she no longer needed to ask. Occasionally she would try her luck and tell me her ideas for a new rule ‘Can we make iceblock day every day the sun shines?’ she’d ask. ‘No,’ I’d reply. ‘Iceblock day is Friday’. She knows this is true as she has heard and experienced this slogan (aka rule) on a consistent basis so she doesn’t argue when I inevitably say no.
What is ‘sometimes’ and when can I expect it to happen?
You can stop the lolly debate in its tracks by setting clear cut limits for your child. You do this by telling your child the exact day and time that they can expect to eat their favourite treat.
For example, the next time your child throws a tantrum at the supermarket checkout queue because they want a handy-to-reach lolly, don’t blame the clever shop layout. Simply set a new rule. Say something to the effect of ‘Chocolate can only be eaten sometimes so let’s pick a day when you can have it. What day will be chocolate day?’ You can suggest
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