Uncovered: Shocking Sugar Content of Kid’s Treats!

Uncovered: Shocking Sugar Content of Kid’s Treats!

Uncovered: Sugar In Kid’s Food

by Willow Tree Dental Centre on Dental Health and Children’s Dentistry

Does anyone else spend the holidays watching their kids eat their body weight in chocolate and sweet treats and come away thinking – wow we need some healthy snacks!

Navigating sugars in your children’s diet is just another thing on the list of things parents have to worry about! As a practice of partners who are all mums, we totally understand the struggle with balancing health, nutrition, treats and dental health. So, we decided to uncover what sugar there really is our favoured kids’ food and drinks – with the hope of making snack choices that bit easier – we were a little shocked, to be honest.

RDA

The first thing we noticed is that the RDA ( recommended daily allowance) percentage labelled on the packets was often that of an adult. On a food specifically targeted to children? Which isn’t exactly helpful! So watch out and check out the RDA %!

Check the RDA % - it's usually based on an adult's recommended daily allowance!
sugar
sugar
sugar in magic stars
sugar in banana chips
 
Product 

Sugar
(g)

% RDA

19g
Age

4-6

 

24g Age

7-10

 

30g
Age

11+

Snacks & Sweets
Bear Yoyos 1 roll4211713
Blueberry Mini Muffin 1 muffin9493931
Soreen Lunch Loaf 1 loaf5272117
Kellogs Fruit Winders 1 roll6332621
Sunny Raisins 42.5g3015512398
Freddo 18g10534233
Milky Way Fun Size 21.5g13705544
Magic Stars 33g17897157
Milky Bar Buttons 30g18947459
Dairy Milk Buttons 30g17887056
Dried banana chips 125g (unsweetened)191007963
Rowntree’s Randoms 1 serving (6 sweets)14725746
Haribo Starmix 1 serving (7 sweets)12624939
Ella’s Kitchen Squished Smoothie Fruits 1 carton (90g)14725745
Cereals
Jordans Chunky Nuts 30g7352822
Curiously Cinnamon 30g7383024
Honey Monster Puffs 30g9473830
Golden Nuggets 30g8413326
Shreddies 30g4211613
Coco Pops 30g5262117
Cheerios 30g5282218
Drinks
innocent Kids Apple Juice 1 carton (180ml)16846753
Tropicana Orange Juice (150ml)13685443
innocent Kids smoothie Strawberry, Apple & Beetroot 1 carton (180ml)16846753
The Collective Kids Yoghurt Suckies 1 carton (Strawberry 100g)8393125
Capri Sun Orange (200ml)10524133
We’ve known for a while that the single biggest cause for children being admitted to hospital is to have rotten teeth removed. It’s a major cause of health inequality.
sugar
sugar in suckies yoghurt

Snacking

As parents, we want the best for our kids and this information isn’t here to ‘scare-monger’. It is our intention to give you the knowledge you need to protect your kids’ teeth and to teach them eating habits that will stay with them for a lifetime. We recommend no more than 1 or 2 free ‘sweet hits’ a day. Plaque begins to build up on teeth only 20 minutes after we begin eating and if it is not removed effectively, tooth decay starts. The risk of tooth decay is higher with high sugar foods. We advise your treats are served at mealtimes, this will decrease the number of times your kids’ teeth have to battle tooth decay.

Oral hygiene habits

  • See your dentist regularly
  • Visit the hygienist
  • Brush 2x daily for 2mins
  • Eat sugary foods at mealtimes
  • Have yoghurt with fruit
  • Stay hydrated

Low-Sugar Snacks

  • Babybell
  • Cheese string
  • Dairylea triangles
  • Pitta bread
  • Hummus
  • Cucumber
  • Natural nut-butters
  • Watermelon
  • Popcorn (not the kind covered in sugar & toffee)
  • Avocado
  • Broccoli

For 50 great low-sugar snack ideas head to Super Healthy Kids.

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