HFI-Friendly Kid Drinks

[vintage1935]

Hello all,
I would like to either purchase or make an HFI-friendly drink for my daughter. She gets dehydrated easily and will drink water at home (mainly because I bug her to do it constantly!), but when she's at school I know she's not getting enough liquids.
Sodas and juices are obviously out. I don't want to give her too much milk either.
Should I just make some dextrose-spiked water or do you know of any other HFI-safe drinks for kids? I'd love to stay away from all artificial sweeteners, such as Splenda, if possible.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

[kim55]

Does she have any interest in drinking iced tea? How about a noncaffeinated tea like peppermint? Unsweetened tea is about the only cold drink I can stand other than milk.

[ukbill]

" Dextrose spiked water " is not a good idea for far to many reasons to list here..

I will list a couple..

Firstly Dextrose dissolves teeth... like acid! If you are giving her Dextrose on a regular basis you had better have a good dental plan and take her for inspections twice as regularly as normal!

Secondly it will get her used to liking the taste of sweet things and reduce her ability to detect sweet flavours in other foods so she will get a lot more reactions when eating out or at friends as a result.

My advice as an HFI of 55 years now and counting. is you should really should keep her 100% sweet flavour free.

She will not really miss the stuff and it will help her self regulate her diet in later life.

A Question.. why restrict her milk intake?

As a growing child there is little better, particularly the skimmed low fat variety.

Suggestions..

Mint Tea iced (no sweeteners!)
Tea (Earl Grey, Darjeeling etc..) made weak'ish and cooled is great particularly with a dash of lemon juice added.

Milk Shakes
50 / 50 skimmed milk and natural yoghurt mixed together till frothy add food colour if needed, good with a little chopped fresh mint added too.

Can also be done with 50/50 filtered cold water and Natural (unsweetened or messed about with Yoghurt) whisk till frothy and flavour if required..

Not so good for school but very refreshing.

Goats / sheep milk can be good too if available where you are.

Rhubarb drink.. (not for anyone with a sweet tooth or for the faint hearted!)

Chop into 1" lengths a few Rhubarb stalks, put them in a plastic or ceramic (not metal) bowl with a table spoon of water and cover.

Place in a microwave and slowly cook until soft and the juice is running.

Put in a Blender with iced cold water and mix.. start with a spoonful per pint (500ml) and test it, increase Rhubarb to taste.

It is surprising how little you need to turn ordinary water into something tasting sparking and refreshing.

It's good added to plain unsweetened sparking water too.

Any spare Rhubarb can be eaten with Cream or plain custard.

I make a Rhubarb crumble (no added sweeteners) and eat it with custard, evaporated milk or plain Yoghurt.. gorgeous!

Enjoy..

Remember just because it not to your taste dose not mean its not to the taste of an HFI person! ;D

[ukbill]

Forgot to add I too get Hypoglycaemic if I get dehydrated.

I need to keep hydrated as well.

These days I always carry about 1 litre (2 pints) of bottled water with me in the car at all times, I also drink large quantities of Tea.. I used to drink huge amounts of fresh ground coffee but these days I get really bad "gut rot cramps" if I drink too much coffee.

As a child I remember having nearly as many "episodes" of Hypoglycaemia from getting dehydrated as from eating the wrong things!

[Tammy]

My first question is why not all the milk she wants?
My daughter drinks milk by the gallons. We often joke we should have our own cow.

Regina also drinks diet pepsi. I get the caffeine free diet for her.

Bill and I disagree on the subject of sweetening things. He gave you his points. I feel it's more important to let her have the things she wants/likes so that she doesn't feel deprived, different or left out. Now if she doesn't like sweet tastes already, then by no means don't push them on her. BUT if she's like my daughter and likes sweet, then it's better to satisfy her with HFI-safe sweets so she's not as apt to cheat with ones she finds on her own.

With that said, what does she like? If she likes tea, then it's a good liquid. Sweetened water is also good if she likes it. Kool-Aid used to make a sugar free version but I haven't kept up on it as Regina doesn't like fruit tastes. And like sweet tasting, I would never push a taste she didn't like.

Maybe slightly flavor tea or water with peppermint or spearmint With a little dextrose or Equal.

[vintage1935]

unfortunately, I can't give her all the milk she wants or all the tea, because she suffers from iron deficiency like me and both milk and tea/coffee deplete iron greatly and cause hypoglycemia for us... not to mention she's not interested in drinking a lot of either one

she is ok with water, but I'd like to have something else for special occasions if it can't be daily at the school then

I'll try the rhubarb recipe, thanks!

How about a little lime or lemon in water with a little dextrose? I read that limes and lemons have very little fructose...

thank you!!

[jejns1]

I make Koolaid for my kids. The regular kind without any
sweetener and make it with Dextrose rather than sugar.
Dextrose is less sweet than sugar, so they are getting
used to less sweet treats but still get to have what
the other kids have. I also let them have sugar-free,
caffeine free pops, like Diet Root Beer, Caffeine free Diet
Coke and Diet 7up. Splenda is not a good choice for a sugar
substitute as it is made from sugar, so what out for Coke Zero, etc.
My kids cannot have milk any longer as they have been
diagnosed with milk allergy. This make things more difficult,
but not impossible.

[colormist]

Oh! I thought of something. I love mint leaves in water, or a bit of lemon or lime (artificial) juice in my water. Both are delicious. Metromint also makes some awesome waters. I love their chocomint.

[ukbill]

"How about a little lime or lemon in water with a little dextrose? I read that limes and lemons have very little fructose..."

Excellent idea only hold the Dextrose.. not being exposed to sweet tasting foods allows me to eat things that are far more "sour" than any "normal" none HFI person can eat.. it causes me no problems whatsoever and I enjoy the flavours.

Yes I totally disagree with Tammy.

I know her heart is in the right place but her logic is not.

For a safe life out in the real world you have to be able to detect low levels of sugar.. so drinking diet coke and such like is a really bad idea. Once I "downed" a full sugar coke by accident one hot day thinking it was my beer.. it was not an experience I would like to repeat.. it frightened my children greatly.

If you are used to drinking diet coke and the like and are in a mixed group of people it is FAR too easy to drink the wrong one!

I have posted lots of evidence as to the poor purity of Glucose or Dextrose sold for cooking and domestic culinary use.. I cannot see that it can contain less than 4% sucrose because that's present in the base material they make the "glucose " out of.

One manufacturing process produces a 100% pure glucose which contains up to 40% "other sugars" and is still sold as "pure".

All Glucose is also made in the same manufacturing plant and in the same vessels as they use to make High fructose corn syrup.. just how much contamination do you want with that stuff?

The reason I researched the manufacturing of Glucose as a result of noticing that the people on this site who eat the most Glucose have the worst health problems.. can the two not be linked??

I have NON of the health problems so frequently reported here, and can eat out in restaurants anywhere in the world.. (and do) all because I can detect the tiniest amounts of Fructose in the food and stay safe.

Just tried the rhubarb recipe again and it is quite refreshing.. I am currently having the remaining rhubarb in a "pudding" (milk, cornflour and a tiny amount of artificial vanilla flavouring) in the UK its called Blancmange and made by a company called Pearce and Duff. They also do Raspberry, chocolate and strawberry flavours as well.. all of which I can eat.

It was very nice! ;

Used 2 sticks of a deep red Rhubarb and the 3 teaspoons of the juice added to the water made it look like pink soda!

All this is not helping you with your iron deficiency..

I know from my days in animal nutrition that calf's rely on the Iron in their livers from birth to get them through the growing stage until they are able to get enough from the grass (or feed), if they are born with too little iron they can drop dead before they get to eat enough feed to provide them with what they need.

The same is deliberately done to calf's to produce Veil the poor creature is killed just before it drops dead from iron deficiency.. hence the pale colour of the meat.. and why I will not eat it.

Having seen the methods used in veil production and believe it to be horrendously cruel to the poor calf's. I have to eat meat to live.. but I prefer the animal not to have been tortured all its short life before its killed!

Fred's suggestion of a product he had as a child sounds good.. assuming it still available.

Charlie has found some good multi vitamins for her daughter Megan, but these are in the UK so maybe not available in the USA.

Hope this helps

[ukbill]

Tammy "so she's not as apt to cheat with ones she finds on her own."

Oh yes she will, and become far more ill as a result of liking sweet tasting foods.

We all cheat! Its also part of a child's learning process and built into all of us.

No HFI child need ever feel "deprived" given the right positive mental approach.

The logic for an HFI child or adult is simple sweet = bad

If it tastes sweet spit it out straight away and be safe. Its what all parents of HFI children should teach them from first suspicion of HFI or certainly after diagnosis.

It is a lesson we with HFI have to learn early if we are to live as "normal" a life as possible.

Yes we with HFI are different from other children.. and adults!

As a parent of an HFI child there is nothing you can do to change the fact, your child is different! Get used to it!

We with HFI can NEVER be "normal" but we can get on with our lives and explore the world safe in our own ability to avoid eating foods that will make us ill.

Celibate your child's uniqueness and make them feel special! And every time they come out of the dentist without needing fillings like all their class mates you can both smile.

Look at all the obese children and adults! Your child is very unlikely to look like them no matter how much food they eat!

I for one am VERY happy to be HFI. I like my food and if I was able to eat sweet tasting foods I would be the size of a house, have high blood pressure and like as not heart problems as well (all in my families close medical history) I am none of these things and far fitter than all my class mates from school!

Yes strawberries and cream and cakes would be nice to eat.. but are they worth the health costs.. no I think not thank you.

I prefer my healthy HFI diet!

Rant over

[Tammy]

Hello Bill.
It's been a while since we've had this familiar disagreement. I usually just state my difference of opinion and let it go that we will never agree. But since you want to point it out again, I'm fine with that, too.

I understand all that you believe. But, alas, I do NOT agree with you.

It's very possible that the pond between us is partly responsible in our different thinking. I have been to several countries on your side, and it is a totally different way of life. Not better, not worse. Just different. Here, in today's world, it is much more important to the health and well-being of a child to be as close to normal as can safely be. And this is not just from a parents viewpoint only.

My situation is not different from other parents reading these posts. The ONLY difference is that my daughter is now older. She's not a baby anymore.

Maybe you are getting the wrong idea. We, as parents, are NOT forcing our children to like/want the sweetners. We are not pushing them to eat them. We are using them to help teach the kids. If they don't want/like the sweeteners, then GREAT! BUT if they do, then they need to learn how to eat what they like safely. There was 1 little boy who kept sneaking into the kitchen, hiding in the corner, while eating apples. Now you tell me which is better. Using artificial tastes and sweets that are safe to satsify the child, while at the same time teaching him that he can only eat "his"kind - or to keep forcing the child to sneak things that he knows he can't have? It's not even a question in my mind!

My daughter has always known the difference between "her kind" and "Daddy's Kind". If her big brother had a glass of chocolate milk, she would have "her kind" of chocolate milk with him And because she knew the difference she would never cheat and have his. And she didn't want his because she wasn't missing out on anything.

Yes I do think these kids can have a normal life. And a normal life means going to birthday parties with their friends. It also means it's ok to get a bag of chips and diet soda when the rest of the ball team is getting ice cream cones. And it's also ok if mom has her own ice cream in the cooler in the back of the car. And there is nothing wrong with sending a cupcake made with dextrose into school for the holiday party. These kids are not lepers. They do not need/ nor should be treated like they don't belong. They are part of our everyday world and should have all the same experiences that all kids have. They do not have to be treated that terribly different. Most teachers even take the time to make a lesson out of the different yet same foods at least once.

No child should be made to feel alone and abandoned at meal time. He should never feel like he isn't as good as the kids eating together. He should never feel like he has to hide because he can't be like the others. And he should never never be denied something to where he starts to "sneak" things just to be like others. Let him be proud to show off "his" kind.

I also am posting this for all the new mom and dads out there, along with the health care providers. I hope to help some of them with day to day living.

Maybe if all HFI children were found as infants your theory would be good. But here in the real world, most of the kids being told they are HFI are a few years old. They already know what they want. Their palettes are already mostly formed. So my opinion still stands that it is much better to let them use the sweetners/artificial tastes that they want and teach them the difference.

And as for the dental comment.......We've actually had this discussion on here before. Some have good teeth, and some have eroded the enamel off from so much vomitting as a child with no idea what was wrong. The only work my daughter has ever had done to her teeth was when the cement floor stopped her fall. Broke 4 bottom front teeth. Ouch. She is only 29 but has never had a cavity.

Your response to:
"so she's not as apt to cheat with ones she finds on her own."
With:

Oh yes she will, and become far more ill as a result of liking sweet tasting foods." Doesn't even make sense. She would not become "far more ill". She'll become the same ill by what she cheats with whether she is used to sweets or not.

AND I'll have you know...............YOU may cheat..........but my daughter NEVER does. It's not worth being sick to her, and she's satisfied by eating what she wants because she doesn't deny herself things that are safe that she likes with sweeteners. And don't even think about telling me that I just don't know she does. I do know when she's sick and also her liver tests don't lie.

Oh, by the way, just one taste and I can tell you whether a soda is diet or regular.

So I guess at this point all we can do is agree to disagree. I'm sure I'll never change your opinion, and I know you will never change mine. I will always, strongly, fight for the kids rights to be as normal as they can be, anyway they can - as long as it's done safely.

So you have your opinion, I have mine, and we can let the other parents form their own.

[kim55]

Whew! Let's all pour a glass of our favorite non-sweet beverage and cool down.

I don't remember what Bill has posted about when he was diagnosed. I am the same age he is and I have never been officially diagnosed, but I fit ALL the symptoms of HFI like a glove. After learning about HFI, I am thankful that my mother was too poor to buy me sugar-containing formula when I was a baby; I was breast-fed. She also states that she used to sneak applesauce into my baby food and I would always spit it out. So she didn't know about HFI but my dislike of sweets probably kept me from some severe health problems all my life. I think that is where Bill is coming from.

I never felt that my dislike of sweets kept me from being "normal." Everyone just knew that I didn't like sweets. In fact, everyone wanted to sit with me on the days we had ice cream at school because I always gave mine away. My grandmother used to fix me special desserts (pie crust cookies) so I could eat with everyone else.

These days, with all the allergy problems and food intolerances, it is almost "normal" to be the one on a special diet.

I do have a sweet tooth, just not the same as everyone else. We are all born with a sweet tooth, because human milk is sweet (liquid cookies). I cheat. I love Rocky Road ice cream. I put a tablespoon of ice cream into a cup of milk, to counteract the hypoglycemia. Bill would chew me out for this, but I get away with this because I am not as sensitive as some. I am probably doing something bad to my liver, and as I learn more about this I cheat less. I have also bought glucose, and I keep meaning to try making my own ice cream, but I haven't done it yet. Even if the glucose isn't pure, it's better than the sucrose in the commercial stuff.

So how about agreeing that none of us should push sweets on HFI kids if they don't want them? But forbidding sweets often doesn't work? So parents of HFI kids should know NOT to hide applesauce in their kids' food. Support your child by having appropriate food available. But if the child is cheating, they should find healthier (HFI-wise) substitutes. Sound good?

[Tammy]

Hi Kim,
That is exactly my opinion. And thank goodness your mom was one of those wonderful parents.

It's nice to hear that you see my point. I'm not in favor of pushing sweets on people who doesn't want it. But some do and when they do, it's better to make it safe rather then cheat with something that's not. That is why I asked her what her daughter likes and start with that.

As for your ice cream, I posted a recipe that is simple and pretty good. You do need an ice cream maker though. It uses pudding in the mix so it's not as "icy". I really recommend it.

Bill and I have disagreed before. That is why I "usually" only state that like I did in the first post. But every now and then I must get under his skin, just like he gets under mine. lol. Then we have a full disagreement post again. And now I'll let it just drop - if he does too - knowing neither one of us is going to change.

And that's a good thing actually. All opinions should be allowed on here so people and parents are more informed of all options. They can then form their own.

And at some point in the future, I'm sure Bill and I will do it again. ;D

[Mimi]

I think this is one of the most important issues discussed here and should be repeated occasionally for the benefit of new members. We all have strong opinions and the topic understandably is emotionally charged, having to do with our children. But I think we do a good job of being respectful of the opinions of others without hard feelings.

That said, I'm one thousand percent with Bill on this. If an HFIer is an adult who enjoys some artificial sweeteners and is doing well, then fine. She has learned how to be careful. However, I would really discourage parents from giving artificial sweeteners to HFI babies and children. Yes, we are all probably born with sweet tooths, but the tiniest amounts of sweet easily satisfy that. I love plain yogurt with tiny slivers of not overly ripe strawberry (just ONE, please.) And that's best enjoyed after a heavy meal of safe food, not by itself. It's in the portion control and balance with other foods that we find the "sweet spot." Ha!

But it takes years and a lot of mistakes to find this balance. I don't think there's any way to learn except to repeatedly get sick from sweets in childhood. Grape juice tasted pretty good to me until it made me violently sick. Never wanted it again. Just the thought is disgusting. I have an excellent "sugar detector" and can taste it in things others would never notice. This is a skill that we should encourage as much as possible. I generally save my fructose quota for the small amounts in a few safe vegetables.

We will always feel different, especially in childhood. But I was always popular at birthday parties, since the kids near me got my ice cream and cake. It's only in recent years that I have come to see this condition as a positive thing. I'm not at all tempted by the sweets that some people can't resist. We really have an advantage in avoiding some of the worst causes of diabetes and obesity. We are tempted by other things that aren't great for us, but that's another story.

By the way, Kim, your story brought back such wonderful memories of my grandmother always making "pie dough bisquits" for me when she made pie crusts. Homemade, in a wood stove, with home churned butter from her cow! It doesn't get much better than that.

[charlie]

Phew, only went away for a weekend camping!!!! Well, at least its livened us all up!!!! Thanks Bill and Tammy.

Now here's an interesting thing, I am with Bill in a way because obviously it is healthier for the children not to learn to want or enjoy sweet tastes and obviously the less sweet they have early on the less likely they are going to want it later.

or so I thought

I have always been pretty smug that my megs hasn't tried to eat anything she shouldn't even if her friends offer it. That is until Christmas and since then her curiosity has got the better of her and she has started nibbling and sneaking food and doing so more and more. I have had to have a good clearout of the cupboard and found more and more corners of packets opened and bits missing. So have I really done her a favour by not giving her little bits in a controlled environment and then she wouldn't have needed to sneak.

unless we can convert the whole nation sweet foods will always be a treat and enjoyable and yes, kids do "suffer" in a way if the can't eat it as a result of HFI. As adults you can reason with yourself that you will make yourself ill if you eat the wrong foods, then it is your fault if you suffer. But children don't think like that and can't always accept the reasons why, and the more you stop something the more likely they are going to experiment - like sex and booze!!!!
So how do you resolve it - I don't like the effect glucose has on Megs, it does send her doolally, but a little bit from time to time means she gets her treat and is like everyone else. So I think it is up to parents to make that decision. All the time they are young enough then you can control everything that goes into their mouths but once they hit that age (and with Megs it was 8) then curiosity may kill the cat!! So maybe then the occasional "treat" will work, with the reminder that it isn't good for them necessarily. Then when they are older you can explain it better.

Certainly using glucose for blood sugar balance isn't good practice but for treats with balanced foods around it is maybe the way forward.

Bill, I know you feel strongly about this subject and yes I agree with your logic but I will just say one word to you from Megan

ONIONS

[charlie]

Sorry, in all the excitement I lost track of the original question. Meg drinks milk by the gallon for energy and some days she wants it more than others. Luckily she does like water. In a pub her treat drink is a glass of ice cubes and she sits and crunches them.

personally I've not heard of milk depleting their iron but i have heard of that with tea. I don't know how old your daughter is, i havent had time to read your first posts yet but I don't like any children drinking tea or coffee as I don't think the caffeine or tannin is good for them but if she is ok with herbal teas then maybe that is the way forward. Meg doesn't cope with food colouring, i now know it may be triggering ADHD but when experimenting I used to drop a couple of drops of food colouring into water or ice cubes to make the water or milk fun so if your daughter is ok with them you could try that.

On hot days I make milk ice cubes and ice lollies and that gives her a drink and sustenance at the same time. Ihave also made her carbonated drinks with a soda stream maker. I made her fizzy milk, I thought it was revolting but she she loved it.

[kim55]

Also remember that sugar substitutes can have side effects. Many "sugar-free" foods contain sugar alcohols, which are NOT safe for HFI, and can cause very severe and embarassing GI symptoms.

[Tammy]

Here is the best/most complete list of sugars that I know of.
www.bu.edu/aldolase/HFI/treatment/sugar_table.htm
Some sugar alcohols / artificial sweeteners are ok, others are not.

[ukbill]

At a risk of causing a great uproar again..

Tammy I used to to eat apples too. Well not the whole apple just the skin.. its actually one of the pointers to Doctors in the UK that a child might be potentially HFI.

Yes I used to pick one up and sneak off in a corner to try to eat it before my mother saw me and took it off me.

I have seen pictures of apples chewed by HFI children and they look identical to how I would (and still do very occasionally) gnaw at an apple.

No its not bad parenting at all, letting your child do this, quite the opposite.

The only way we with HFI can find our own individual safe balance's is to try the stuff for ourselves.

I like the taste of strawberry's and pineapple.. oh pineapple gets my mouth watering at the thought of it.. but as to eating it.. the tiniest touch on my tongue is enough to stop me eating any more.

That is because I have tried it a lot of times and its made me ill every time.

Now if I was used to eating a glucose sweet that tasted of Pineapple or strawberry's.. and came across the real thing I would wolf down a large helping long before the fructose started to kick in!

What's worse not know why I was feeling ill!

I have been both the ill child with frantic parents and a Frantic Parent with an ill child..

I can tell you for certain, that being the frantic parent is FAR worse than being the ill child.

Currently it might be "cultural" to eat everything with a great big dollop of refined sugar.. but not for long.

I don't suppose you know that Coke Cola is being sued for causing diabetes?

A large group of people who worked on oil exploration in deserts were all drinking loads of Coke Cola to rehydrate in 45+ degree heat.. over 80% of them now have diabetes. They are suing the Coke Cola company. This is the start of the fight back.

Obesity is going to be the number 1 killer all over the world if not already then shortly, next to starvation of course.. overtaking smoking and asbestosis as a cause of early death, and is caused mostly by eating too much sugar in our diets..

Things change,

The sooner this obsession with sugar is treated as the addiction it is the better for everyone's health!

[Tammy]

Hi Bill,
I don't disagree that many people eat too much sugar. But not everyone. Of course you only hear about the worse cases. And those Coke guys? I think most people already know you can't hydrate with it. Even I don't like Coke. It's way to sweet for me.

It's now time to just let this drop, knowing you are never going to convince me and I will never convince you. I'm not suggesting these kids live on sweeteners, only that they are HFI safe to use and parents do not need to feel guilty allowing their child to have them. Parents just need to teach them to be responsible with them. That is just one of the great things about this board. It is FOR everyone BY everyone. That means all opinions exist here. New parents can decide for themselves what works best for their kids. Not all ways will work for all kids. They can pick and choose ideas. When Chuck renames this board "The Bill Show" I will just slink off into my corner (just trying to lighten the mood here, no disrespect intended)

All of the adults on here that are HFI were diagnosed as adults. I don't mean any disrespect. I can't imagine what they went through. Some at least had a brother they could turn to. Others just thought they were weird. They just felt different. My heart goes out to all of them. They didn't have any choices. They had to figure out on their own what they could and couldn't eat. And after all that, here they are willing to help us with our kids.

Our children are not like that. They don't have to self-diagnose and learn from the "cheating-try it-and learn the hard way" that you seem to be fond of. They have us to help them. We can teach them to be responsible while still enjoying ALL the things they can. They are deprived of enough so why deprive them of things they can safely have?

They funny thing is that with a lot of the things Regina doesn't like it after she gets it anyway. Pizza is one that comes to mind. All her friends eat pizza. We eat pizza. She wanted pizza. Now I KNOW that if I had just told her "no you can't have it" she would have just gone out and tried it on her own. But since I have ALWAYS done my best to give her a safe variation, she came to me. After a lot of effort on my part, she got safe pizza. She doesn't like it. lol. Oh, the first night was all excitment "look at me - I'm eating pizza!". Lots of pics, etc. But that was it. Now when we get pizza, she says no, she'll just have a hot dog. And she didn't have to get sick to find out she just didn't like it. And if she had liked it, then she would have had another treat when the other kids did.

Christmas cookies is another thing. Every Christmas I make her a batch of cookies. She wants them. And every year we put them in the freezer after she eats a couple, and every year we throw last years out because she doesn't even eat them. BUT if I told her she couldn't have them - she'd sneak them just because.

Society is also different now than it was when the others were kids. Yes there are a lot of kids with allergies so people are used to allergies. But this is a good thing. It means that more people are aware of it and are more willing to make sure her "special" kinds of things will be the only ones she gets. It's also more important for kids to "fit in" than it used to be.

Yes it's important for the kids to learn what they can eat for when they are adults. It's equally important for the kids to trust us to know they can come to us to help find safe substitutes instead of cheating.

Kids will always be kids. If you just tell them no, it will only make them want it more. After all, not even Eve could resist the forbidden fruit!!