My kids are not overweight, but LOVE sugary treats and drinks.

I'd like to switch them to sugar-free foods but am concerned about using artificial sweetners.

Does anyone have an opiniion about this?

I dont give my daughter sugar. period. she is five and wants it but it isnt good for anyone, no matter what size or age they are. When I allow an occasional soda..........it's diet. artificial sweetener cannot possibly be as bad as sugar IMHO.

Nanci

I'm in the same boat -- the fake stuff can't be as bad as the real stuff. I buy SF Jell-O, cookies and Edie's ice-cream for mine. They don't eat it all day and not even everyday but hey, are kids -- the have to have SOMETHING every once and a while. I would say if they are not eating fake sugar 24/7 they are fine.

I'm having the same question about whether I should allow my 7 y/o DD to have artificial sweeteners. I've noticed on the commercials for Splenda that they say it is for the "entire" family and show kids consuming Splenda sweentened products. I feel a little bit better about Splenda since it's supposed to be derived from sugar, rather than some chemical concoction, such as aspartamene. I've been allowing her to have the Breyer's Carbsmart ice cream since she has said she likes it better than the regular Breyers. HOwever, I don't feel quite comfortable switching her over entirely to artificially sweetened things and try to push cheese, fruits and veggies as snacks over the sweet things anyway.

I do allow my kids (8 and 9) to have sugar-free treats in moderation, like sugar-free jello, sugar-free ice cream and sugar-free pudding. They aren't eating stuff with artificial sweeteners all day or even every day and I try to find stuff that doesn't have Aspartame in it.
I do also allow them a treat that does have real sugar in it once in a while, like birthday cake or ice cream but keep those limited to once a week or so.
I'm trying to teach them that sweet treats are not something that you should be eating every day, even the sugar-free ones. I think I would just be setting them up for a sweets addiction if I allowed them to expect a sweet ending to nearly every meal.
I'd also like to add that I asked their pediatrician about replacing their juice with sugar-free Kool Aid or Crystal Light when they were younger and she said "absolutely not" because Aspartame hasn't been tested for safety in children.

That seem like a good policy, Lisa. Teaching your kids good, healthy habits. Discouraging sugars, encouraging natural sweets, such as fruits.

Didn't the old artificial sweetners cause cancer in lab rats? Maybe the new stuff is safer.

Hummm, that is a good question! I've ask my ped. if it's OK to give my kids (age 4) diet soda once in a while. He said to go ahead, but to do so only once in a while, like once a week. Diet coke is basically the only thing with artificial sweetner I have in my frigde, and since I drink it, they are always wasking for a sip... I woulnd't have they eat sugar-free jello or pudding on a regular basis though. I guess I just want them to be kids and eat kid food. They know that they can only get sugary treats on weekends and during the week they are only allowed to have fruit and yogurt. I guess I just don't feel good having them worry about their weight at such an early age, specially because they are very active (TOO active ) and not overweight at all. We try to teach them good nutrition values and try to leave it at that... I worry about their weight in the future, but on the other hand I worry about they growing up paranoid and end up with some eating disorder....

Ooh, good question! I have a 5-year-old and naturally he has a sweet tooth. I also have a really hard time getting water down him. He will drink some of my water, which I'm encouraging.

Being on this WOL is definitely making an impact on how I'm feeding him. He still gets the occasional peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but usually it's a half now instead of a whole. He's also eating a whole lot more fresh fruits and salads.

I sure don't blame our society for my problems--after all, I'm the one who didn't have the sense to just say no, but with kids it's so much harder because everywhere they turn, sugar is so in their faces! We walk through the store and what jumps out at a 5-year-old? Little Debbie's brownies! Ugh!

I can't help but think, though, that if we try to mold them now, and ease them off of processed foods, in the long run it may have just the impact on their eating habits that we hope for.

I definitely would not give a child much of anything with Aspartame in it. From what I read about it in the past, sugar is actually a better choice for kids. Still, I think Splenda MAY be okay--I sure do hope so! I was really happy today to be able to get my little guy a bottle of flavored water while we were in town!

Re: Artificial sweeteners and cancer: That was saccharin, and it was a study done in the late 1970s if I remember right. They gave the rats enough saccharin that it did give them cancer. A person would have had to drink 800 cans of soda a day to consume that much saccharin. It actually ended up being pulled off the shelf, but was eventually let back in when people realized how skewed that study was.

Aspartame is a terrible product for anyone. Just do a search for it on the net and you can find out all kinds of information on it. Please don't feed your kids this poisen. My kids can have fresh fruit if they want something sweet. Kids get used to that easily, and you dont have to buy things for them that are bad for them. I don't care if they are teenagers and burn off all they eat. My kids will be burning off calories from apples, pears, peaches, oranges and things like that, not from little debbies and potato chips (like I did). My kids now beg me for things like pears or mangos.

catfishghj, I think you are absolutely right about fruit being best for kids than processed food. But I wouldn't trust all kinds of information I find on the net about any subject, especially a hot topic like the safety of aspartame. Don't get me wrong, I don't feed it to my kids everyday, but I trust my doctor when he says that a sip or two of diet soda every now and then is OK. He is a doctor after all, and a good one at that - that's why I chose him - so I trust him to know more than I can ever learn from surfing the net and drawing my own conclusions. I believe in good nutrition, specially for kids, but I also believe in letting them be kids and have kid food - in moderation, not everyday and IF they have their fruit and vegetables first.

anacecilia, a sip or 2 of diet soda will probably not harm your kids, but if I gave that to my kids they would ask me why they can't have any more. I agree that you can't believe everything you read, but I am convinced that this product is very bad, and I wont buy anything that contains it. I see people that buy many cases of of soda for their kids. I have seen kids drink one after another. If you don't let your kids have these things, they will never develop a taste for them and they will prefer the healthier alternative. I have seen my kids do some amazing things, as in turning down an offer for candy. They always request water to drink, unless milk is available. I don't think they would have done that if I had been giving them a few sips of diet soda frequently.

Just what is it about aspertame that is supposed to be "poison" ? The way I hear people talk about aspertame reminds me of the way I hear people talk about Atkins............. A lot of fear and not a whole lot of fact to back it up.......IMHO

Nanci, I'm with you there. I don't think that people's fear of aspartame is based on hard facts so much as it is based on hearsay and sensationalism. catfishghj, I still think it's great that you are able to feed your kids all-natural food all the time. If it works for you, great. For me the one-or-two-sips approach works and I got a go-ahead from my Doctor, who, unlike me, went to medical school to learn about those things... My kids have a only a few sips of diet soda becasue they know that is all they are allowed to have, period. Just like your kids know they are not allowed any. The rest of the time they drink water, milk and juice...

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/
http://www.dorway.com/health.html
http://www.aspartame.com/
http://web2.airmail.net/marystod/
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/Aspartame.html
These are just a very few of the sites that tell of the damage this product can do. Please at least read some of this info before you give this product to your kids. I now have symptome of MS which I believe were caused by this. I am sure your doctor is a good one, but I doubt he is an expert on this product.

What about Splenda? I've been using that instead of other artifical sweeteners.