The July 2007 issue of Parents magazine has an article titled Sugar Shock. And shocking it is! Let me summarize some of the statistics:

• Based on an average 2,000-calorie diet, the recommendation is not to consume more than 40 grams of sugar. This is not specific to children but a general guideline for all of us.
• PB&J on whole wheat bread, maybe with a cup of apple sauce & fruit punch – that sounds like a pretty standard kid’s lunch, right? That lunch has 76 grams of sugar! That means in one small lunch, your child has eaten nearly double the sugar they should consume!
• The latest research shows that a 30-something adult is consuming 46 pounds of sugar a year. And children are consuming 49 pounds! More sugar in their smaller bodies.
• In 1994 less than 5% of children were diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. Today the number ranges from 30-50%.

Sugar seems to be everywhere – so what can you do??? Here are a few tips that Parents Magazine provided in their article:

1. Think Small: When you dish out a dessert – use teacups instead of soup bowls.
2. Teach kids to be choosy: “Let children have a treat, but only one each day, says Margo Wootan, PhD, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. When Dr. Wootan and her daughter go out to dinner, her daughter knows she can have either soda or dessert — but not both. “You need to put sweets back in the proper place in your child’s diet,” she says.”
3. Avoid Processed Foods: “The more control you have over what your child eats, the better. For example, one packet of maple- and brown-sugar flavored oatmeal has 13 grams of sugar. You can add these ingredients to regular oatmeal yourself (which has no sugar), using half the sweetener.”
4. Make Compromises: Banning sugary cereal will just make your child want it more. Let him have it, but only if he mixes it with a whole-grain one with no added sugars.

The article is fantastic I would highly recommend reading it.  There are many more tips and ideas in the article as well.  Please find it on the Parents Magazine website here: Sugar Shock.