Green Child Magazine Spring 2013 | Page 11

It seems like the only way to get my kids to eat their meals is to promise a dessert afterwards. Is this okay or should sweets off limits? Desserts can be a normal part of life in moderation; however, receiving them should not be dependent upon finishing other food or completing a task. This assigns more value to sweets and associates food with rewards. In general, keep the number of times sweets are offered to a minimum but once you have made the decision to serve them (e.g. Fridays are “dessert night”), let everyone enjoy it with no strings attached. 11