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Desserts are known as the climax to the main course. Sweet and mouth-watering dishes after some tasteless veggies can make anyone’s eyes glitter. Although people with diabetes don’t want these meals to be part of their diet plan, no one can stop the kids from craving and thinking about this section of the main course. They look forward to desserts and sometimes may throw tantrums to eat them before having the meals. But is it okay to allow your kids to have dessert before dinner? Having desserts before the meal has more importance than you can even imagine. In this article, we’ll see how serving dessert to your kids before lunch or dinner impacts them and what you should keep in mind while serving them. So, let’s find out.
1. Eating Dessert Lifts Mood
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Desserts not only taste sweet but also make you sweet. According to studies, when someone consumes their favorite desserts, their mood uplifts automatically. And the way kids behave when they see the veggies, it’s pretty relatable how they suddenly forget everything when they are served their desserts simultaneously. So, to make their eating habits easy as parents, you should serve them desserts along with the meal. (1)
2. It Makes Your Kids Choose Healthier Food Options
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When your kids have already finished their dessert craving, they are no longer left with options other than eating their everyday meals. So, they can focus on eating light yet healthy meals containing all the veggies.
3. Eating Dessert Every Day Makes It Common
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When you serve your kids desserts daily, they won’t treat them as a luxury but as important as a regular meal. So gradually, they might pick up other things to eat rather than just experiencing the same kind of food every day. And this will help you add more nutritious food items to their diet.
4. Kids Learn About Self-Control And Balance
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When your hungry kids see a cup of ice cream and a bowl of broccoli at the same time on the table, they’ll start with ice cream. But ice cream won’t fill up their tummies, and they’ll soon realize to eat the desserts and the main meal in balance. This process will also teach them to have a sense of self-control on them.
Benefits Of Having Desserts Every Day
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You must wonder if consuming sweets daily is healthy despite all the health problems. Well, look at the following benefits of eating desserts daily:
1. Desserts Have Plenty Of Nutrients
It satisfies your kid’s cravings, but desserts contain vital nutrients like antioxidants, vitamins, and fibers, making them a good source of nutrients and energy.
2. Adds More Fruits To Your Diet
Giving your kids desserts like custard rich in fruits like banana, pomegranate, grapes, and apples serve more than a mouth-watering meal. It’s packed with proteins and healthy fats that benefit your body. And it’s a bonus because kids won’t usually eat raw apples, so they’ll happily eat them when served as desserts.
3. Gives You Food Guilt
Making your kids realize that something is bad for them is not an easy task. But what if they learn it by themselves? Yes, with regular desserts on the chart, your kids will start feeling the guilt of eating too many sweets. But, eventually, they’ll become fed up and leave it.
4. Balances The Calorie Intake
Although kids don’t require many calories to survive the day, even if they have a scoop of ice cream, it can cover up all the meals they have skipped over the day.
What To Avoid
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Letting your kids have dessert before dinner has its advantages, but you should also keep the following things in mind:
- Even though regular serving will make desserts less hyped or essential, you should not make it a habit of serving it before or always.
- Children with a diabetic family line should avoid having too many sweets. This habit can trigger insulin imbalance at a very young age.
- Parents should only give small portions of desserts to their kids. Otherwise, kids will fill their stomachs without even having a proper meal.
- Parents should not entertain or encourage their kids to avoid healthy meals as it will not benefit their body growth.
- Never forget to make your kids brush their teeth after having their desserts, as sweets are more prone to decay their gums than anything else.
Teaching your kids the importance of eating healthy food is essential as a parent. But if they learn this meal etiquette by eating desserts, it’s a blessing in disguise. Overeating anything has complications, and sugary items don’t fall apart from this list. We hope that you’ll get a clear idea by reading these points mentioned above and decide whether to add desserts to the meal or not. And especially at what time to serve it. In the comments below, let us know how to serve your kids desserts.
