Dessert and sweets

Dessert and sweets: what are the options?

Parents usually land on one of these 5 approaches.

1. 1. Earned by eating dinner

   Dessert is a reward for finishing dinner.

2. 2. Scheduled and limited

   Sweets happen at set times in set amounts.

3. 3. Small portion served with the meal (Satter)

   A small dessert is put on the plate with the meal and not treated as special.

4. 4. Unrestricted

   The child can have sweets freely.

5. 5. Avoided entirely in the early years

   You offer no sweets in the first years.

Dessert and sweets: what does the evidence say?

Experts disagree. Credible bodies or researchers disagree — decide whose guidance you'll weigh.

Restricting a food raised children's interest in it; more sweets rules went with lower sugar intake. The 2026 federal Dietary Guidelines now advise no added sugar well into childhood, while pediatricians quoted in response caution against treating sweets as forbidden and suggest teaching that they can be enjoyed occasionally within a balanced pattern

Sources

• Fisher & Birch
• Food Quality and Preference
• Contemporary Pediatrics

What else is worth knowing?

Using dessert as a reward can make it more desirable and the main course a chore. Strict restriction can increase interest in sweets, while rules also reduce how much sugar children eat. Families land in different places and both concerns are real.

Questions to ask each other

• How did our families treat dessert?
• Do we want sweets to be a reward, a treat or just part of a meal?
• How will we handle sweets from relatives?

More in Food and eating

• Who controls what and how much
• Picky eating
• Drinks
• Snacking structure
• Food as reward or comfort
• Ultra-processed and convenience food
• Organic
• Family dietary pattern
• Family meals
• Food away from home
• Body, weight and diet talk
• Caffeine and energy drinks