Published On: July 16, 20242 min read

Food As A Reward? Good or Bad idea?

Parenthood is a wild field and we sometimes do what we can to cope. How many of us went down that road of giving snacks or sweets to our kids to reward them for their good behaviour, their efforts, their achievements etc.? Raise your hand! A lot of us of course. Why that? Because first we still associate kids with sweets and also giving them something to eat is cheaper than buying them a gift every time, they’ve done something great. It doesn’t seem to be something that would harm anybody, right?

Food As A Reward? Good or Bad idea?

The thing is, it does harm them in different ways: not only they learn not to listen to their body cues so it interferes with kids natural ability to regulate their eating. It also encourages them to eat when they’re not hungry to reward themselves. Plus, you’ll have to manage their tantrums or melt down when the sugar effect fades away, which does not help us as parents. What does that mean for their future? It means that we are giving them the habit of eating even when they are not actually hungry. Our bodies are magnificent engine and give us signs when they need food. On the long run, they could probably become the type of adult that “eat their feelings” as a consolation prize or a soothing unhealthy habit instead of dealing with their feelings and face those.

In clear, we are not helping them. We believe we’re doing something nice but we are not. In fact, like I always say to my clients is this: “The best reward you can give a child is spending time with you.” That what they enjoy the most, more time with their parents/careers. A moment where they have our full attention and we are not being distracted by anything, just for the joy to be with them.” It includes reading extra stories, a singing session or playing instruments session, playing at the park, playing boardgames, drawing or painting together, making funny faces in front of the mirror, looking at old photos etc. There are thousands and thousands of ways to have a nice time together as a family and creating healthy habits. It’s not because we were raised a certain way that we have to repeat the same patterns with our kids, we can actually break the cycle.