Lördagsgodis
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April 6th, 2006
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There is nothing wrong with your eyes or your language skills. The weird looking headline, which is written in Swedish, means "Candy on Saturdays" loosely translated. When I was growing up my parents didn't want me and my sister to eat candy every day so we had the rule that candy was for Saturdays only. And the scary thing is that we followed the rule. At least for quite a few years. This was quite common in Sweden during my youth but I have a feeling it's not popular today. Why? Because it demands quite a bit of discipline and it's easier to give your child candy whenever he/she asks for it. I'm noticing that now that we are trying to teach Daniel the concept of "Lördagsgodis".
My parents were dentists and that was perhaps one of the reasons why they didn't want us snacking on sugar every day. Another one was that we should eat fairly healthy food. That must sound very old fashioned today when candy, Coca Cola, and burgers are a daily part in many children's lives. Even though my parents were dentists they were relaxed and no teeth Nazis. We brushed our teeth twice a day for two minutes and avoided to have sweet snacks all day long in order to spare our teeth. That was pretty much it. Did that really make a difference? Perhaps I'm lucky but I'm turning 40 this year and haven't had a single cavity in my teeth.
We are now trying "Lördagsgodis" on Daniel and it's working out quite well even though it takes discipline. He's quite young to be eating candy but it's almost impossible to keep him away. There are always birthday parties and visits at friends houses. We usually take him to a local 7-Eleven store on Saturdays and he gets to pick out his own candy. He loves the whole concept and he seems to realize that it's a special occasion. To see him walk around with the little spoon, picking his own candy and putting it in the bag is sooooo cute. Then he gets to walk up to the cash register and I hold him up so he can pay. He loves to pay, especially with credit cards, and looks very proud when he gets the change back or has to sign the receipt (with my help….). It may sound like he's getting a few pounds of candy but it's more like a few pieces. The only problem is that he recognizes the store from far away and each time we walk or drive by he asks for candy. Fortunately he's at the age where he understands quite a bit so we can simply tell him that it's not Saturday and he will have to wait. He's amazingly easy going and usually agrees without any argument. That's one quality I really like about our son. He never freaks out or has a tantrum.
Perhaps it's unrelated but we have avoided those ugly scenes at the grocery store. Every time we shop I see families with small kids who scream, complain , and lay on the ground in order to get some candy from their parents. Usually the parents give in after a while to avoid further embarrassment and it's not a pretty sight.
What are your policies regarding sweets in the house? Candy whenever your child wants to or do you have a fixed day or some other creative solution?
Eleanor didn’t know what candy was until Halloween this past year. The previous year we went Trick or Treating, but we only let her keep the toys. We also bribed her with M&Ms while potty training. At this point, we are very strict about sweets. She gets the occasional treat (no soda) and watered down juice, but we really ration stuff out. I am obsessed about good oral hygiene (not sure why!) Imagine my devastation when I got my first cavity in all my 37 years last year!
I think the Saturday candy thing is a good idea. While I don’t want to completely deprive my girls now so that they rebel later, the Saurday candy event would b special.
You know, I give my kids candy and sweets, but it is more on the weekends. And not all the time. We eat pretty healthy. That’s a neat idea though. When I was a kid we called 7-11 the big coke store. And we had so much candy. And all three of us have had a ton of cavity’s. At the smae time, I don’t make a big deal out of giving them sweets, when they really want it, I tend to give it to them. It makes it kind of a non-issue and they don’t ask all the time. I have a sweet tooth and I know kids do sometimes too.
My kids rarely have a melt down in public. Nata throws a lot of tantrums these days but not in public. But I wouldn’t fight with them in public either. I just pick them up and leave. And they don’t like that. I do see a ton of parents who just give in.
We’re lucky since our son really doesn’t like sweets. He can’t stand chocolate and doesn’t care for cookies or cake. He’ll eat ice cream now and then, but otherwise nothing.
I’m sure he’ll grow out of it eventually, but it does make Halloween really great for us.
You can apply this same principle to TV/computer, which we do. I don’t know how you say “media only on weekends” but that’s pretty much our rule. Each boy has a timer and hets 30 mins of computer time on Sat and Sun, but not during the school week. No Tv during week either, except American Idol which we watch as a family.
Sweets: I just don’t buy what I’m not willing to let them eat or drink. It makes it a really big deal if I buy everyone a Coke somewhere.
I think the Saturday limit you’ve put on is good– being able to say “It’s not Saturday” is a reasonable answer with no room for argument.
What a cute kid!
Actually, limiting candy to one day a week will increase the chances of your kids becoming a diebetic. Think about it… The body gets nothing sweet for a whole week, then suddenly CandyCandyCandyCandy. A total Sugar Shock! Not saying you should give the kids candy every day, just give a little something to them every so often.
May 3rd, 2006 at 12:08 pm
[…] I love that Daniel is understanding more and can communicate what his needs are. It seems like he's reached a nice level of maturity for his age. It's very odd and it's quite often that I look at Sandra in shock since he's actually doing exactly what we are asking. Around Easter Sandra went candy shopping for a kids event we held at our house. Daniel got to pick out as much candy as he wanted. He was the happiest kid ever seen in that store as he was running around with a large scoop filled with candy. We ended up with around 4 lbs. and he was of course ecstatic about seeing all that sugary stuff. He wanted to taste some and Sandra gave him one piece of candy and told him he could have as much as he wanted during the Easter party. The only problem was that it was Monday and the party was on Thursday. But he nodded, had his one piece of candy, and didn't touch the bag after that. No nagging until the party. Very strange. On Saturdays we give him some sweets and perhaps an ice cream but not often during the week. If he asks for candy on Friday we can calmly tell him that it's Friday and he will get sweet stuff tomorrow. And he just nods and doesn't nag any more. He loves cinnamon rolls and gets one occasionally when we're dining at a restaurant. It can be hard to resist until after dinner, not only for Daniel but his parents too. We can then simply say that we'll have dinner first and he can taste some later. Agreed without complaints. I would expect him to occasionally freak out and be very impatient but it's extremely rare. This behavior is indeed very suspicious. […]
Jul 11th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
[…] We really hit the jackpot with Daniel. He's got this outstanding immune system and has barely been sick. He's also a great traveler and logged twenty five flights by two years of age. He's also extremely kind with other kids and can share anything without complaints. I went for walk around the neighborhood on Saturday, right after we had been to the store and picked out Daniel's favorite Lördagsgodis, and we stopped briefly outside a café where a kid was playing. I asked Daniel if he wanted to offer the kid some candy and he nodded and walked straight up to the kid and offered him his favorite candy. Not once, but twice. That's just how Daniel is. During the past year I can't remember him waking up once without a huge smile on his face. Stuff like this makes it a lot easier to be a good parent. […]
Feb 28th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
[…] or so I plan to give him a small allowance so he can buy the occasional toy or some extra lördagsgodis. Expensive items will be covered by me and the wife. I plan on giving a low limit credit […]