Children Eating Candy....Good thing or Bad?

Is it good to give candy to kids?  Some say no, but others say yes.  I am one of those people who say one piece of candy is okay for a child to consume.  A little taste of say, one Sour Patch Kid every few days isn't going to harm anyone.  What it will do is bring you joy when you see the priceless expression on a child's face when they put it in their mouth.  I have a couple nephews, under the age of two, and I'll admit that with their parent's permission, have given tiny bites of sour candy to every once in awhile.  They both puckered their lips to look like the guy on the Sour Warheads wrapper,  had a twinkle in their eye, and smiled at me afterwards to make the whole experience extremely worthwhile.  Those times were definitely classified as a picture perfect moment.

Is it a good idea to use candy as a positive reinforcer?  In many cases, candy is used as a positive reinforcement for different behaviors in children.  It is said to help in cases like potty training and learning how to talk.  Once the child acts out a certain positive behavior, a parent is likely to reward them with something small to let them know they are doing the right thing and should do it again.  One M&M does the trick and it's not going to lead to type two diabetes.  As long as a piece of candy is given out rather than a whole bag, the child will get the picture and stay healthy as well.

Is it easy to take candy away from a baby?  I don't think so, despite what that song says.  If one takes anything away from a baby or child, they get very upset.  So if you are going to give a child candy, just do it, as being in limbo is not a good choice.  If you don't agree with giving children candy, cut it out completely.

To wrap things up, if you want a child to provide you with an unforgettable picture perfect moment expression, want them to keep acting out positive behaviors, and don't want them to be upset if you take their candy away from them, let them indulge in a piece of candy every so often!  What's so bad about that?  Here at The Sweetest Temptations, I think that everyday could be brightened by treating yourself to a nice sweet treat!

Pictures courtesy of http://store.candywarehouse.com/giantgummybear.html and http://newfrontier.com/asheville/alternative-news-10-03-09.htm