Aug 25, 2026 · 1 hr · 14 segments
If you listen to ONE podcast about sugar and kids, I want it to be this one. Because somehow sugar has become one of the most confusing, controversial and emotionally loaded parts of feeding our…
Sugar is not toxic.
We don't need to be frightened of it.
Your child having a piece of birthday cake is not gonna damage their health, and putting a teaspoon of honey into something you've baked doesn't suddenly make it a bad food.
But, and this is the really important but, it also doesn't mean sugar doesn't matter.
There are evidence-based recommendations around sugar intake, including for children, for good reason.
Higher intakes of what we call free sugars are associated with poorer dental health and can contribute to excess energy intake and poorer overall diet quality.
And that's why organizations such as the World Health Organization recommends limiting free sugars across the lifespan.
Is the sugar in an apple a free sugar? What about apple juice? What about honey? Is maple syrup better? What about all of those recipes on Instagram proudly labeled refined sugar-free that actually contain half a cup of maple syrup and six dates? And then perhaps the biggest question for parents: how do we guide our children around sugar without making sugar a big deal? Because I think we've created this idea that there are only two options.
We either tightly control sugar and label it as something bad, or we don't put any boundaries around it at all because we're frightened that doing so will create restriction.
And I don't think either of those approaches gives parents or children the tools that they actually need.
Our kids are growing up in a world where sugar is readily available.
It's in supermarkets, birthday parties, school events, sporting environment, in advertising, and in foods marketed directly to them.
So our job isn't to raise children who never eat sugar.
Our job is to help raise children who can confidently navigate a world where sugar is everywhere, and that's what I really want this episode to be about.
We are gonna start with a little bit of science, I promise I won't go too PhD on you, and look at what sugar actually is and what we mean when we talk about free sugars.
Then we'll look at how much sugar children actually need or don't need, and what the recommendations really say.
I'm gonna bust some of the biggest myths around fruit, fruit juice, honey, maple syrup, and those supposedly healthier sugars.
And then we're going to get into what is probably the most important part of this whole conversation.
What does this actually look like when you're feeding real children in a real family in the real world? So grab your coffee.
I've got mine.
Let's talk about sugar.
Sugar is not toxic.
We don't need to be frightened of it.
Your child having a piece of birthday cake is not gonna damage their health, and putting a teaspoon of honey into something you've baked doesn't suddenly make it a bad food.
But, and this is the really important but, it also doesn't mean sugar doesn't matter.
There are evidence-based recommendations around sugar intake, including for children, for good reason.
Higher intakes of what we call free sugars are associated with poorer dental health and can contribute to excess energy intake and poorer overall diet quality.
And that's why organizations such as the World Health Organization recommends limiting free sugars across the lifespan.
Is the sugar in an apple a free sugar? What about apple juice? What about honey? Is maple syrup better? What about all of those recipes on Instagram proudly labeled refined sugar-free that actually contain half a cup of maple syrup and six dates? And then perhaps the biggest question for parents: how do we guide our children around sugar without making sugar a big deal? Because I think we've created this idea that there are only two options.
We either tightly control sugar and label it as something bad, or we don't put any boundaries around it at all because we're frightened that doing so will create restriction.
And I don't think either of those approaches gives parents or children the tools that they actually need.
Our kids are growing up in a world where sugar is readily available.
It's in supermarkets, birthday parties, school events, sporting environment, in advertising, and in foods marketed directly to them.
So our job isn't to raise children who never eat sugar.
Our job is to help raise children who can confidently navigate a world where sugar is everywhere, and that's what I really want this episode to be about.
We are gonna start with a little bit of science, I promise I won't go too PhD on you, and look at what sugar actually is and what we mean when we talk about free sugars.
Then we'll look at how much sugar children actually need or don't need, and what the recommendations really say.
I'm gonna bust some of the biggest myths around fruit, fruit juice, honey, maple syrup, and those supposedly healthier sugars.
And then we're going to get into what is probably the most important part of this whole conversation.
What does this actually look like when you're feeding real children in a real family in the real world? So grab your coffee.
I've got mine.
Let's talk about sugar.
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