Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, and missy is going to be allowed her first delicious taste of chocolatey goodness … at least we think it is. Let’s face it, there’s no telling what she gets when she has a sleep over at Gran and Pa’s house. I find myself feeling a little peeved when people roll their eyes at us keeping missy away from sugar. Even more so when they scurry her away behind a door, and shove some sweetness in her mouth, which she hasn’t even asked for. Some probably call me a sugar nazi. I’m not, I just don’t see the point in giving her those foods when she doesn’t ask for them, she doesn’t know what they are. I see no harm in keeping that kind of empty food out of her diet for as long as possible.

Also: I found myself judging a fellow parent

Anyway, the whole thing got me thinking about sugar, and how “no sugar” diets are everywhere, and keeping sugar from your kids seems to be a big thing. But is it something new? I don’t think so. You see, I think my parents might be hypocrites. OK, my parents are just grandparents, intent on spoiling their granddaughter in any manner possible. I get it. It’s OK. But they seem to have forgotten that they too were sugar-nazis. Here are a few things that we were not allowed to have.

Sugary cereal

It used to be such a treat when we had a sleepover at Nana’s house. She had Nutrigrain!  To us, this was a luxury cereal.  Oh and if ever Cocoa Pops came our way we were straight into it. At home, it was Corn Flakes, Weat-Bix or Bran Flakes (which, weirdly, I loved for a little while there). I think there was a time where we got Rice Bubbles (the plain ones, I assure you) purely because my mother was desperate to get me to eat breakfast, any breakfast (it didn’t work).

Nutella

This week I was told that Nutella is 50 per cent sugar. Fifty per cent!  That must be why it tastes so good. I didn’t encounter the childhood joy of eating Nutella out of a jar until I was 15 years old, when I was in a play where the character sat on a bench eating Nutella. That play was all sorts of wonderful!  At home, it was vegemite, jam (OK, it’s sugar laden, but it was often homemade) or honey, no chocolatey spreads for us!

Soft drink

I know I was older than most when I first had soft drink, but I can’t recall. Again, I think Nana gave me a lot of soft drink. This was in the days where you could get a crate of soft drink delivered in glass bottles to your house. I had all sorts of love for Portello, and used to guzzle it down by the bottle at my Nana’s house. This was considered a very special treat. At home, the only time we got soft drink was when we were sick, and that was flat lemonade. To this day, I still struggle to drink lemonade without feeling queasy.

Reflecting on this makes me feel less pressure to cave, and more resilient. I don’t disagree with my parents. You see, I still have no soft drink, Nutella or sugary cereal in the house. Even Milo is considered a rare treat. Do I complain about being denied as a child? Absolutely!  Of course!  But I wasn’t really. So, I will continue on my disciplined way, occasionally caving when missy begs for a bite of my muffin, or giving her a special treat, like an Easter egg. I’m not going to get caught up in comments on being mean, or watching what other kids eat. After all, I have a what they call a “good eater” and I like to think that has something to do with us making sure our little miss has a balanced diet. Plus, it makes the moments I do give her something pretty special. I can’t wait to see her chocolatey face tomorrow! Oh no, what am I starting? Damn that bunny and its chocolatey goodness!

Next: My favourite baby foods