Parents corner

Go back
Tips & Tricks

Can I put sugar or salt in my child's meals?

gisèle gual — mar 20, 2019

  

Salt:

The immature kidneys of a child under 3 years old are not able to eliminate salt like the ones of an adult. Moreover, some foods naturally contain some (bread, cheese, ham…) and their content can easily meet or exceed the needs in salt of little ones. This is the reason why it is recommended to never add salt in the meals of babies and small children.

When they are preparing their child’s meals, parents will sometimes think they are “bland” or “tasteless”. Yet, not only the notion of “bland” is not the same for an adult or for a child (his perception of taste is not yet distorted by this enhancer known as salt) but there are also other ways than salt to spice up the taste of a meal!

People who have to eat without salt know it well: adding fresh or dried aromatic herbs or spices helps you live without salt so easily: parsley, garlic, ginger, dill, marjoram, pepper, star anise… make us travel to more or less exotic and far more original savours than the simple taste of salt!

Certain “aromatic” vegetables are also great to spice up a meal without the need for added salt: onions, tomatoes, shallots… No reason why we should deprive our kids from these, they can discover them in different ways: condiment, veggie spreads, purées…

Sugar

a substance which is almost always spontaneously liked by kids, can be found in great quantity in most of the products for… kids! Despite the risks linked to a diet that is too rich in sugar (overweight, cavities…). Yet, there are foods which have a natural sweet taste and are so delicious: fresh fruits, dried fruits, some vegetables… Just like kids who have never put salt into their meal don’t think that they are tasteless, kids who never ate foods with added sugar will not ask for them! Add some cinnamon, cardamom or vanilla to your oatmeal and you will see that you won’t need sugar anymore! 

I can't repeat it enough:

Use and overuse natural and healthy taste enhancers offered by nature

and give yourself and your children a healthy and very tasty diet!