How much chocolate is appropriate for children to eat?

Easter: Easter is chocolate time. Shops are filled with brilliantly packaged and shiny chocolates of all sizes, making a trip to the supermarket with children more challenging than ever. Meanwhile, children are getting chocolate eggs from friends, relatives and the Easter Bunny (or Bilby) at every turn. But this can make it very difficult for parents to manage their children’s chocolate intake.

What’s in chocolate?

Chocolate has potential health benefits. Cocoa beans are rich in fats, vitamins, minerals and phenolic compounds (or phytochemicals) that lower blood pressure. But the taste of these phenolic compounds is so bitter that they make raw cocoa almost inedible. And this is where food processing steps in. To make milk chocolate, sugar, milk fat and other ingredients are mixed – the amount of cocoa used is small. By the time we reach white chocolate, the cocoa is completely gone. Overall, studies on the health benefits of chocolate show very weak evidence that chocolate is good for our health. If there is any benefit, it comes from very dark, bitter chocolate with a high proportion of cocoa (and phytochemicals), which children do not like. Dark chocolate sometimes gives adults a mood boost because it contains caffeine.

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How much chocolate should children eat?

All types of chocolate are classified as discretionary foods, as are biscuits, cakes and sugary drinks. This means that they should be considered gifts. As a rough guideline, children aged two to three years should not be given more than one dose of discretionary food per day and older children should be given up to three doses per day. Applying this to chocolate, one serving of chocolate would be 25-30 grams. An average hollow chocolate Easter egg weighs approximately 100 grams. But it is okay to give some chocolates as gifts to children. If kids enjoy their favorite foods or eat some extra chocolate over the Easter holidays, they won’t go sugar crazy. If children eat only chocolate throughout the day, it may cause sugar problems and children may become hungry and irritable at bedtime. So make sure you fill them up with real food before giving them chocolate eggs. Chocolate should not be given to children as it will make them sensitive to excessively sweet tastes. But those over six months can join in the fun with hard-boiled “real eggs”.

How can you manage Easter celebration?

When planning meals for your kids, there are a few things you can do to manage chocolate. If you are purchasing eggs and bunnies, compare the weight of the products to help you choose the appropriate serving size for your child’s age. Look for eggs in small, single packs. Smaller pre-wrapped portions help parents manage consumption over time without portraying chocolate as a bad food. Ask family members to purchase alternative gifts like a book or game to reduce the overwhelming amount of chocolate entering the house at Easter, remember that bunnies eat carrots too! Give them tasty snacks before eating chocolate so that they can get the necessary nutrients before the chocolate.

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