Are You Guilty Of Snack-Bribing Your Child?

junk foodImagine this very typical scenario – you are taking a road trip or even just stuck in traffic with a child strapped in the back who is either asking when you will reach wherever it is you’re going, or just driving you crazy with random whining.

So in the interests of letting yourself concentrate on driving safely, you offer a snack or a sweet or other treat, basically to shut the whining.

And if you do this, you are not alone – it has been seen that as many as three quarters of parents do actually ‘bribe’ their children into silence by offering junk food and that it is at this time that the kids eat more junk than at any other time.

While a significant portion of the parents were seen to feel guilty about this short term stop gap solution, others also acknowledged that this could back fire.

Eating too much of the sugary sweet stuff is likely to make the kids even more hyper, which defeats the purpose of the bribe in the first place!

Add to this the fact, you set a precedent for rewarding bad behavior and actually offer unhealthy foods that contribute to weight gain and childhood obesity. So the next time you reach for the chocolate to shut your child’s mouth – pause, consider your actions, and don’t do it!