As adults, we're surrounded by temptations; food and otherwise. I want to raise kids who have self-control. -Katie Kimball

We’ve edited our “family dessert” policies many times over the years, and we’re always trying to balance moderation vs restriction, autonomy vs parental boundaries, and the risks of demonizing sugar and creating desire vs the reality that sugar is NOT good for humans.

This fall, our 8yo is giving us a run for our money, and I wanted to share the story in case our thought processes as experienced parents can help others think through the end goals of discipline decisions.

I usually don’t share stories we’re still in the middle of, but this one is live! We’ll learn lessons together… 🙂

Here is the other desserts/sweets Healthy Parenting Connector episode I mention.

Can’t see the video? Learn about our dessert policy here on YouTube!

No time for the video? Here are the notes!

When Kids Sneak Candy

  • 0:15: Every kid in our family has been caught sneaking food, whether that’s candy or other snacky food. I usually don’t share stories that we’re still in the middle of, but I want to share this so we can experience making changes together. 
  • 1:17: Here’s the story of what happened when my 8-year-old was caught sneaking candy. 
  • 4:35: We have different guidelines for different ages of kids for Halloween candy. I explain how we do dessert/sweet treats. 
  • 7:17: A few weeks later…Gabe was caught sneaking candy again! 

It might not make you sick right now, but eating too much sugar can impact your health in the future. -Katie Kimball

  • 9:55: Now we had two issues: sneaking candy and stealing his brother’s candy. My instinct was to lock up all the candy, but my husband had a better idea. 
  • 12:12: Here’s what we did. We took away Gabe’s desserts for a week and had him buy candy for his brother to replace what he’d stolen. 

Discipline is to teach, not just dole out consequences. -Katie Kimball

  • 14:15: Gabe also wrote himself a note reminding himself how bad it felt to disobey and steal his brother’s candy. We wanted him to have a system in place to help him resist temptation in the future. 

Resources We Mention for Dessert Policies