Three crisps? Well that takes the biscuit...

Tots will be fed up with treat ‘rules’

AS IF Covid restrictions aren’t bad enough, Ireland’s children are having their favourite treats drastically reduced under new health guidelines.

Now, if you want to give your little ones a reward, the Ministry of Miserliness suggests that three crisps or half a biscuit are sufficient portions for small mouths.

The guidelines are part of the National Healthy Eating Guidelines for one- to four-year-olds, launched yesterday by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman and the Minister of State for Public Health and Wellbeing, Frank Feighan.

Minister Donnelly didn’t offer any advice on what to do with the rest of the crisps in the bag or the other half of the biscuit. Although many parents may be tempted to tuck into them themselves.

He said the guidelines willll ‘help parents and carers to set their children up for a healthier life and are another step to help make healthy choice the easier choice for everyone’..

The booklet outlines serving sizes, sample meal plans and advice on supplements. A new food pyramid has also been developed for tots with parents advised that young children should have three to four servings of cereals and breads, potatoes, pasta and rice a day.

The most talked-about aspect of the plan, however, was the about the number of treats. The Department of Health said children could be given ‘tiny’ snacks once a week.

‘Sweets, chocolates, biscuits, cakes, fizzy drinks or crisps should not be part of your child’s everyday diet. Having foods and drinks from this shelf spoils your child’s appetite for more nutritious food.’

A tiny amount includes one square of chocolate, three crisps, one half of a plain biscuit or three soft sweets.

The guidance raised eyebrows on social media, as many questioned if parents would get away a with presenting these portions p to their children.

Dietitian Sonja Lynch of what2eat.ie joked that grandparents are going to f i nd the one treat a week rule hard to implement. She told the Irish Daily Mail that parents could c give their children bigger portions p as they get older.

She explained: ‘This is for very young children. A oneyear-old is very different from a four-year-old so you have to err on the side of caution when it comes to portion sizes.

‘We’re trying to give them all the nutrients they need so there really isn’t room for all of those extra treats.

‘ They are small portions. There are lots of grandparents who would give much bigger treats. I think [children] would be a little bit shocked [if you handed them three crisps].

‘The portion sizes are small but one in five five-year- olds are overweight or obese. It is stark and I don’t know if every parent will be able to achieve the guidelines. I think we should adjust the number of treats as they go up the years.’

Louise Reynolds, of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, meanwhile, backed the new guidelines as she explained children are being given treats that are meant for adults.

‘Children don’t need huge portions. Lots of treats and sweets are adult-sized. If you’re giving your child an ice pop, it should be a fun- sized one. I think that is sort of obvious as a dietician but I am surprised when I see people give treats that size.

‘Lots of treats are adult-sized’