Woman’s Own – 26 August 2019

Whenmy10-year-oldson

VincentwenttoParisona

schooltriprecentlyIput

acoupleofTwixbarsin

withhispackedlunch.

Buthetoldmetotake

themout.‘Theteachers

saythey’llremoveany

sweetswetakewithus,’he

insisted.Whatnonsense!

Treatsareachildhood

pleasure,andI’mhappyto

letVincentandhissister

spendtheirpocketmoneyona

packoffizzycolabottlesortwo.

Soyoucanimaginehowthe

newstheGovernmentisthinking

aboutmakingmanufacturers

wrapsweetsandcrispsindull,

genericpackaginghasgone^

downinourhousehold.

Sweetsarenotcigarettes.It’s

greatthatgrimpicturesonfag

packetshascutdownonthe

number of people smoking.

Butdemonisingsugarisnotthe

wayforward.It’shealthierto

makesugarytreatspartofa

balanceddietandteachthat

theyarefineinmoderation.My

kidsdolotsofexercise–and

sometimesthere’snomore

effectivewaytoboostenergy

levelsthaneatingacoupleof

JellyBabies.Wrappingthemin

unappealingpackagingisnot

goingtostopthemeating

them, so what’s the point?

Ye s

No

‘Demonisingsugar

is

notthewayforward’

‘It’supparentstoinstil

healthyeatinghabits’

RachelTompkins,39,isawriterand

livesinBicesterwithherhusbandand

theirtwosons aged six and three.

Anyonewithchildrenwill

knowhowharditisto

ensuretheyeatahealthy,

balanceddiet.Andwho

canblamethemfor

choosingwiththeireyes?

Whowantsaboringapple

whenthey’rebeing

bombardedbybrightly

packagedtreats.

Officialguidelinessay

childrenagedfourtosix

shouldhavenomorethan

19gofsugaraday(sugar

foundnaturallyinmilk,fruit

andvegetablesdoesn’t

count).There’s5gofsugar

inasmallbowlofCoco

Pops,soit’seasytohave

overaquarterofyour

dailyallowancebeforethe

clock’sstruck9am!It’sup

tousasparentstoinstil

healthyeatinghabits.

The new wayof

packagingcigaretteshas

helpedtodiscouragepeople

fromtakingupthehabit,so

isn’tittimeweaddressedthe

sugarcrisisinthesameway?

Sugarydrinksarealready

taxed,butbychangingthe

packagingofsweetstoothis

willhelpparentstomaintain

theoralhealthofour

childrenandhelptotry

andcombattheobesity

epidemicthatweare

currently in the gripof.

LebbyEyres,48,isajournalistand

livesin

LondonwithherhusbandFrederic,

43,and

their two children, Inès, 13, and Vincent,

10.

DEBATE

Real life

Lebbybelievesitismore

importanttoteachkids

about a balanced diet

Rachelthinksplain

packagingwouldmake

treats less appealing

Should sweets be

packaged like cigarettes?

Totackle

childhoodobesity,

theGovernmentis

discussingplans

forsweetstobesold

inplainpackaging,

butsomesayit

wouldn’t help

WORDS:

LEBBY

EYRES

AND RACHEL TOMPKINS.

MAIN PHOTO: GETTY