Are you like me and cringe simply thinking about the foods served at children’s birthday parties? Sugary treats, multiple handfuls of salty chips, and unhealthy juice punches to name a few.

While these tasty treats are fine to eat once in a while, kids can overload on these nutritional no-no’s if they attend a birthday bash weekly, as our kids so often do these days. Rather than ban parties altogether, it makes more sense to live by the “everything in moderation” credo.The logic here is that kids can eat anything they want in moderation, but they need to compensate for the extra calories elsewhere in their day.

Before heading off to your next party, consider these pointers for making your festivities a little less sugary and a tad bit healthier.

• If you know your child will be eating cake and drinking punch at the party, plan to serve a nutritious dinner of baked chicken, steamed veggies and brown rice, afterward.

• Plan activities after the birthday party or the next day, such as a bike ride, swimming, or taking a long walk.

• Strike a balance between what and how much your child eats by giving them tips for going easy on the fats and sugars. For instance:
  • Teach them to take a handful of chips rather than eating straight from the bowl.

• Discuss portion sizes before getting to the party.

• Explain that you would like them to limit the pizza to one slice so there’ll be room for dinner.

• Encourage your child to hold off on eating the candies from the goody bag at home since they ate cake and ice cream at the party.

By following some of these birthday party tips, children’s birthday parties can be enjoyable and fun…without the excess.

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