Healthy Ways to Navigate Candy with Kids with Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC
This episode is all about candy:
How much should we eat candy or think about it
What to give out at Halloween
Should we let our kids eat candy at all?
There is a lot of noise and fear-mongering out there about sugar: it’s poison, the dyes are harmful, and that we should never let our kids have candy of any kind.
Enter: Crystal Karges, Maternal Child Health Specialist.
She has an Instagram post entitled, “Candy for Breakfast” that went viral.
We get to talk to her about this revolutionary new thought around candy, sugar, and what she recommends as both a mom and a professional.
If you are tired of having to micromanage sweets in your house and are at a loss about what to do, this episode is for you. Our hope is that this conversation will help you challenge the food rules, not your kids.
About Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC
Crystal Karges is a Maternal Child Health Specialist and Mom on a mission to help mothers end the generational legacies of diet culture in their homes so that their families can enjoy a better relationship with food and bodies, free from guilt and shame.
Connect with Crystal here:
www.crystalkarges.com
Instagram: @crystalkarges
Ditching Candy Fears and Embracing Your Kids without Food Rule Barriers
In this episode of the Joyful Health Show, we address obsession with sweets and how to navigate this during the holidays as parents who want what’s best for ourselves and our kids.
Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC, has personally battled with eating disorders and motherhood challenges, and now shares her journey of transformation from a place of fear and control to one of connection and freedom.
We'll explore the common misconceptions around candy and the anxiety it can induce in parents. By understanding your child's unique sensory profile and allowing them to self-regulate, you can pave the way for a healthier relationship with sweets.
Learn how to approach Halloween and other candy-related events with a sense of normalcy, reducing the allure of forbidden treats. Discover why controlling your child's sugar intake can have detrimental effects and how to build a strong, faith-based foundation of trust instead.
Key Takeaways:
Focus less on the food rules and more on the child in front of you.
Embrace freedom and trust in your child's ability to self-regulate their sweet intake.
Normalize sweets for your children, reducing the risk of later overindulgence and disordered eating.
Scripture to Provide Freedom
Candy is fun! But if we have shame and fear around candy, we are no longer walking in the freedom of Christ:
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” —Galatians 5:1
From this verse, think about:
What food rules am I living under?
Did God give me these food rules?
Does obeying food rules have any bearing on our salvation?
How has He already given me and my family freedom in this area, and what’s the next right step?
Resources for Moms to Exchange Fear for Freedom Around Food:
Here are a few of the resources mentioned in our conversation to help support you as you relate to your children when it comes to food and body:
Take Our Body Blessings Course to Improve Personal Connection
Do you want to become empowered in your body to know what you need and praise God for His provision?
As Crystal says, it’s important to be able to trust your kids with regulating sweets inside and outside the home.
We believe that starts with you learning that for yourself!
If you want to start tuning in to how you were made to eat and move, our Body Blessings Course will walk you through intuitive health tracking pages, prayer journaling, and more exercises to move you from being preoccupied with culture’s impossible standards and leaning into your own God-given body.
It’s never to late to start improving connection over control!
If you can answer "yes and amen" to the following, then we think this course would be a great fit:
Get unstuck with a body image centered prayer practice
Integrate emotions and sensations into a healthy body image with printable guides
Discover intuitive eating and movement patterns and respond with kindness
Uncover how to fully enjoy God in your right now body
Move from preoccupation with self to worship and praise
Connect With Us!
Do you need a space to talk about the podcast with other like-minded Christian women? Join the Facebook Group and share your thoughts with us! We can’t wait to connect with you.
