What if my kid eats so much sugar that they feel sick?

If you’re wondering how to balance not restricting your child and worrying that they’ll get a tummy ache from too many sweets – then this is the blog post for you!

The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It all comes down to how risk-averse you are, what your kids specific needs are (including medical needs), and what you want to prioritize the most.

The Sugar Spectrum: Freedom to Restriction

On one end of this spectrum, you might restrict sweets entirely out of health concerns or to avoid tummy aches. The short-term win is avoiding that discomfort, but the long-term risk is that your child might develop a “restriction mindset” because they are not allowed any autonomy over the amount of sweet foods to eat.

On the other end of the spectrum, you could allow your child to eat sweets freely (when you serve them), even to the point where they feel sick. The immediate risk here is pretty clear—they might get a stomach ache or may even vomit. Long-term, there could be a small chance of your child developing negative associations with food if they regularly get sick after eating. But this is a broader concern that can apply to any food, not just sweets.

So, what do you do? You can’t completely eliminate the risk of either scenario. You can’t protect them from both the effects of eating too much sugar and the potential long-term impacts of restriction. You have to decide which level of risk you’re more comfortable with. Am I OK with them getting a stomach ache occasionally from eating too many sweets? Do they eat to the point of a tummy ache every time you serve sweets? Every family situation will be different (and this will change over time too, within each family).

Other Things to Consider

Let’s dive deeper into what might be influencing your approach to sweets:

• Is the “sugar makes you sick” concern something you’re projecting? Are you projecting your own experiences or discomfort with sugar onto your kids? While some people do get stomach aches from eating sweets first, or eating lots of sweets… not everyone gets a tummy ache from eating sweets. Do you know your child will get a tummy ache from eating a second cupcake? Or are you telling them that because you are worried about their sugar intake for other reasons.
• Are you trying to control their calorie intake for weight reasons? Are you worried that your child will gain weight from excessive sweets intake? And are you using the “you’ll get a tummy ache” comment as a way to limit their sweets intake without overtly trying to control their weight? This might be an uncomfortable question to ask yourself. But it’s important to get curious in these situations because sometimes, these comments might be a bit of diet culture sneaking in.
• Does your child struggle with recognizing hunger and fullness cues? For neurodivergent children, this can be especially challenging, so having a plan (and involving an occupational therapist) is key. You might do things like provide sensory supports at the table, take wiggle breaks, eat standing up, do heavy work before coming to the table (more about that here), or practice listening to body cues outside of mealtimes.
• Is there a family history of eating disorders? If so, that might be something to factor into your decision-making process. Are you worried about body size? Are you worried about eating disorder risk? Is your worry heavily influencing your approach? And if so, what do you think about that?
• Are you using other tools to prevent obsession with sweets? For example, adjusting how you talk about food by removing labels like “good,” “bad,” or “treat” can make a huge difference. Watch this video here for a few more ideas.
• Can your child connect cause and effect? Will they be able to understand that their tummy ache is from eating too many sweets, and can that help guide their future decisions? Many kids can grasp this concept fairly young but there may be reasons why this is challenging for your child and you will need to intervene.

Helping Your Kids Learn

If your child does get a stomach ache from eating too much sugar, use it as a learning opportunity. Talk to them about it — but it may be better to wait until they are feeling better.

• How is your tummy feeling?
• Why do you think it feels that way?
• What happened when you ate 4 cupcakes at the birthday party last night?
• What can we do differently next time so you don’t feel so sick?

Encouraging your kiddos to slow down while eating can also help. For instance, you could say, “You can eat as much as you’d like, but let’s slow down a little bit.” You can also use tools like games or conversation to help slow down mealtimes.

IMPORTANT: While it’s important to give your child autonomy around food, it doesn’t mean you should have zero boundaries.

My Approach at Home

Here’s how I manage sweets in my household: I let my kids eat as much as they want of a particular food if I’m the one serving it—even if it sometimes leads to a tummy ache. However, this rule does not apply if we run out of that food. I might also remind my kids to listen to their bodies while they’re eating. But I don’t pester them with questions because constant “how does your tummy feel?” inquiries is also not great.

My older kids (4 and 6 years old) have learned from these experiences and now use them to help guide their decisions on how much of a sweet food to eat. We also talk about how eating too much of anything, including fruits or vegetables, can lead to an upset stomach.

If my child starts fixating on a particular food, I might serve it more often so that it becomes less of a “big deal.” When they ask for sweets, I try to work it into the meal plan or add it to the grocery list. My goal is to avoid a restriction mindset and help my kids develop a healthy, balanced relationship with all foods—including sweets.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, there’s no one right answer. Every child and every family is different, and that’s okay. The approach that works best for your family will certainly be different from other families, which is exactly how it should be.

Sending love and feeding wins your way,

❤️ Dr. Taylor