JAKARTA - In the midst of the bustle of Lebaran greetings, a glass of fresh fruit ice or sweet pudding is often the main dish. However, there is one ingredient that parents who bring toddlers must be wary of, thick Manis.
Although often considered a complement to festive dishes, sweet condensed milk carries a real health risk if consumed freely by children, especially when Lebaran cakes are served.
Many parents are still stuck in the myth that condensed milk is a source of nutrition equivalent to growth milk. In fact, condensed milk is not milk.
This product is dominated by sugar and fat content, with very low protein levels.
Giving children a sweet consistency, both as a drink and as a topping on food, is like giving a liquid "sugar bomb" that harms the child's metabolism, which is still very vulnerable.
When visiting, children often get excessive tolerance to taste the dish. Even though the sugar content in condensed milk can reach 50 percent.
This can cause a sugar rush that makes children hyperactive, difficult to control, and experience sleep disorders after returning home.
In addition, the sweet sticky viscous texture is very easy to stick to the gaps between the baby teeth. If it is not cleaned immediately, this sugar will be converted by bacteria into an acid that damages the tooth enamel in a short time.
The high calories from sweet condensed milk can also make a child's brain feel full. As a result, when he gets home, the little one will stop eating nutritious food because his stomach is full of empty calories.
The danger of condensed milk doubles when it meets the ingredients inside the Lebaran cake jar that children like. Many cookies use condensed milk as an adhesive for dough or chocolate filling. Also, the combination of condensed milk in drinks plus snow queen cakes covered in fine sugar can exceed the daily sugar intake limit for toddlers.
In fact, the maximum limit of added sugar for children is 25 grams (about 6 teaspoons) per day. One tablespoon of thick sweet is already containing about 10-15 grams of sugar. Imagine if the little one drinks fruit ice and eats two cookies.
Facing social pressure when visiting relatives' homes is often a test in itself for the elderly. On one hand, there is a sense of reluctance to reject the hospitality of the host, but on the other hand, the health of the toddler is a priority that cannot be negotiated. It is important for parents to have the courage to assert boundaries subtly but firmly.
If the host offers sweet condensed milk as a drink for the little one, immediately convey objections in a polite tone, for example by explaining that the child's sugar consumption is under strict monitoring and prefers water as his main dish.
If in a difficult situation the little one has already tasted a very sweet dish, the best rescue step is to immediately give him water.
This water serves as a natural "neutralizer" that helps rinse off the remnants of sugar that stick to his tiny teeth, while also helping to dilute the sugar levels that enter the bloodstream so as not to trigger excessive energy spikes or sugar rushes.
Lebaran is a moment of victory, but don't let that victory be tainted by the risk of long-term health for the baby. Be a parent who is observant in sorting between "delicious" dishes and "healthy" dishes.
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