Stop Feeding Your Children These 5 Foods Too Often

As parents, we all want to give our children foods that help them grow, learn, and stay healthy. But some popular foods and drinks can contain surprisingly high amounts of added sugar, sodium, or other ingredients that children are better off limiting.

This doesn’t mean your child can never have these foods. The goal is to make healthier choices most of the time and avoid making highly processed foods a daily habit.

1. Sugary Drinks and Soft Drinks

Soda, sweetened fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and other sugary beverages can deliver a lot of added sugar without providing much nutritional value.

Regularly consuming too much added sugar is associated with problems such as excess weight gain, obesity, and tooth decay. Water and unsweetened milk are generally better everyday choices.

Better choice: Water, plain milk, or an unsweetened beverage.

2. Processed Meats

Hot dogs, sausages, deli meats, and similar processed meats can be high in sodium. The CDC specifically recommends avoiding high-salt foods for young children and lists processed meats among common examples.

Better choice: Freshly prepared chicken, eggs, beans, lentils, or other minimally processed protein sources.

3. Candy, Cookies and Sugary Snacks

Candy, cookies, cakes, pastries, and other sweet snacks can add large amounts of sugar to a child’s diet while providing relatively few essential nutrients.

The CDC identifies desserts and sweet snacks as major sources of added sugar.

Better choice: Fresh fruit, plain yogurt with fruit, or a small portion of a homemade snack with less added sugar.

4. Highly Processed Salty Snacks

Chips, packaged snack foods, and some frozen or ready-to-eat meals can contain substantial amounts of sodium. Too much sodium is not ideal for children’s diets, and health authorities recommend choosing less-processed foods when possible.

Better choice: Fresh fruit, vegetables, unsalted nuts when age-appropriate, or homemade snacks with little added salt.

5. Fish High in Mercury

Fish can actually be an excellent source of nutrients, so it shouldn’t be avoided altogether. However, children should avoid certain fish that are high in mercury.

The CDC lists king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, Gulf of Mexico tilefish, and bigeye tuna among fish to avoid for young children because excessive mercury exposure can harm the developing brain and nervous system.

Better choice: Choose fish that are lower in mercury and follow local or national guidance on safe portions.

The Bottom Line

You don’t need to create a completely restrictive diet for your child. Instead, focus on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein foods, dairy or suitable alternatives, and healthy fats, while limiting foods and drinks high in added sugar, sodium, and unhealthy fats.

And remember: the goal isn’t perfection—it’s building healthy eating habits that children can carry into adulthood.