Kids birthday parties – surviving the nutritional minefield. 

The mere mention of a birthday party and children everywhere will almost jump out of their skins with excitement, a reaction that is not always shared by their parents.  Nutritionally, birthday parties can be a nightmare for parents trying to encourage healthy eating, with junk food more often than not dominating the menu. 

Children develop food preferences associated with experiences.  Where they were and what they ate can create positive food associations for life.  Just think back to your own childhood, who doesn’t relate the fun of childhood birthday parties with the ‘sugar rush’ of lollies, cakes and other sugary treats? 

Although it may be tempting to restrict your child from indulging in such foods (yours truly included), it is important to keep in mind that by doing this you can actually increase your child’s desire for them.  Peer pressure can also be quite strong, even at a young age.  Consideration should be made into the way your child may be singled out others, in comparison to the nutritional impact of allowing them to occasionally consume less than nutritionally desirable foods. 

An idea you might like to try is introducing a few ‘party-type’ foods at home in a calmer, day-to-day environment.  This can reduce the positive association of these foods with the party experience and may help to stop them over-indulging on sugary foods they have not yet experienced. 

It is possible to still provide fun foods for kids at birthday parties that are more nutritionally sound than the traditional party foods.  Here are some ideas: 

•  Using wholemeal bread instead of white for fairy bread.  You can also purchase additive free sprinkles for the topping.
• Substitute fizzy soft drinks with mineral water with freshly squeezed fruit juice.
• Save most of the sugary foods for the lolly bags.  Include some small toys instead of a bag filled to the brim with lollies.  Select the ‘natural’ varieties to avoid any artificial colours and preservatives.
• Fruit kebabs with a passionfruit yoghurt dipping sauce are often a favourite with the kids.
• Home-made sushi rolls.
• Make your own sausage rolls to avoid any un-necessary hidden nasties in shop-bought varieties.  You can also sneak some in grated vegies in.
• Make your own home-made chicken nuggets that are baked, not fried.
• Individual jelly cups with fresh berries.  You can purchase natural jelly varieties from health food shops and some supermarkets.
• Organic popcorn is delicious and free from any nasties, or pop your own.
• Make the birthday cake yourself – this way you know exactly what is going into it and you can use natural colours where possible.
• Cut out sandwiches with varying cookie cutter shapes to make them fun i.e. if it’s a space party use star and moon cutters.
• Mini pizzas made with homemade dough and lots of fresh toppings i.e. tomato, ham, cheese, pineapple. 

So with a little bit of time and creativity, you should have a lot of happy children, and parents at the end of the day.