Are you Up to the Challenge? #2: Sugar Swaps
Posted Mar 2021
By Delta Dental of Arkansas
Tagged tooth decay, sugar swaps, cavities, sugary foods and drinks
Are you Up to the Challenge? #2: Sugar Swaps
We’ve created a 5-part series of new ideas and fun activities for parents, caregivers and educators to teach children good oral health habits and decisions.
Play online or download and print hard copies of each challenge for free use in the home and in the classroom. Boost the excitement by rewarding each milestone with treats big and small.
#2: Sugar Swaps
The Goal
Change children’s snack preferences from sugary foods and snacks to healthier choices that reduce the risk of cavities.
The Benefit
By teaching children how to make healthier decisions when it comes to sugar—even when an adult isn’t around—you’re helping them avoid cavities and achieve better overall health.
The Challenge
Encourage your children or students to trade something sugary for a healthier choice twice a day. Instruct them track their progress on the chart below.
Examples of Sugar Swaps
Cookies, cakes or candy -> string cheese, fresh fruit, raw veggies, plain yoghurt
Starchy crackers and chips -> nuts
Here are some other examples of how to teach even your youngest learners to develop healthy eating habits.
Parents can print or copy the chart to track the sugar swaps. If you don’t have a printer, save the image as a photo on your phone and use your photo mark-up tool to complete the chart.
Teachers may want to send the weekly chart home on a weekly basis to have parents sign off on them. Alternatively, children can keep it in their desks. It may be helpful for kids to check the boxes right after lunch when their food choices are fresh on their minds.
The Rewards
At the end of the week, tally how many times your child or student made sugar swaps. Then reward them based on the total number of times a healthy decision was made. A new toothbrush or fun-flavored toothpaste is a great starter reward. Teachers may want to tally the total number of swaps achieved by the whole class over a certain period and adjust the reward system as needed.
Tips for Grown-ups:
Occasional treats are okay, especially if they don’t contain sugar. Try making these tooth-friendly donuts for your family.
A Sugar Swaps Challenge brochure, with complete instructions, templates of the weekly charts, examples of sugar swaps and more, can be viewed and downloaded for parents/teachers and kids.
Participate in our other challenges:
And then take our Smile Smarts Quiz!
Check out our video resources:
We’d love to hear from you how you are creating healthy smiles. Email us your success stories and suggestions for additional challenges at marketing@deltadentalar.com.
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