My 5 year old has a really sweet tooth and constantly pesters for sweets - which drives me mad. So much so that although she has a good appetite and eats a fairly healthy diet I am thinking of banning sweets altogether. However, I'm not sure that this would be the best way to handle it. Can you offer any advice?

Bans on sweets (or any food for that matter) rarely work and usually only make a child want them even more. Instead, try talking to your child about the pro's and cons of eating sweets. Explain to them how sugary foods can lead to tooth decay and what they can do to minimize the chances of that happening such as limiting the amount they eat, not snacking on sugary foods between meals and regularly brushing their teeth. Children are often very visual learners so, if you want to re-enforce the point further, when she begins to lose her first milk teeth, (if you can bear to part with one) try putting it in a glass of cola and then let her see for herself how quickly it erodes away (often within the space of just 24 hours). Of course, the idea is not to scare her away from sugary foods, simply to develop a good understanding of why it is that eating large amount of sweets or consuming lots of sugary drinks particularly between meals or early in the day is not a good idea. Once she understands this she is likely to pester less.

Another way of reducing the pestering that you mention is to decide together on a specific time of the day/week when you both think sweets should be allowed. This might be one evening a week or maybe she will be allowed to have one or two sweets after her evening meal, shortly before brushing her teeth. Once these times are agreed on she we quickly learn that there is little point in pestering at other times of the day or week. Make sure too that you never offer sweets as a reward or bribe. This only serves to reinforce the idea that sweets are far more desirable than other foods. Instead, try using a reward chart offering gold stars or stickers for good behaviour, maybe with the understanding that when she gets a set amount she would be allowed a treat of her choice. (For a fantastic selection of really motivational reward charts visit www.rewardcharts.com)

Finally, try offering fresh and dried fruits too. Often, it is just the sweetness that a child craves and a packet of raisins or some semi-dried apricots or papaya can offer the taste without all the refined sugar and additives of traditional sweets.