My kids get an Izzy (a 10-oz can of juice-sweetened soda) as a treat about once a month or so, and a "Zevia" soda (no sugar or calories of any kind) a couple mo

My kids get an Izzy (a 10-oz can of juice-sweetened soda) as a treat about once a month or so, and a "Zevia" soda (no sugar or calories of any kind) a couple more times a month. One kid gets a (small) chocolate milk a 1-3 times a week. That's probably the most sugar either gets (outside of birthday parties and sugar-based holidays); the other will drink water even when she has the option of free soda. Funny thing is that we don't restrict sugar. There's a container of candy in the cupboard that they can eat when they want (they typically ask first, but we rarely say no), but it frequently goes weeks without being touched. Sometimes they'll have a square of chocolate or two, but it's not a regular thing. It turns out that if you "allow" kids to do most anything they want, but give them the tools to think clearly about what is healthy and why, they are perfectly capable of making good choices. I think it's the very restrictions that parents place on kids that makes them crave the same things those parents restrict.