Do some parents give their children sweets just to make them smile?

[ginnyinWI]

1. yes and it might well be subconscious

Parents of adult children still want to be relevant to their children--to brighten their day or lift their load. They don't see the potential harm it can cause, having sweets and desserts around all the time for someone who is trying to keep weight off. Sugar can be a very addicting thing, and I've just been reading how it is metabolically active: that is, the sugar keeps a lot of insulin circulating which stimulates the appetite, suppresses satiety hormones, and puts on pounds. It's more than just the calories--it works against weight loss big time.

Long time dieters know how food= love so often, and meet a lot of resistance from family members who want to keep on giving that "love". Better to give hugs and kisses, right? From little on, we reward kids with food or make them feel better when they scrape their knee with a sweet. Hard habit to break.