A Parent’s Guide by Nalla Mittai (Hosur)

As a parent, you might have noticed this:Your child eats a sweet or biscuit →They get excited for 5–10 minutes →Then suddenly they feel tired, moody,

Helping Your Child Eat Better — Without Stress, Without Sugar Crashes

As a parent, you want to give your children the best foods, the safest snacks, and the healthiest sweets — but today’s market is filled with:

• Processed biscuits

• Maida-heavy bakery snacks

• Refined sugar sweets

• Palm-oil fried items

• Artificial colours

• Packaged junk food

Even snacks that look harmless often contain ingredients that affect your child’s mood, energy, digestion, and even concentration.

This guide by Nalla Mittai will help you understand:

• What’s happening inside your child’s body

• Why modern snacks cause behaviour changes

• How to choose safe sweets

• Healthy evening alternatives

• How jaggery and millets make a difference

• What to avoid

• What to give instead

Let’s break everything down clearly and practically.

🍭 1. Why Children Get Hyper After Eating Sweets (and Then Suddenly Tired)

Most sweets today contain refined sugar.

What sugar does in a child’s body:

Step 1: Sugar spikes energy

Step 2: Body releases insulin

Step 3: Energy drops suddenly

Step 4: Child becomes dull, moody, irritated

This is why you see:

• Hyperactive behaviour

• Followed by sleepiness

• Or crankiness

This is called a sugar crash.

Why jaggery does NOT cause this:

Jaggery (karuppati / naatu sakkarai) releases sugar slowly, giving:

• Stable energy

• Better mood

• Better digestion

• No sudden crash

That’s why jaggery-based sweets are safer, especially in the evening.

🍪 2. Why Bakery Snacks Make Children Sleepy or Bloated

Most bakery items contain:

• Maida

• Vanaspati

• Reused oil

• Permitted colours

• Preservatives

• Essence

Maida (refined flour):

• Has zero fibre

• Digests extremely fast

• Causes acidity

• Spikes sugar

Children feel:

• Sleepy

• Bloated

• Hungry again quickly

• Irritable

Palm oil (reused in many bakeries):

• Hard to digest

• Creates heaviness

• Affects gut health

• Causes constipation

This is why traditional snacks feel light, while bakery items feel heavy.

🌾 3. Why Millets Are Important for Children

Millets such as ragi, kambu, thinai, samai, and varagu are superfoods.

Millets support:

• Long-lasting energy

• Better digestion

• Better focus and memory

• Strong bones (rich in calcium)

• Stable blood sugar

• Less hunger

• No sugar crash

A ragi laddu or millet murukku gives healthy, sustained energy without harming digestion.

🍯 4. Why Jaggery (Karuppati) Is Better Than Sugar

White sugar:

• Is chemically processed

• Contains no nutrients

• Only gives empty calories

• Causes hyperactivity

• Lowers immunity

Karuppati & naatu sakkarai:

• Rich in iron

• Boost immunity

• Support digestion

• Help blood flow

• Safe for kids

• No chemicals

• Natural sweetness

This is why traditional sweets were always healthier.

🧪 5. How to Identify Safe & Unsafe Sweets for Your Child

❌ Avoid sweets that are:

• Too shiny

• Too white (maida)

• Too soft (stabilizers)

• Too colourful (artificial dyes)

• Too cheap (compromised ingredients)

• Strong artificial smell

✔ Good sweets will have:

• Natural colour

• Mild natural aroma

• Simple ingredients

• Honest taste

• No heavy feeling after eating

Healthy sweets should digest light and clean.

👶 6. Safe & Healthy Evening Snacks for Kids

Here are the best alternatives to biscuits, bakery snacks, and sugary sweets:

✔ Ragi Laddu

Rich in calcium & fibre

✔ Peanut Chikki

Protein + good fats

✔ Millet Murukku

Crunchy, filling, no maida

✔ Aval Urundai

Easy digestion, natural carbs

✔ Karuppati Mysurpak

Healthy sweet option

✔ Dry Fruit Laddu

Natural energy boosters

These snacks maintain steady energy levels.

⏰ 7. When Is the Best Time to Give Sweets?

Best Time:

👉 After meals (slows sugar absorption)👉 Evening time with snacks

Worst Time:

❌ Empty stomach❌ Early morning sweet❌ Before school

This keeps energy stable.

🧠 8. How Eating Impacts Your Child’s Mood & Behavior

Food affects:

• Concentration

• Sleep

• Energy stability

• Emotional stability

• Gut health

Good food →Good mood.Good mood →Better learning & behaviour.

💛 9. What Nalla Mittai Offers for Children

Our promise:

• ❌ No Maida

• ❌ No White Sugar

• ❌ No Palm Oil

• ❌ No Artificial Colours

• ❌ No Preservatives

• ✔ Jaggery

• ✔ Millets

• ✔ Groundnuts

• ✔ Cold-pressed oils

• ✔ Real ghee

• ✔ Hand-made sweets

Your child deserves sweets that are healthy, light, clean and honest.

🎉 10. Final Message to Parents

You don’t need to ban sweets.You just need to choose better sweets.

Small changes like:

• Switching to jaggery

• Using millets

• Reducing maida

• Avoiding fried bakery snacks

• Reading ingredients

• Serving homemade-style snacks

…can change your child’s health, mood, digestion, and energy.

At Nalla Mittai, every sweet is crafted to be:

• Clean

• Honest

• Traditional

• Child-safe

• Digestive-friendly

Because food is not just taste —it is health, memory, love, and future.