Corey and I both love sweets, so our kids didn't really stand a chance. It's hard trying to teach a kid about self control though, when it comes to chocolate and candy. "Why can't I have more marshmallows?" Erika kept asking me over and over again one day. So, I took her to the computer and showed her a food pyramid. And we talked about the things she can eat lots and lots of, and the things that need a little moderation. To really drive the point home, we made our own food pyramid chart to hang in our dining room.

First we went through some old Real Simple magazines and cut out pictures of food (grocery store circulars would be great for this, too). Then we talked about where they went on the chart, and glued them into place.







And then we made these.



I know. I'm evil, right? But you know what? Erika ate her dinner with enthusiasm that night, telling us where each food fell on the food pyramid. She ate her brownie and totally understood why she could not have a second piece.