I have a little mantra — comparison is the thief of joy — and I have to remind myself of it often. Half-term was a perfect example. I’d taken the week off to hang out with the kids as I’d been working so many evenings. The girls are 7 and 5 now and I really love this age. Sure there are some meltdowns (mainly mine, ha ha) but they are great company.

In my head, it was all fun and laughter with lots of lazy mornings and afternoon adventures. Reality bites though! On Tuesday morning, my completely awesome craft activity descended into an epic argument over one particular seashell. The children were yelling, doors were slamming, the cats were walking through paint and I stepped on the hot glue gun just as the maintenance man arrived. I greeted him with a string of expletives and tears in my eyes. I am pretty sure he thought I was a crazy woman.

As I cooled off with a cup of tea and a bit of Facebook, pictures from friends at Disney flooded my newsfeed. Here were all these awesome family photos and my girls were upstairs in time out. Hmph. I had to remind myself that Facebook is a highlight reel and to get myself together.

The Disney pictures were a good prompt though. Last year, at Animal Kingdom, I had an epiphany in the animal hospital. They have a dedicated animal nutrition centre that puts together specialised diets for more than 3,000 mammals, birds, reptiles and types of fish. They go to extraordinary lengths to make sure that the animals in their care receive optimal nutrition — with food being directly fed or placed throughout their habitat to encourage natural foraging behaviours.

We saw fruit, vegetables, crickets, meal worms, meat, fish ... all allocated to species-appropriate distribution. It was impressive. Then we left. And the first thing we saw as we exited the doors was a snack stand selling candyfloss and soda.

Hmmmm. It’s interesting isn’t it? If we had seen the animals being fed junk food, how would we have felt? Let’s imagine they were given some Cheetos and fruit punch to drink. Would that have been cool? Let’s imagine too that the animals were exhibiting signs of weight gain and disease. Would we classify it as cruelty? And if we would, why are we OK with doing it to ourselves?

We’re animals too, after all. We don’t thrive on junk food and yet we eat hyper-processed fats and refined sugars in massive quantities. We get upset with ourselves because we’re piling on weight, we get irritable because we’re tired all the time, we suffer from heartburn and constipation and headaches and high blood pressure. I am pretty sure they’re not handing out laxatives and Nexium to the animals.

When you buy a meal at Animal Kingdom, you’ll often get a little note on your tray. It says, “Do not feed the animals. Your yummies are not good for our tummies”. There’s a picture of Pumba and Timon eating hot dogs, ice cream, popcorn and French fries. We know that’s not right for them. Why is it right for us?

Every day we put seat belts on our children in cars. We put helmets on them if they ride bikes. We expect them to continue these behaviours into adulthood because these measures can save their lives. But I guarantee you this: as adults, more of our children will suffer — or die early — as a result of food-related chronic disease than from traffic accidents. I know that sounds heavy-handed and alarmist, but it’s true, isn’t it?

We connect with the health and safety logic of seat belts and helmets because the cause and effect is immediate. We connect less willingly to the cause and effect of healthy eating because the impact is cumulative. It’s OK, we tell ourselves, we can eat better tomorrow.

Let me acknowledge that my children don’t eat perfectly. Absolutely they sometimes eat junk. I am not going to impose my will on them all the time and I won’t make them sit on the sidelines while their friends do special things such as decorate cupcakes or have birthday cake.

You will see me sometimes saying no but that will be because in the overall scheme of the day, or week, they have already had enough. Usually they understand and are fine with it but sometimes they’re not. I hate to be the party pooper then, but that’s when I have to use the seat belt analogy. I place a cap on eating junk because it’s my job to keep them safe. Just like I make them wear a seatbelt or a helmet.

Everyone parents differently. You will all have your own boundaries regarding what is acceptable (or not) for you and your family. I am not passing judgment if I see your child eating junk, because maybe that’s the only “junk” item they have had all week. The sugar intake limits I recommend (aside from sugars naturally occurring in fresh fruit or dairy) are as follows:

• Four to six years old: 19 grams or five teaspoons sugar maximum daily

• Seven to ten years old: 24g or 6 tsp sugar maximum daily

• Eleven-plus years old (including adults): 30g or seven tsp sugar maximum daily

Given that one fruit-flavoured yoghurt can contain seven tsp sugar already, you can see how easy it is to go overboard. That’s before the everyday juice or cookies and before the birthday parties and other celebrations.

Our food environment is incredibly challenging. Sugary drinks and food (not to mention all the other junk options) are everywhere. Setting a cap and saying no can mean picking a battle but I think it’s a battle worth fighting.

• The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns BA Hons, Dip ION is the managing director of Natural Ltd and a fully qualified nutritional therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the UK. Please note that she is not a registered dietitian. For details, please go to www.natural.bm or call 236-7511. Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nutrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda