Ban Easter eggs for children under four or they will pay a high price later in life, psychologist warns

Overeating chocolate treats as a child could lead to unhealthy habits in adult life

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Easter is finally upon us, which means you and your family may already be drowning in chocolate eggs as is archetypal of the confectionery-fuelled holiday.

However, before you start freely distributing cocoa-covered goods to children of all ages like you’re Willy Wonka, consider the health implications, which one psychologist warns could be detrimental in adulthood.

Dr Becky Spelman, chief psychologist at Harley Street’s Private Therapy Clinic, is calling for Easter eggs to be banned for consumption for children under the age of four, claiming that giving them the opportunity to binge on chocolate so young will give them an unhealthy relationship with food later on.

Speaking to The Sun, Spelman explains that Easter is the worst time of year for health-conscious parents as supermarkets are awash with all of the chocolate treats their kids crave, readily-available at very cheap prices.

"This is a nightmare situation for parents of this generation as they have no idea how to teach their children to delay their response to cravings,” she said, explaining that too many young kids binge on these chocolates because their parents don’t know how to stop them.

"Once a child starts overeating behaviour at a young age it’s very hard to turn things around for them in terms of food and their eating habits moving forward, leading to obesity from at very young age," she added.

Plus, she explained that children under the age of four have zero awareness when it comes to their consumption levels and are subsequently at a greater risk of overeating when not under supervision.

In order to combat this, the cognitive behavioural specialist intends to write to health secretary Jeremy Hunt with proposed plans to impose an age restriction on the consumption of Easter eggs.

She argues that larger eggs pose a particular risk, given the propensity to eat more in one sitting, and is calling for these to be labelled as “not suitable for children below four years of age”.

It probably doesn’t help that today’s Easter eggs are a far cry from the humble oval-shaped milk chocolates of the days of yore.

These days, Easter treats are as decadent as they are calorific, with everything from pineapple-shaped and gelato-filled options to truffle-loaded and prosecco-spiked variations available on supermarket shelves.

So, don’t feel too guilty about banning the younger ones of the household from taking part in the seasonal gluttony; evidently, they’ll have plenty of eccentric eggs to look forward to when they grow up.