If you’ve ever fed a child breakfast, you know the possible perils of teaching kids to read food labels.

Experts say it will lead to wiser food choices, encourage portion control and combat childhood obesity.

We say it will lead to, "I’m not eating those eggs until you tell me the sodium content!"

The experts beg to differ. We’re all ears.

"You have to present it as a positive way to help you decide why one choice is better than the other one," says pediatrician Mary Lou Gavin, medical editor at KidsHealth.org. "You never want to make it a fearful thing where you’re telling them to stay away from certain foods or numbers."

And how exactly do you manage that? Here’s how, Gavin says:

Start small. "My own daughter would not drink milk from a very young age," says Gavin. "When she was old enough to start reading, I started pointing out the calcium line and she would start checking too. ‘Oh, I had this to eat and it had 20 percent calcium.’" Sugar and fiber are a couple easy ones to tackle first.

Connect the dots. "You have to teach why it’s important as more than a number," says Gavin. "Fiber will make it easier for you to go to the bathroom and help you feel full longer. Calcium will help you have strong bones so you can run and play. If we see a bunch of zeros, we know it’s not the best for you. If we see numbers, it’s better for you."

Skip fat and calorie-counting. "Unless your child has a diagnosed weight problem or something has a very high fat content, keep the conversations to nutrients and what makes the food good for you," she says

Encourage balance. Rather than criminalizing certain label items, teach your child to go for variety. "We need some fat energy. We need some sugar energy," says Gavin. "But we want to look for a balance of nutrients in our foods so we’re getting everything we need."

Teach them to compare. "Hold up two cereals at the store: ‘This one has 5 grams of sugar, this one has 26 grams. Sugar tastes good, but too much of it isn’t good for us.’"

Go beyond vitamins. If your child is old enough to process a little extra information, explain that a high vitamin C count, for example, does not a healthy snack make. "I participated in a Girl Scout activity where I had them look at a variety of foods and find the healthy item," says Gavin.

"They all chose the fruit snacks because they said 100 percent vitamin C on the package. I had to explain that vitamin C is an important nutrient, but sugar was the first ingredient and there was no fiber and no real fruit. You’re teaching them to be savvy consumers as they become old enough to understand what that means."