I have never liked allowing my children candy. Not because I don't want them to have it, but the way they act after eat it. It is almost like they get a "high" after eating it. For Easter my mother got their baskets full of sweet treats. They ate some of it, then I took it away from them. That night they were jumping, running, giggling playing well together, but non-stop high energy.
Yesterday morning my 4 yr old daughter got into some of that candy without me realizing. I took it away and off to preschool we went.
She was very defiant, out of control and bouncing off "walls" per say. When the school called the 1st time I spoke to her on the phone and asked her what is going on. " I am being bad!" like she knew exactly what she was doing. I got on to her. The teacher and I came up with a plan to work with her through the day. It only got worse and an hour later we got the other phone call. (SIDE NOTE) My daughter has never had behavior issues at school. She has always been the little helper with the 2-3 yr olds, being the little momma. The children all run to her and offer hugs to her every morning when she gets there and before she leaves. Daddy is a diabetic.
Grandma went to get her (she doesn't work) and took her home. She was firm with her and laid out the law, she minded her well. Then grandpa brought home frosty’s from Wendy’s for her and my son (who was off the bus by then). Once again she was fine until she had more sugar. My question to you momma's is do you think some children have extreme reactions to sugar verses other children.
Oh yes there are differences. My older daughter hardly reacts at all to sugar when she has it which is not often, but my younger daughter will literally bounce off the walls. She is high energy without sugar, but when you do give her some look out. I mean it she has been so hyper she has run into walls because she is just out of control.
My niece has some really bad behavior reactions to Red Dye #40. She is extreme when she has this stuff.
Sugar makes kids sleepy. Sugar is a quick quick burst of energy then it quickly dissipates. Research has shown sugar has little effect on kids. The old studies done were found to be falsified.
It us almost always an additive in the food, like red dye #40 or caffeine. Find out what additives the foods they ate had in common then start watching for them in all foods.
My friend has this step son that the dad felt the same way you do about sugar. She cooked from scratch and hardly ever even bought a cake mix. She showed him how good the son was acting then gave him something with red dye #40 in it. The kid was bouncing off the walls for hours and hours. She started going through the stuff in the cabinets for before she moved in and took all the foods out that had it. The boy went right back to being a wonderful well behaved child.
So, I would look at the labels of the candy and see what artificial additives there are and see what may be the actual culprit here so you can watch for it in other foods too.
My daughter acts this way too. I rarely give her sweets because she gets so nutty and refuses to listen. Some of the dyes they use also make her nutty as well.
My husband told me I was depriving her because I would not let her eat ANY candy or sweets until after she turned two (she is 5 now). She was never in daycare and spent all her time with me so I knew no one was giving her sweets. I can easily tell when Grandma or my husband gives her candy and now they are seeing the difference in her too.
All other things being equal, some children react to sugar more strongly than others. One of my granddaughters almost literally bounces off the walls when she has a high sugar intake.
So you're wise to limit it. It's difficult when there seems to be sugar in everything, but do your best.
Have you talked to your daughter about why she might have been "being bad," as she puts it? You might ask her to think about how she feels, physically, when she has candy and when she doesn't.
Has your daughter been tested for diabetes, since it runs in the family? If not, it would be a good idea to know exactly where she is in that regard.
Sugar doesn't actually effect you like that. Sure it gives you a small boost of energy but pretty much how you feel after you eat a big piece of cake is the same way your kids feel.
Still since you saw a reaction I would look into what was artificial in the products. There was a red dye that effected my oldest in a way that could only be described as a wind up toy. It was actually scary to watch.
After learning the culprit I found it is in a lot of products in small amounts. I just had to keep an eye out for the reaction if there was none I figured it was a low amount.
Still it had nothing to do with the sugar in the product, ya know?
Sugar is pretty much an addictive poison that we all need to step away from.
My son eats sugar every day. In moderation. If he has too much he actually gets mean. Not a good quality. Doesn't mean I have to eliminate sugar altogether, just have to keep an eye on how much he has. Btw, I noticed I have the same reaction, around Halloween when I tend to overindulge, I become over tired, moody, cranky and a flat out "B".
Yes, my son reacts poorly to refined sugar - he often acts like an overstimulated/hungry/tired or all of the above toddler when he has too much refined sugar. Small doses are not too bad for my son but more than one bite sized peice or a few oz of a shake or frosty or something like that and our day is done!
Oh yeah. My kids never got crazy after having sugar. But a friend of mine onece told me that when she was younger, she would get this total energy burst about 1/2 hour or so after eating something high in sugar. Her mom tried to keep sugar times down to a minimum and tried to find an outlet for her when ther was sugar--like a visit to the park or something. Her brother did not have a problem and could totally chill out after eating candy or something else. She will not drink any soda because she feels "funny" after from the sugar--tea is straight, no sugar. She tried this with her kids and one son is the same, the other son and her daughter have no effect.
Yes, I think some children have reactions to sugar, and others don't. Neither of my boys have any reaction to sugar, but I still don't want them eating much of it. I have friends who have children who definitely react to sugar. It just depends on the child. Either way, I don't feel that any of us need much sugar. It would be nice if you could get the grandparents on the same page as you. Good for you for recognizing that sugar intake may be the issue, and attempting to limit her sugar intake.
Absolutely! My children would bounce off the walls with all the medicines that said "would make them sleepy"!!! I had to call the pediatrician thinking the pharmacy gave me the wrong medications. Then if you would give them chocolate they would calm down. If they drink coffee, (which is not often at all) they are fine, it calms them down.
So just keep the sweets out of the house! and give them a little candy or sweets only when they are home :) lol or when you send them to your mother's house lol (jk)
Blessings
My daughter reacts to high fructose corn syrup and dyes. Sugar seems to make her hyper, but not as bad.
