Kids & sugar

[Moemg]

It's been a really long time since I've raised kids so I need some of the younger board members advice . My SO's granchildren act out all the time .At first I thought it was lack of discipline but now I'm wondering if some of it is their diet .They eat candy,cake ,corndogs ,smucker's uncrustable's,hotdogs and tons of procesed food .Their parents are very educated Just very busy . Do you think there is a connection between their behavior and their diets ?

 

[W2R]

Absolutely there is a connection, at least for some kids. The same is true for some adults, but to a lesser extent.

Unfortunately, kids whose parents let them eat sugary unhealthy foods all the time, often don't bother to discipline them either. So, it's not necessarily an either/or situation.

Oh - - forgot to add, I am 59 but had a kid who didn't do well with high quantities of sugar. You just don't forget that when changing the diet causes day-and-night differences.

 

[ERD50]

They eat candy,cake ,corndogs ,smucker's uncrustable's,hotdogs and tons of procesed food .

Their parents are very educated Just very busy .

I'm not certain of a connection between food and behavior (though I expect that there is one), but I think there is a disconnect in those two statements.

That just does not seem like a well balanced diet, and I would hope that educated people would be more attentive to such things.

I'm not in any kind of war against processed foods, but I think 'moderation' is prudent, as is a variety of foods. Highly processed foods tend to be mix of the same stuff, just different combinations (fats, sugars, refined carbs).

The fact that they allow them to eat like that may say more about their role as parents than what the food itself is doing to them.

JMO.

-ERD50

edit/PS: I see W2R made much the same comment - I agree!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Hmm, as a parent who just enjoyed taking his son out for his first "real" trick or treating, had him eat a bunch of candy at 8pm and then not be able to get him to bed until 90 minutes later than the usual bedtime, while he was whiny and grump and running around the house like his tail was on fire....YES sugar has an effect.

Low and high blood sugar has an enormous effect on behavior.

 

[W2R]

Hmm, as a parent who just enjoyed taking his son out for his first "real" trick or treating, had him eat a bunch of candy at 8pm and then not be able to get him to bed until 90 minutes later than the usual bedtime, while he was whiny and grump and running around the house like his tail was on fire....YES sugar has an effect.

Low and high blood sugar has an enormous effect on behavior.

Boy oh boy, do I remember THOSE days!!! Christina responded in much the same way and usually ended up throwing a huge tantrum after trick-or-treating. Or, every time my in-laws visited and brought her lots of candy (which I did not normally allow).

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

He wants to know where his bag of candy is. I told him momma hid it and I dont know.

That'll be good until 7:30 tonight when she gets home...

 

[bright eyed]

Heck yah!

My kids are allowed one treat a day - that includes cookies, chocolate, whatever, and it is always after noon and before 6.

You can see the direct effect - they jump around, get hyper, and sometimes even shake their heads like crazy people.

One of the things they tell parents of kids that may have or are diagnosed w/ ADD or ADHD to do is to change their kids diet.

It's not just sugar, artificial colorings can cause hyperactivity and some kids are particularly sensitive. For some reason, it is common for Vets to warn dog owners (particularly of small dogs) to avoid giving them human food w/ food coloring because of this, yet we let our kids have this stuff all the time!

i think sometimes we feel like those processed foods give us a break, but we forget how simple it is to make a pb&j and don't need to buy the pre made ones! it's worth the effort!

But aside from their diet, it could also be the acting out is to get the attention of the busy parents...then the busy parents quiet them down (or end the harassment) w/ treats...etc etc...

Also, aside from the food - a lot of kids get soda, and soda w/ caffeine which compounds the problem...

 

[W2R]

He wants to know where his bag of candy is. I told him momma hid it and I dont know.

That'll be good until 7:30 tonight when she gets home...

When we moved from San Diego to Texas I told her (age 5 at the time) that the "sno-cone machine" (with sugary syrups) that her grandparents gave her was in a moving box somewhere and not unpacked yet. She finally figured it out towards the end of high school.

I felt so guilty about lying - - I gave it to the neighbor's adopted 3-year-old son in California. His mother was slender and beautiful, and didn't restrict sugar at all. The child developed diabetes, which I hope was not due to the sno-cone machine!

 

[Sandy]

Yes, a steady diet of sugar and junk food has a negative effect on behavior - hyper one minute, crashing and cranky the next. Easier to see when the sugar is dispensed in a large quantity and infreqently (Can you say Halloween?). Even a daily sugar or junk food fix is generally not so bad for all but the most sensitive kids, as long as the rest of the intake is more wholesome.

Add in parents who are too busy or too tired to ensure consistent correction and redirection or to notice that diet effects their behavior and you get out of control kids who no one else wants to be around.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I felt so guilty about lying

I was in sales and marketing. What is this 'lying' thing you speak of? While we're on the topic, whats 'guilt' mean?

In fact, I'm sure my wife hid the bag but i'm not 100% sure of where it is. So unless I go look and confirm my suspicion, I may fully and honestly say that momma hid it and I dont know for sure where it is.

 

[lucija]

Hate to be a in a minority here, but sugar has no visible effect what-so-ever on my kids.

In general (not the case yesterday) they both eat a variety of pretty healthy food and they both are on the hyper (energetic, not out of control) side more or less at all times. Apparently, a yogurt & a banana are enough for my kid to act like a Tasmanian devil...

I am confident (although I never want to actually try this), my older one can have a whole cake and wash it down with a gallon of soda and I would not notice a difference in her behavior!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Some people (and kids) have good insulin systems to offset sugar. Some dont.

The good ones turn bad sometimes.

 

[honobob]

Was it Willie Nelson that replied "Sugar" when asked what was the first drug he used?

 

[bright eyed]

Hate to be a in a minority here, but sugar has no visible effect what-so-ever on my kids.

In general (not the case yesterday) they both eat a variety of pretty healthy food and they both are on the hyper (energetic, not out of control) side more or less at all times. Apparently, a yogurt & a banana are enough for my kid to act like a Tasmanian devil...

I am confident (although I never want to actually try this), my older one can have a whole cake and wash it down with a gallon of soda and I would not notice a difference in her behavior!

some of those yogurts have as much sugar as candy

 

[Moemg]

Thanks for confirming what I thought might be a problem but now how do I politely mention it or maybe I'll just have my SO bring it up . I rarely gave my own kids sugary anything . They used to beg for lucky charms cereal ( no way ) .They were active but these kids are hyper,whiney ,cranky and out of control.

 

[lucija]

some of those yogurts have as much sugar as candy

They have never met a yogurt they did not like, but like the "plain" one best (go figure)...

 

[mickj]

I was in sales and marketing. What is this 'lying' thing you speak of? While we're on the topic, whats 'guilt' mean?

In fact, I'm sure my wife hid the bag but i'm not 100% sure of where it is. So unless I go look and confirm my suspicion, I may fully and honestly say that momma hid it and I dont know for sure where it is.

That depends on what the definition of "is" is.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

[bubba]It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If 'is' means is and never has been, that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, do you know where the candy bag is, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true.[/bubba]

My plan for tomorrow is to take some Lunesta and make sure my wife knows 30 minutes later to tell me to go hide the candy bag. I'll have no short term memory retention of where I put it. If that works, rinse and repeat!

 

[bright eyed]

. They used to beg for lucky charms cereal ( no way ) .They were active but these kids are hyper,whiney ,cranky and out of control.

my 5 year old (3 at the time) cuted her way to chocolate lucky charms on visits to the grocery store w/ grandpa...they found a way to add more sugar!

 

[bright eyed]

They have never met a yogurt they did not like, but like the "plain" one best (go figure)...

ah yes, then you must have some organically hyper kids

 

[lucija]

Quote:
Originally Posted by lucija
They have never met a yogurt they did not like, but like the "plain" one best (go figure)...

ah yes, then you must have some organically hyper kids

Yes, I would have to agree... About 2 yrs ago (my older one is now 4), I thought her "energy rush" may be due to food sensitivity... so we dropped out all of the possible culprits from her diet... and... no change. It is as though she gets a "sugar rush" from breathing the air... she is on the run with a smile on her face 15+ hours a day... never stops, never slows down. (Great quality when you're running through an overseas airport in the middle of night, not so great when you have to deal with her day in and day out.)

 

[MikeD]

Speaking as a "former" diabetic

Bananas pack a sugar wallop. They also have lots of potassium which affects how insulin is utilized. I'm not sure of the mechanism but in my experience, bananas send the blood sugar soaring and then the poor pancreas tries to catch up and...

Mike D.

 

[TromboneAl]

No, there's no "sugar high" -- kids are not hyper after eating a lot of sugar. It's been thoroughly debunked by studies, and we've discussed it before on this forum. A kid may be hyper after the long-awaited Halloween arrives, he gets to go trick or treating with his Dad, wear a costume and get free candy, but it's not the sugar. This myth will never die.

Don't make me stop this car and get references, 'cause I'll do it. If you guys don't settle down right now, I'm going to turn around and we'll go right home.

Also, the guy who started the Bigfoot hoax confessed, yet we still have a Bigfoot museum around here, and people still hunt for Bigfoot.

The guys who made the very first crop circles confessed and showed how they did it, but there are still millions of crop circle spaceship believers.

 

[bright eyed]

T-Al, why don't we drop off our little ones at your place and you can experiment with them for the day?

 

[REWahoo]

T-Al, why don't we drop off our little ones at your place and you can experiment with them for the day?

Good one!