Sugar —> meltdowns?
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Anonymous
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I keep reading that sugar has no connection to behavior in children. But DS is 4 and generally wonderful. He can be cranky at times but generally is distractible or perks up finding something to do. But when he’s had a piece of brownie or, like today, a piece of chocolate, he often ends up having full on screaming/sobbing meltdowns about how he doesn’t feel good, isn’t happy, or needs helps. Does sugary food do this with your kids? Did it make you limit sugar?
He doesn’t do this with high sugar whole Foods like mango or dried fruit or an all fruit popsicle, for example. Just stereotypical “treat” items like chocolate or cookies. |
Anonymous
Anonymous
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I would keep an eye on it, just for your information.
My kid can sometimes react to sugar, but I notice it more when its artificial sweetners or dyes, which I really try to limit. |
Anonymous
| Not everything you read is accurate. Stick with what you know from your experience. |
Anonymous
| This doesn’t count as data, but I definitely see it. I’m a pre-k teacher and when the kids have cupcakes for birthdays they are bonkers 20 minutes later. If they have a healthier muffin when a crunchy mom brings something else in for the birthday not bonkers. So it’s not just the party excitement factor. You know your kid better than others—if he’s sensitive to blood sugar fluctuations then it’s information that will help you help him as he gets older. |
jsmith123
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| I have found this to be true for both me and my children. Chocolate is more of a trigger. It's not as bad they eat a small piece of something along with a meal. But if their entire snack is sugar-based, they definitely go a bit nuts. |
Anonymous
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It was true for my kid almost 30 years ago. (Before a lot of people hopped on the bandwagon) It wasn't just the sugar though, the dye that often goes with it contributed.
He would go into full meltdown and have diahrea. I would also notice bright red ears, and dark circles under his eyes. He felt awful a couple of hours later. Headache, nauseated etc. Try giving him lots of water and protein. If ds had something that set him off some scrambled eggs and bacon would help. |
Anonymous
Most of us are not talking about our kids being "hyper". Angry, full on meltdowns and not feeling well. I posted above. |
Anonymous
| Debunked. An excuse for poorly behaved kids. Drives me crazy. |
Anonymous
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My kid gets sugar with some frequency and I don’t notice any shift in her mood as a result. She is 3.
I will say we generally don’t give her sugar unless she has recently eaten an actual meal or healthy snack. Sugar does tend to stimulate hunger in people (that’s a reason adults are advised to stay away from it if trying to lose weight). So maybe what you read as a sugar high is just a hunger tantrum? Sugar does not fill up a kid and they’ll burn it off super fast. |
Anonymous
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YES. I notice that my son gets very angry and aggressive after he has sugar.
I don’t care that it’s been “debunked”. There is 100% a correlation for my son. He’s a very mellow, meek kid and when he has sugar, he has RAGE. |
Anonymous
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For my kiddo, it's not so much sugar as CHOCOLATE. Let's just say, she was doing laps of my parents' yard yesterday after they gave her Valentines candy LOL.
Not forced laps, crazed laps haha. |
Anonymous
I often feel this way about a lot of things. The phrase "spirited" drives me bananas. Some counselor tried applying that to ds, overlooking the signs that something was actually going on. However, the debunked thing applies to hyperactivity. Kids with problems like OP has mentioned, as well as mine, are not hyperactive. They don't run laps as a PP mentioned. There are physical symptoms that go with it. Part of the problem is people like the teacher and a PP equating something like running laps with a full on meltdown. I doubt some of you have experienced what OP and I are referring to. Op, keep a food diary for a while and eliminate problematic foods. Watch for the red ears, dark circles under the eyes, and sometimes bright red lips. Give plenty of water and protein rich foods. Check for hidden dyes as well, especially in toothpaste. I found regular chips, popcorn or pretzels were ok as occasional treats. Unflavored chips though. |
Anonymous
This is the part the people do not understand. We are not talking about Larla running laps at Grandma's house. |
Anonymous
Just because YOUR kids don’t react poorly to sugar or artificial colors doesn’t mean other kids can’t possibly do so. And an otherwise well-behaved kid acting bizarre after a slurpee doesn’t mean bad parenting. Open up your eyes and stop judging immediately. The world is bigger than your own house. |