Last week we were doing great. The kids were behaving amazingly well, due to stepping up the training on our part (us parents) and I was quite happy with how they got along with me, as well as each other (minimal fighting!) I had recently received the paper copy of Raising Godly Tomatoes that I had ordered and had got remotivated to get them back on track. It seems like they do so well for such a long time, that I forget and don't even notice the slight decay in their behavior until it blasts me right in the face. But, since baby #4 has come along, things have been slipping. Being tardy, neglectful and just plain not listening very well have become more the norm than the exception. I don't blame the kids, as they are just that - kids. It was time to get back in the swing of things again though. Even Elise was doing her tasks "qwick-wy and cheewfowwy" (quickly and cheerfully) as is required in our house.
This week is the complete opposite. It's as if their ears don't work at all, I'm getting irritated (to say the least) and nothing is going smoothly. In trying to figure out why, I came up with a possible cause. I really think that culprit is sugar. Over the weekend they indulged in a whack of Valentine's candy (it was on clearance, loaded also with red #40) and then some huge, delicious cinnamon rolls, some apple crisp and who knows what else. Normally our house is pretty limited in the sugar department, and I can't figure out how else my beautiful children could so quickly turn into delinquents. Then I remember my sister saying that whenever one of her kids ate candy when he was young, it took a week to get him back into the sweet boy she knew he was. The combination of sugar and dyes just was too much for him.
It's no wonder that if this much junk food can do this to my kids, what's it doing to our nation? No wonder so many kids are diagnosed with ADD and all sorts of other attention problems. Pretty much every packaged food has some sort of either sugar or dye to make it more attractive. We try to make as much food from scratch to avoid those things in our own house, but how many other homes pay no attention to the amount of sugar their kids take in. And then they wonder why they get no respect and the kids don't listen. And the kids pay the price now (for repeated punishment) as well as likely not feeling very well overall, possible medications in severe cases and then a life of health problems in the future. Sad.
I was also reminded of this video I saw a while back. I tried to share it on here but was unable, so you'll have to click on the link and then watch it there.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/jamie-oliver-fills-school-bus-with-sugar-on-food-revolution/2011/04/13/AFOk2WVD_blog.html
I love sweets myself, but limit them mostly because if they are in the house, I eat them. Eat.Them.All. So, if I can't put restraints on myself, I can see how much harder it is for a child who doesn't have all the guilt/knowledge of how detrimental the excess can be. We won't even start on the damage to teeth. I'd rather not have to worry about it. Just have some on occasion and call it good. But, apparently this weekend it was just a little too good. Oh, and they all got sick (colds) too. Double whammy.
This week is the complete opposite. It's as if their ears don't work at all, I'm getting irritated (to say the least) and nothing is going smoothly. In trying to figure out why, I came up with a possible cause. I really think that culprit is sugar. Over the weekend they indulged in a whack of Valentine's candy (it was on clearance, loaded also with red #40) and then some huge, delicious cinnamon rolls, some apple crisp and who knows what else. Normally our house is pretty limited in the sugar department, and I can't figure out how else my beautiful children could so quickly turn into delinquents. Then I remember my sister saying that whenever one of her kids ate candy when he was young, it took a week to get him back into the sweet boy she knew he was. The combination of sugar and dyes just was too much for him.
It's no wonder that if this much junk food can do this to my kids, what's it doing to our nation? No wonder so many kids are diagnosed with ADD and all sorts of other attention problems. Pretty much every packaged food has some sort of either sugar or dye to make it more attractive. We try to make as much food from scratch to avoid those things in our own house, but how many other homes pay no attention to the amount of sugar their kids take in. And then they wonder why they get no respect and the kids don't listen. And the kids pay the price now (for repeated punishment) as well as likely not feeling very well overall, possible medications in severe cases and then a life of health problems in the future. Sad.
I was also reminded of this video I saw a while back. I tried to share it on here but was unable, so you'll have to click on the link and then watch it there.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/jamie-oliver-fills-school-bus-with-sugar-on-food-revolution/2011/04/13/AFOk2WVD_blog.html
I love sweets myself, but limit them mostly because if they are in the house, I eat them. Eat.Them.All. So, if I can't put restraints on myself, I can see how much harder it is for a child who doesn't have all the guilt/knowledge of how detrimental the excess can be. We won't even start on the damage to teeth. I'd rather not have to worry about it. Just have some on occasion and call it good. But, apparently this weekend it was just a little too good. Oh, and they all got sick (colds) too. Double whammy.
