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Forget the romance. We spent Valentine’s night helping our seven-year-old nurse a hangover. I felt like I was back in college watching one of my roommates rock back and forth in the fetal position while vowing to never drink again.
And, no, my daughter hadn’t been pounding beers – she’d been pounding sugar all day. And from the looks of her, it had been the equivalent of about a twelve-pack.
She was curled up on the couch moaning, "Sugar! Sugar! All day I felt like sugar was chasing me." And it was.
Then she swore she’d never touch the stuff again – even the smell of candy made her gag, until the next day when she’d slept it off and decided that maybe “a little treat wouldn’t hurt.”
We collected more candy on Valentine’s Day then we did at Halloween. I know I’ve ranted about sugar here before, and here I go again.
I’m sorry to be the one to kill the sugar buzz, but can we stop the insanity?!
Really, folks, why do we shove sugar at kids every chance we get? At the bank, at the hair salon, at school, at the grocery store – everywhere people are handing out sweets.
I know they mean well and they don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, but it’s as if some adults offer candy as a substitute for otherwise interacting with kids – like they don’t know what to talk about with a child, so they resort to a sugar bribe. How about handing out nickels and dimes, instead?
Occasionally my daughter politely declines the sweets, but it’s really hard to pass up the temptation when it’s pushed on her like crack to an addict.
Do yourself a favor and don’t ever mention to one of the other parents that maybe first graders don’t need cupcakes and brownies and gummy worms and cookies for every birthday and every holiday. At the mere suggestion of moderation you’ll be branded the Grinch who’s trying to steal the very childhood from these poor kids who just want to have some fun.
I’ve read about the studies that show no link between sugar and hyper-activity or HDAD. Fine – it doesn’t make them hyper. But too much sugar makes kids (and adults) feel like crap and weakens their immune system. I don’t need a scientific study to prove what I can see with my own parental eyes.
I’m only a partial sugar Grinch. I’m all for occasional trips to the ice-cream store and for putting a special treat in school lunch boxes. My wife loves bonding with our kids while making cookies. And their grandmother bonds by teaching them the craft of home made lollipops. I’m just trying to instill some moderation.
Here’s the other thing: added Sugar (that is anything other than what occurs naturally in whole fruits and vegetables) is considered by some scientists and physicians to be a poison and should be classified the same as alcohol and tobacco. I fully agree.
Sugar not only has absolutely no nutritional value, it’s flat out unhealthy. The body (if it must) can tolerate sugar at very low doses, but it doesn’t take much to be harmful. Three to four teaspoons a day is the max for kids, according to the American Heart Association. That’s less than what is in an eight-ounce container of fruit yogurt. Oy, and I had always considered that a healthy snack.
Here’s an article about sugar from the NY Times Magazine that’ll scare you straight. (Is Sugar Toxic?) It cites the work of Dr. Robert Lustig who lectures about sugar in our diet. His YouTube video has more than two million hits. Check it out here.
I kind of agree with you about the fact that some children ingest way too much sugar. However, I don't think that carrot sticks really say, "Happy Valentine's Day!" I am all for having fun and sweet things for celebrations. That's just the way I feel. But, I don't give sugary stuff to my son every single day. I know some parents who do and have even been with them when they order a soda for the kids to drink at a meal. My son gets milk or water. He has had rootbeer, but not very often. I don't think children should be deprived of yummy things but I think we as parents should monitor what they eat and teach them to maybe choose a fruit or vegetable over a cupcake.
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