Yesterday we went out to get the laundry done at the Laundromat (washing machine is broken, have purchased a new one, but there is a 2 week wait). It was a bit of a production to get everyone and the clothes to the laundromat, but this was achieved. As it was Sunday no one was around, so we had our pick of the washing machines. I organised all the clothes and set up the washing machines to start, all 4 washing machines would have the laundry done in under 30mins. While we waited we all went off to get some food and other shopping.
The girls were a bit out of sorts as I think they were over tired. Saturday they spent the day with our friends while we were at a friend’s birthday party in the city. James and I had a great time and it was so nice to see our friends once again. Pity we could not carry on all night. We had a great day and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
We were told that the girls were very well behaved and good for our friends. This was not the case yesterday. Sunday the girls were little monsters. Not only did they start the day tired, they just got worse as the day progressed. Biting, kicking, hitting, pushing and if you can think it, it probably happened yesterday.
After lunch I had a square of dark chocolate and the girls asked to have some too. I saw no harm in this as they have chocolate every now and then, and it was after lunch. I did not think about the ramifications of a sugar overload or effects on kids who hardly have sugar, but this I think was my downfall, as you will see by reading on…It was the chocolate I tell you.
The little monkeys were running up and down the hallway, getting toys all over the place and getting things out to play with left, right and centre. It was chaos. Julia was being incredibly naughty and James was trying to sort it out, however this was met with a very headstrong and upset Julia. She tried to throw things at daddy and if they were not weighed down it might have done some damage. Lillian had the same annoyance and naughtiness bug hit her also, and she scratched daddy, he was unaware until she mentioned there was blood and she left to get a towel to fix it.
I needed to be online to talk to my group for university; we are doing our group assignment, so during this period James decided to take the kids to the park. I believe that this idea was for them to burn off energy and get tired, so they could go to bed. This however did not happen; when the girls came home they were more revved up than before.
We both looked at each other and were shaking our heads, what was wrong with the girls? What did they eat? What could be causing this burst of activity? It was then that I recalled that I gave them the chocolate. We think it was due to the chocolate that they were so all over the place. Has this happened to you? Does your child act strange after sugary treats?
I was curious and decided to search the internet to see if sugar/chocolate can be responsible for this behaviour – From what I have read there appears to be no link. Two of the links are suggesting that it could be additives in the candy that kids eat, or it could be the way the body processes the refined sugar and how it eventually wears off.
I am not sure if sugar is responsible. I really think that the girls like anyone, get moody, upset and angry when over tired. Maybe the chocolate did not help. However, they hardly have chocolate and candy, they have it very sparingly.
What do you think? Is sugar causing kids to run wild? Does a spike in sugar make them turn into little monsters? What do you do when this happens at your household? Send in your comments. Remember to vote for us for Best Australian Blog.