Sugar Saga

I have written about sugar before.

Since my son started attending the free preschool our city offers, I cannot count how many times he has come home and been suffering from it's effects. Temper tantrums that escalate more quickly than I can fathom and begging for more sugar. There was one week there were three birthdays and all the parents sent in cupcakes and cookies. Then there was the ice cream sundae and pajama days. Mind you, I have absolutely nothing against ice cream and pajamas. Nothing.  But all of this has made me profusely aware at how sensitive my kids are to sugar and how much sugar they Do Not get at home.

A reminder of this happened this past week when I was making cookies. I had planned on making chocolate chip cookies without the cup each of brown and white sugar. My husband of course made the comment that they taste so much better with sugar in them. I shrugged and made them with the sugar. My little test tasters were waiting eagerly for when they were cool enough to try.  1 for everyone, except myself.

I clocked it.

Within half an hour of having the cookies, we had meltdowns involving a very loud and angry screaming fit.
Cursing under my breathe, I scooped all the cookies up, tossed them into a zip lock and up into the top shelf of the cabinet they went.  I then made a orange cranberry cookie without sugar using only honey.

It could of been coincidence. But looking back into my children's eating habits, sugared candies and cookies have never been in the top ten. Strawberries, blueberries, apples, pineapples and carrot sticks reign supreme. Yes, there are natural sugars in fruits and vegetables along with other things like crackers and cereal. But my son doesn't melt down over a hand full of strawberries the way he does over a cookie.

I finally felt like I had reached a breakthrough with my husband on this. While I was making the sugarless batch, I was cursing under my breath about how I feel like I'm the only one who sees it, yet I'm the crazy one, etc.  He countered with that he shouldn't have to give up what he likes because the kids are sensitive to it. Well, that backfired. Since I have been doing my best to live a sugar free life (brief hiatus for the holidays and a baby shower since it's everywhere!)  I have noticed that my kids aren't the only ones who get sugar rage.  I get it and so does my husband. I pointed that out to him and it stopped him in his tracks.  I told him that I have noticed that he gets angry quicker when he has had a sugary snack and that I do too.  The next day when he came home from work, he grabbed what was left of the junk from Christmas and threw them out.  This totally floored me. He then stated that he was no longer eating junk just to eat junk, he was going to only eat what he really enjoyed and only when the kids wouldn't see him. Because, every time he would go for a pop tart or cookie, his little princess also wants a bite. She also seems more apt to want junk than her brother.

Just more compelling evidence that our children follow our eating patterns whether we like it or not.