An expert has just blown away something we’ve always believed.
We’ve all seen it. Or at least we think we’ve seen it. Kids scoffing cake, lollies and sugary drinks at a party, then losing their minds.
“Sugar rush,” we all say, nodding knowingly, as our kids race around and around in circles, knocking over ornaments, trampling plants and terrifying pets.
But an expert thinks we’ve been kidding ourselves all this time.
“Sugar does not increase the activity of children,” insists David Benton, professor of psychology at Swansea University in the UK. “Children get hyperactive at a party, running around wild and winding themselves up. The child knows they can let themselves go so they do. But there is a very clear message that sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children.”
Professor Benton, who specialises in the influence of food on mood, claims he has the research to back him up.
“I’ve done work where we gave glucose to many hundreds of people and I am absolutely confident it doesn’t make people feel energetic. It just doesn’t, I’m afraid.”
Here’s a video showing how American kids react when their parents say they’ve eaten all their Halloween candy. Post continues after video.
Professor Benton believes parents at parties expect that sugar will make their children behave badly, and this just makes the situation worse.
“Because the mother anticipated a problem, they put their child on a much shorter rein and interpreted behaviour differently.”
Sugar has taken a lot of the blame over the years for kids’ behavioural problems, including ADHD. But a study in 2010 showed that ADHD was a genetic condition, and a poor diet wasn’t the cause.
So what excuses can we use now when our kids run wild at a party? Can we blame other people’s children? Should we take a look at our own parenting? Should we just accept that kids will be kids, and prepare to clean up after them?
Or is this professor completely wrong?
Do you think sugar has an influence on your child’s behaviour?
Want more? Try:
Six lessons every parent learns from hosting a kids’ birthday party.
