It's November and your child now has pounds of candy. Some of it is actually tasty, some is nothing but corn syrup covered sugar. And unless your kids received a popcorn ball, there's nothing that even resembles healthy.
Teachers dread November 1st and the several days afterwards. They know that kids eat their candy and are bundles of energy. Schoolwork suffers in these couple of days.
Why should this be? Here's a quick look at what candy and sugar does: In every person alive, when you eat sugar, it give you a sugar high and short-term increased energy. What isn't used for energy is stored in fat cells for later (hence, sugar consumption is the #1 cause of obesity).
In children, this system is not as efficient as it is in adults. The sugar is used more for energy than storage. Thus, children get longer and higher sugar highs. A great an example of this is to give a 4-year-old a pixie stick. You can actually see them shake from energy overload. They can't pay attention to instructions or schoolwork.
When kids eat candy on the school bus on the way to school, at lunch and for afternoon snacks (plus all the candy sneaked in-between), it equals several long sugar highs.
But the worst is yet to come. We are all well acquainted with the sugar drops. This is when the sugars that power our energy in our systems are lower than our needs. We feel tired, can't pay attention and some people even pass out.
This happens in kids, too. After the sugar rush, they are tired and can't concentrate. There isn't a thing a teacher can do to make kids learn or follow complex instructions. Kids just want to sleep after a sugar rush.
So, until the candy is gone, kids just go through the cycle over and over again. Going through this too many time can lead to obesity, type II Diabetes, high cholesterol and early death.
As responsible parents, it's our duty to teach our kids how to avoid this destructive cycle.
First, do your teachers a favor: Keep the candy out of your kid's lunches. In fact, keep the total stash of candy away from them altogether. Without a sugar rush at lunch, your kids will be able to concentrate in their afternoon classes.
Second, only allow your kids one or two pieces of quality candy at a time. This treat should be served with a glass of water and some protein, like nuts or seeds. This will slow the sugar rush and slow the sugar drop. Too much sugar at any one time can be detrimental.
Next, avoid candy totally at night. Kids need to sleep at night, not be wired with sugar. This goes beyond just getting them to go to bed without a fuss. If kids go to sleep with sugar in their systems, they can toss and turn for hours. This will not allow them a good night sleep. It can also lead to an increased chance of obesity since there is little chance for the sugars to be burned and they will get stored as fat.
Finally, only allow the good stuff to be eaten. Higher quality candies have a tiny fraction of good properties. Poor candies have none (they are cheap for a reason). If your kids like dark chocolate, that can be good for them in small quantities.
Enjoy trick or treating and your candies. Just make sure they are good quality, you space out the servings and avoid eating at night. Your children's teachers will thank you!
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