Sugar rush

I want to type that not every day is filled with laughter….but no day could possibly be. I’ve had a pretty rubbish time of things with Max since he came out of school yesterday and all I seem to have done is moan and nag and shout at him. I gave him his pocket money that my nan, GP, gave him and he spent a quid of it on chocolate. He got a sugar rush which mixed with my fretful mood like water and oil. Soon after the rush came the down and we had tears…bloody chocolate is evil stuff to a six year old on a Friday afternoon and there should be a health warning on the packet. (To be fair my mood was not the best this afternoon having actually got sucked in to [buying!!!!] a loyalty card from The Body Shop. I only went in there for a sniff and maybe some free samples and ideas for my sister’s birthday, and came out with a very expensive eyeshadow, which incidentally was not the same one as the sample that I tried, and a loyalty card which promises free gifts and 10% off purchases but plays down the fact that I have to spend 50 quid before I'm entitled to a fiver’s worth of Body Shop loveliness – nothing in the shop costs less than 8 quid as far as I could see…

I digress, I have found that at least two of my children are very ‘sugar sensitive’, I can even tell when they’ve had too much ketchup as their moods are elevated and their energy levels soar before tantrums and tears. The knowledge that food does have an effect on children’s behaviour, and that of adults too probably, is a great tool to have when managing (is that the right word?) kids. We eat a well balanced diet and I'm pretty strict with what I call crap food (processed, fatty, sugary). They eat tons of fruit and are healthy on it. I also know that giving the boys a meat and two (or four) veg kind of dinner calms them.

So when I look back on Max’s strop yesterday I almost (ALMOST) forgive him as I know that it’s my own stupid fault for letting him eat crap. I shall experiment further…