dad_of_son

Ever since he was small, my son has this craving for sugar. He'd grab the ketchup bottle and squirt it straight into his mouth - same with the pancake syrup. My wife observed his behavior would change with the more sugar he'd consume, very hyper and wound up. She started hiding cookies and other sugar foods in out bedroom - he'd find it and to this day (he's 13 now) he'll still go into our bedroom and take the box. The other day my oldest made brownies for a friend - 5 or 6 pieces stayed behind in a plastic container on the counter. The container was found empty in my son's room. Sometimes I wonder if just leaving out brownies, cookies, cake, and lots of other sweets out and about would cure the problem - maybe the first two weeks it would be 'heaven' for him, and after a while no big deal. He does not have a weight problem, in fact I think he is too skinny. As for stopping him going into our bedroom and taking food, I've taken away his computer time and he is to earn it back - perhaps the details of that would be for another thread. Has anyone else dealt with the sugar obsession?

Kaytee

well first I haven't dealt with anything like this, but 2 things pop up in my head. 1st weather or not he is having weight issues, regardless get the sweets out of the house. No temptaion no sweets. If you want cookies have them at work or what not.
The other thing that concerns me is that he seems to be hiding it. Thats a sign of an eating disorder. Obviously I am not saying he has an eating disorder, but I would strongly look into it and ask him why he is hiding and eating. Boys do get them.

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dad_of_son

My thinking is that his body is requesting it - and if he had it, such as a large piece of pie or cake for dessert after dinner. Also, he may be seeing what other kids eat - anything they want - I know one child in the neighborhood who sits in front of the TV and has a whole bag of cheese puffs - not sure if had dinner or not. Just caught him again today taking what was going to be breakfast this morning - he lied about taking it.

SageMother

I think that forbidding something makes the tendency to abuse it worse....just look at the drinking age here vs Germany and the issues we have here compared to Germany.

Once you run out of sweets then he will have to wait for more. I suggest buying what you feel comfortable with ...understanding that you probably won't get to eat much of it, but buy smaller amounts so that they are consumed quickly by him. Then if he wants more, he might have to just get a job.

You can also let him see something of what might await him. There was a tv special on morbid obesity that might inspire him to think of a few unattractive futures.

Stephanie2377

Perhaps you could have a weekly "treat" jar for each of your kids. Every Sunday, they can put treats into their jar for the week (how much they put it is up to you and your wife) Once the treats are gone, that is all until the next Sunday when they refill. The first few times, your son might eat EVERYTHING in that jar on Sunday night. But, then, he'll go 7 days without.

Once you have filled the treat jars, lock away the treats. I mean.. truly lock them away or get them out of the house (a friend of mine kept all treats locked up at her work so the kids couldn't get them). Don't make them accessible at all so there won't be anything for your son to steal and eat when he's alone.

Just a suggestion! This way, he might learn some self control when eating favorite sugar snacks and it will also limit the amount.

I think it is also important to talk about trust, and how he has broken the trust by lying and stealing. I think more focus needs to be on the hiding and stealing, but get a handle on what is happening right now even more.

dad_of_son

Stephanie2377 - sounds like a good idea. We currently do lock up treats. With the idea of each child with their own (the oldest is 18 and she'll go to the yogurt shop and gets what she likes) jar is good, he'd probably take treats from the others. We have talked to him about trust, but either I am not explaining it properly or he isn't willing to conform.

One thing I mention which no one has commented on - is my son's change in behavior after eating sweets - my wife says he becomes rude and out of hand - have others observed a change in behavior? I can see more energy for a short time.

SageMother - I have often thought that in Europe there are less issue with children such as obesity, drinking and teenage pregnancies, but never found any facts. Do you have info about Germany?

tater03

Have you talked to your peditrician about this? Maybe there is a reason he is craving sweets to such an extent? Not sure but I would want to rule that out. That being said I can say that my sons just love sweets and I have tried leaving them out and they will just constantly be into them. I have noticed with my oldest who is seven that when he eats alot of sweets he tends to get hyper and very cranky for some reason.

Melissa

My kids go nuts after chocolate. Also they crash really badly afterwards, which is when they become irritable or weepy. I still let them have it, I just control the time and the amount.

I believe that because we've never had a strong restriction on sweets, my kids have a healthy relationship with them. I have never subscribed to the idea that if you don't give your kids sweets they'll learn not to want them. My feeling is that we are made to like sweets and breastmilk is the gateway drug. The key is moderation and an otherwise healthy diet. I also think that food is meant to be enjoyed.

I know many other families with strong restrictions on sweets and all of them have reported the sneaking food thing which often involves a HUGE consumption. I do think it helps to let kids know what makes them stronger and what is just really yummy (some things are both).

My kids can have one or two small pieces of candy every day and we have dessert every evening. And sometimes there's some sort of bonus in there, like an ice cream cone downtown. Also, our kids often have pure maple syrup, jam, etc with their breakfast. Although we don't use them exclusively, I do think that things that are naturally sweet are a little easier on the body.

One more thing. In my experience a little protein can really offset the sugar rush and ensuing crash. So I like to offer some nuts, maybe some milk along with or after sweets.

One more thing on the rude behavior. It's true that what we consume or don't consume can make us grumpy or mean. But as adults we are still responsible for our actions. An explanation of why we're acting up (too much sugar, not enough sleep) isn't an excuse. I try to let my kids know that I'll help them adjust their attitude towards me (giving them a little space or some nourishing food, but they are still responsible for their behavior.

I hope I don't sound like one of those parents who think they've got everything figure out. I don't !

iahayah

Does he want to go off sugar? It could be that he wants to change too, but can't help himself. In that case, you should really take the sugary items out of the house- it isn't fair to him to have them just sitting there, while he had to try to avoid them. People are made to want sugar- saying sweets are off limits isn't going to offset genetic predispositions.

On the other hand, if he doesn't want to change, he'll probably just sneak sugary items anyway. Perhaps talk to a doctor or nutritionist?