Today is the day!! (oh no…not THAT day! baby boy still tucked away.) Today is the day that sugar runs freely through KC’s blood…sorta. With the move, baby prepping, and holidays things have been a little lax when it comes to filtering what KC has been eating. To be honest it’s been pretty lax for all of us. Meals have been difficult to plan forcing last minute decisions that are far from the best. With that comes seeking out the less resistance route when it comes to the age old question, “Mommy, can I have…?” No, KC hasn’t been spending all day sitting in the corner while we take turns tossing Starbursts into her mouth, (could be fun) but everything flows fuller during Christmas and times of generalized S t R Es s!
So, in an attempt to pull in the reins we instituted “Sugar Saturdays.” Simply, it means KC has no extra sugar (candy, baked sweets, ice cream, etc.), Sunday through Friday, and on Saturday the gates of Willy Wonka are opened high! Full disclaimer is that this is a transition for mom and dad as well, and this first week there were a few items that slipped through the iron clad walls of our discipline. I mean how can one say no when KC gets to meet the owner of her new favorite hamburger place and he offers her a free ice cream scoop after she tells him she is going to blog about his restaurant. But, for the most part it has been a significant decrease in sugar intake. You parents out there will understand when I say that SUGAR is a wicked, wicked drug. Setting aside the lack of health benefits, the behavioral impact it can have on a child is beyond comprehension. It turns a princess into a parental predator out to break every bit of patience you have and not stop until every single head in the supermarket is turned to you in that judgmental glare of death.
Although KC has never had soda (pop for you in the midwest), we have never been the type of parents to never or rarely have her enjoy sweet treats. We think a good lollipop every now and then should be part of every childhood memory AND it is a little difficult to stand there ordering your six pump soy chai latte without handing down a cake pop to the smaller hands…sometimes. However, like all things in life moderation is the key to success. (See future post about “Wine Wednesdays”) The question is are we completely nuts for letting it all go on one day of the week!? The kid is FULLY aware what Saturday is now and is ready for attack. Sprinkle donut is on the table, but hoping when she passes through the kitchen on her sprint there we can shove an egg down her! Will it completely destroy our Saturday and possibly Sunday as KC nurses her sugar hangover? We will soon find out.
NOTE: If you came to this post seeking intelligent parenting advice today…sorry! Feel free to shoot us some advice or simply confirm how crazy we are. This is more of a join us for the ride kind of entry into Life As Us!
Of course, all of these restrictions go away grandma comes to visit… Right?
yeah…
I’m curious to see how this works. My daughter is almost 11 and any amount of sugar in a day and you can definitely tell. It changes her completely. I hate to always say no, but her whole attitude, hyperness turns completely when sugar is added. Maybe if we had a specific day where she knows she can have it, and it’s also a day that she can play out that extra energy, it may be better. I think this is a great idea.
We feel your pain and will let you know!