hyperactive 3 1/2 year old

Sparkle

Wed, May 31 2006, 12:18 am

I have a very lively (aka hyper) 3 year old boy. Besides for him being in a constant state of motion, he is becoming more and more difficult to discipline. Besides for the obvious (advice on how to handle him), has anyone tried cutting out sugar in their kids diet - and how much of a change is there really?
Thanks!

gryp

Wed, May 31 2006, 10:24 am

Quote:

has anyone tried cutting out sugar in their kids diet - and how much of a change is there really?

a lot

try it!

Mitzvahmom

Wed, May 31 2006, 10:44 am

my daughter is 7 and a mover and a shaker

I noticed when I gave her healthy snacks she did much better behavior wise...and honestly they prefer the healthy snacks once started on them.

There was another post earlier, about a book that helped children ..

Elinimation diet? It has really helped her in school!

Sparkle

Wed, May 31 2006, 12:48 pm

To GR and Mitzvamom:

Thanks for your replies. 2 questions:
How did you explain to your kid that they can't have sugar?
How did you regulate the sugar being offered in school (I know - I hate that they give the kids sugar for b-days, shabbos parties, etc, but what can I do)?

Thanks sooo much for your help!

Mitzvahmom

Wed, May 31 2006, 12:53 pm

Not something that can be explained... Simply donot make it available, or find substitutes that are acceptable.. There are plenty of "sweet" things that are without sugar..

School I simply point out to the teachers, that it would probably be in their best intrest to limit sugar also. Typically if one child cannot have, they make it so the other kids do not also, sort of thing.

Make sugar a special shabbos treat only sort of thing...

shayna82

Wed, May 31 2006, 1:00 pm

my trick: if they dont see it, they wont want it. it didnt work right away, but if I just dont bring the candy word up, everyone is fine. the second I say lollipop both kids come running for one. it definitly makes my almost three year old hyper.

gryp

Wed, May 31 2006, 1:16 pm

mom22- the truth is my almost 3 year old has never had candy before in his life. he does have cookies, cake, ice cream as treats only, once in a while. he doesnt know what a lollipop is.
once in a while when we do have candy in the house, like when Purim comes around, a birthday bag, etc, he sees a candy and asks for it. I simply tell him that its not good for his teeth or for his stomach, and he (poor deprived kid Smile

) understands.

but the reason I answered your question is because ive seen it work close-up in a classroom.
it was a no-brainer. in the school im talking about, for a while there was hot cocoa offered every morning to the students. the teacher noticed a sudden change in the behavior of many of his students, and couldnt figure out why, until they told him they had had more than one cup of hot cocoa that morning.
the next morning, the same thing happened. the teacher decided to put a stop to it and banned hot cocoa for his class.
the next morning, the teacher noticed every student was back to sitting quietly and learning normally, except two of them. those two confessed that they didnt obey the new rule, and indeed had hot cocoa that morning.

thats only one example of many I can tell you.

Quote:

How did you regulate the sugar being offered in school (I know - I hate that they give the kids sugar for b-days, shabbos parties, etc, but what can I do)?

I also hate it.
I dont know if there is a way to regulate it. speak to your child about how unhealthy it is. offer him alternative treats/prizes for giving up junkfood he gets in school. if the teacher has a point system where the students earn candy, match candy prizes with your own prizes.
speak to the teacher, the teacher will probably agree with you and want to set limits too!
enforce that by speaking to other parents in your child's classroom, and spread awareness that there is absolutely no reason for kids to be walking around with gumballs, cans of soda, donuts, and who knows what else.

dont buy it or bring it into our house.
and start eating healthier at home, so your child gets a hang of it.

raizy

Mon, Jun 05 2006, 10:44 pm

alright I dont see any child running around with so much sugar in school that the schools has to outlaw it. and most schools dont let "shachol nash" in school anyways. that being said. when a child has a party and brings in a cake. I hate it when one child cant have because of his/her parents twisted ideas of sugar. one piece of cake wont kill the child. but will make the child jealous of all the other children. believe u me . it is not a pretty site to see. and I cringe for these children.

that being said I dont let sugar in my house I try to limet it to bisle. pretzels and chips. but I dont deny them the nash in school and shul. !! I think that is dening a child of an important aspect of growing up . if u dont want any sugar . that is fine with u. but dont go shoving it down your child throat.

Sparkle

Thu, Jun 15 2006, 12:04 am

Raizy,

I totally agree - which is why I want to know how this "no sugar" thing works. Will I see an improvement even if I just LIMIT sugar - or do I have to eliminate it completely? If it is the latter - it will be very hard for my son at school and at other peoples houses.

Tefila

Thu, Jun 15 2006, 12:38 am

Quote:

which is why I want to know how this "no sugar" thing works. Will I see an improvement even if I just LIMIT sugar - or do I have to eliminate it completely

You will only know if you try I guess What

Sparkle

Wed, Jul 05 2006, 2:33 pm

Reviving this thread since I just heard something that I'm curious if you ladies know anthing about. Basically the premise is that artificial coloring contributes more to hyperactivity that just sugar. Like red dye etc. Anyone ever heard that?

Mitzvahmom

Wed, Jul 05 2006, 2:39 pm

Yup!!! I cut those things out of my daughter's diet and wow!!!!

JRKmommy

Wed, Jul 05 2006, 2:49 pm

"To Kindle A Soul" (Lawrence Kelemen) has a fair bit of information on the impact of diet (including sugar) on hyperactivity, and a number of other suggestions for dealing with it.

I'm currently thinking about how to approach my kid's school and shul about food issues. We don't keep junk at home - but my kids totally fill up on it when they get it at shul and school! It DOES make a difference in behavior - by Shabbat afternoon they are bouncing off the walls, and it also kills their appetite for healthy foods.

More and more places are allergy aware, so as a last-ditch method you could simply say that your child has a food intolerance and the doctor has ordered no sugar.

Mitzvahmom

Wed, Jul 05 2006, 2:52 pm

JRKmommy wrote:

"To Kindle A Soul" (Lawrence Kelemen) has a fair bit of information on the impact of diet (including sugar) on hyperactivity, and a number of other suggestions for dealing with it.

Love this book!! and Rabbi Kelemen is an amazing lecturer.. His parents actually bought a special desk for him to have at school so that he could jump and wiggle as much as he wanted and he still learned.

My daughter is similar to that, she wiggles and it seems as though she's not paying attension (typically because of sugar the wiggling happens). But if u catch her on a day with no sugar in her system she's perfectly capable of contributing to class, and prove that she's a smart little wiggler.