Little Sugar Addicts: End the Mood Swings, Meltdowns, Tantrums, and Low Self-Esteem in Your Child Today

by Kathleen DesMaisons

Sugar Is Not Love

Do you have a smart, creative, loving child who is also cranky, inattentive, and sometimes downright obnoxious? If you’ve written off this negative behavior as “typical” for your child’s age—whether toddler or teen—stop and Does your child have a taste for soda, sugary breakfast cereals, and treats like candy and cookies? Does she eat regularly scheduled meals or skip them? What, exactly, does he drink and snack on throughout the day?

Your child’s behavior may be linked to diet—specifically to the sugar in obvious sources like sweets and soda and to hidden sugars that lurk in many foods, fruit-based drinks, and “healthy” snacks like granola bars. And if your son or daughter is sugar sensitive, misbehavior and moodiness can be aggravated by missed or late meals and junk foods.

Now, bestselling author Kathleen DesMaisons offers you a workable solution for getting back your child by changing his diet—without creating a sense of deprivation, without setting unrealistic goals, and without turning sugar into “forbidden fruit.” This book

• A step-by-step program, backed by years of research, for gradually improving the food your child eats—you and your whole family will benefit!
• Tips for navigating the sugar-laden world of birthday parties, holidays, and school cafeterias
• Ways to incorporate healthy snacking and regular mealtimes into your child’s day, including suggestions for meals and snacks, plus recipes

Little Sugar Addicts isn’t about strange foods, dramatic lifestyle changes, or complicated menus—just support, guidance, and real-life suggestions from other parents that work. It will help you make the connection between the addictive qualities of sugar and negative behavior and offer a healthy solution you and your whole family can live with.

Genres: Health, Self Help, Nonfiction, Food

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was good information here and reinforced the importance of including protein at EVERY meal and making sure your children eat complex carbohydrates. I was shocked that the author suggested eliminating sugar completely from your child's diet even when it comes to special occasions like birthdays and holidays. I certainly don't want to do that and I don't expect my kids too either. One person said they were happy with fruit salad instead of birthday cake. Really?! I guess I was hoping this book had more ideas for teaching moderation in eating.

[Shireemartin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It came at just the right time for me. My daughter and I are both "sugar sensitive", as the author refers to it, and the jury is still out on the rest of the fam. The steps outlined are really do-able. I wish I owned this one instead of checking it out of the library!

[Suebee · Rating 5 out of 5]

My middle son definitely exhibits some of the behavior listed in this book when he has sugar! Horrible mood swings, meltdowns and defiance, and I know he is sugar sensitive.

I liked the recommendations about protein, but I wonder if some of the nutrition advice could use some updating with new information being revealed about high levels of arsenic in brown rice (which the author recommends) and also the fact that conventional dairy and grains are not necessarily the most nutritious for your gut.

[Alex Chase]

Main takeaways: Balanced meals with protein at every meal, reducing refined sugars and processed foods, creating consistent eating schedules, and building emotional awareness and self-regulation skills.

[Ellisa Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book and it makes a lot of sense. Basically the author outlines a series of life-changes that you can make one tiny step at a time to improve your own life and your children's lives and health. I haven't tried it out yet, but if I do and if it works I will come back and edit this review.

All right, I tried it with my 3-year-old and I think it probably does work. I had trouble maintaining a complete absence of sugar though. It seemed like everyone was working against me, even her dad. Mostly unintentionally, but he'd put Ovaltine in her milk, or the lady at the bank would give her a sucker or there'd be birthday treats at her daycare.

On the bright side, this book really opened my eyes to how much sugar my child was consuming on a daily basis and we have cut that way back. She was eating some kind of sweet treat for practically every meal and snack, and now she knows she doesn't get more than one/day, if that. I would say her moods have stabilized, but that could also be partly as a result of more consistent discipline, which we've also been working on.

Overall, I think this is a good book, showing parents the importance of really paying attention to what our children are eating. I also hope that it's prepared me to enable my kids at this early age to make smart food choices so that they can make their own healthy choices once I no longer control so much of what they eat each day.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

For someone who has kids who CRAVE sugar (one especially--asking for it right after breakfast), I thought this book would give me some tips for cutting the sugar out of our diets. While it did have some helpful information, it got a little too preachy for me even suggesting that kids forgoe sugar at special occasions like hoildays and birthdays. I guess I was already practicing a lot of the suggestions and am not ready to go quite to the extreme that this author suggests...we practice moderation and that seems to be working for us. If you're looking for ideas of how to reduce sugar in your family's diets and how it can affect your energy and behavior level this book might be helpful--I just already knew a lot of it.

[Audra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was helpful to better understand what sugar does in our bodies. I have noticed some improvements in one of my kids by making sure there is more protein in the diet, and had plenty of chances during Easter parties to see the effects of candy/blood sugar spikes and drops. It's caused me to be more aware of sugar content and consumption in our home.

Some of the information didn't seem to match up with other literature I've been reading about the need to limit our eating of animal products, but I think it is worth the read. Especially if you have a sugar loving kid with some behavior issues.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes a lot of sense, and explains the effects of sugar on children well while providing good alternatives. I only gave it 4 stars because some of the writing was a little repetitive and weak. "Fun! Fun is the key word! Have fun! Have a sense of humor!" over and over again got a little old. :)

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kids are also addicted to sugar. This has some good recipes, but is very similar to her other book, "The Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program." It was interesting to read the symptoms of sugar addiction in children. Quite enlightening.

[RuthAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am hoping that I can help my daughter find some answers to her sleep issues. I figured this was worth a try.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book... great info on how much sugar affects kids. I found the information on sugar cravings being compared to other addictions very interesting

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If your children are sugar sensitive or if you suspect sensitivity this is a practical book for you.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly useful and relevant.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on nutrition and the effects of sugar on the little ones

[Audra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough to give it a try for 30 days. She has some good ideas for sugar replacements and has a great plan for incremental dietary changes.

[Wende Pate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - great information.