Valerie Strauss' Answer Sheet does not usually cause the same response in me as Jay Mathews' Class Struggle. However, Daniel Willingham occassionally writes posts and I often disagree with him. This time however, he says something my mother has told me for years.
My mother is a Registered Nurse. When folks have suggested that sugar will make kids hyper or crazy, she has always spoken up to say that studies have shown that not to be true. I have believed her but not with enough confidence to speak up often.
Daniel Willingham is a psychology professor at UVA. He links to several different studies of sugar on kids' behavior. His final thought sums it up well:
There’s pretty good evidence that there is not a physiological effect of sugary snacks on kids’ behavior, and some of parent’s perception of an effect is probably just that--perception. But there could also be a psychological effect whereby sugary snacks are associated with other factors such as a less regulated atmosphere or kids’ perception of a less well regulated atmosphere.I appreciate having links to studies to back me up when I quote my mom now.
1 comment:
One of my neuroscience text books lists the sugar = hyper as a "neuro-myth". I thought of you when I read it.
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