My son's sugar intake is affecting me

A few weeks ago, my son greeted me after work with this perfectly ordinary statement: "We had cotton candy today at camp!"

I instantly winced. I didn't wince because of all that sugar in his little teeth or because he probably had a sticky spot somewhere on his clothes that I would find later. I winced because I have read all those studies that children's behavior is not affected by sugar, but parents' behavior is.

It's hard to break the vicious cycle that follows: My brain believed the sugar=hyper myth for so long, that I will now start over-analyzing his actions to try and find not-so-great behaviors that support what my brain already believes and then we will all have an unpleasant evening.

But, I walked away from that cycle and decided to cook dinner instead. Which was a much better choice for me, as I don't want anyone in the kitchen while I cook. I was able to stop focusing on the sugar and focus on not burning dinner.

I will just have to retrain my brain. Do you think repeating "sugar does equal hyperactivity" one thousand times would help?

Do you find yourself paying closer attention to your child's behavior when they eat candy? Tell me in the comments.