A Minute with Mary: Mothers make a difference in Children’s Behavior

Mary Guignon Richards

Mothers wonder why their children are so unruly. Most probably don’t realize that when they feed their young children a diet full of chemicals and processed foods they are making a significant impact on their children’s behavior and outcome for their lives.

The problem is so prevalent that television has taken the opportunity to air shows on families whose children are so out-of-control that a professional nanny must come in to straighten things out. Though the nanny usually does a good job putting structure into the children’s lives, she does not point to the fact that the children are allowed to eat sugar and chemical ridden “junk food.” Instead, the children are served meals of processed food with low nutritional value.

Are your children unruly? Take notice: When you see one or more of your children behaving poorly, look at the foods and beverages that child has consumed. This is a first step. What people consume influences how they feel and behave.

I’ve experienced this myself. Years ago, I chaperoned a group of first grade students that included my youngest son. Another mother and I took them on a field excursion. As we were leaving, the other mother pulled out a bag of gummy bears for the children, as if these were a special treat for being so good. The children accepted eagerly. When the mother came to my son, he put out his little hand and took them. I was surprised. I held my tongue. As we all drove home, the quiet, focused children began to become loud and out-of-control; one little girl specifically became obnoxiously loud and unruly.

After we arrived home, my son and I had a conversation about this adventure. He mentioned to me that his fellow classmate was acting “crazy,” and I quickly asked him if he noticed when this crazy behavior began. On his own, he connected this crazy behavior to her eating the gummy bears. I then asked him, “Why did you choose to take the gummy bears?” I will never forget the look on his face as he reached in his pocket and pulled out his hand to show me the gummy bears he had taken. “But I didn’t eat them, ” he said. I smiled and gave him a huge hug.

As a mother you can make a difference. Although you will not be with your children throughout each and every day as they grow older, helping them at a young age to make the connection between what they eat and drink, and how they behave will make all the difference. If you help them understand which foods make them feel good with sustained energy and mental focus, and which may make them feel good for a short time and then feel bad, the chances will increase that when they go into the world one day, they will make their own healthy choices.