A Junkie Looking For A Fix

Some of you are aware that over the Easter Holiday, we, meaning primarily me, had a very hard week with the kids. They were out of control, mainly Jake. I am not just talking about him being hyperactive. He was moody, defiant, argumentative and agressive with Tristan. I was brought to tears on 3 different days because I thought I was going crazy with his behavior. Eric discovered on Friday that Jake had discovered where we keep the candy in the kitchen and had eaten the entire bag of jellybeans that the Easter Bunny had delivered in their Easter Eggs. I had thought that Eric was eating them throughout the week because I had noticed the bag had a large tear down the side of it. Anyways, Eric found Jake eating jellybeans and the bag was now empty. And Eric had not been eating any throughout the week.



So, after the kids were in bed, all this information is being passed onto me. I then go up into the cupboard to discover that most of the candy that was up there has been eaten. All that is left behind is empty wrappers and the most undesirable candy. We are talking about all the leftover candy from past holidays. There was quite a bit up there. So, we clean out all the candy and throw it in the trash cans outside in fear that we would find him digging in the kitchen garbage cans in the morning when we woke up.



I had a heart to heart talk with him the next morning about what we discovered. I asked him to tell the truth which he tried very hard to keep to himself. After some prodding, he finally confessed. I then explain that the sugar made him go crazy and that was why mom was yelling at him so much this past week. I also explained how unsafe that was of him to do with Tristan and how unhealthy that was for him. I'm sure it all went in one ear and out the other.



The sugar withdrawls hit on Sunday and it was UGLY! Major temper tantrums. There was one point when he was freaking out in front of the refrigerator yelling he needed juice. We don't usually keep juice in the house. He would be fine one second then crying and angry the next. I was waiting for his head to start spinning and green vomit to come out of his mouth. You all are laughing right now aren't you?



Things were better by Monday and he was back to being my sweet boy. But by 4pm the ugly side started to surface again. He is still like a junkie though. On Wednesday I caught him pilfering drawers looking for cookies. When he walks into the kitchen he always looks over his shoulder to see if I am watching him. And tonight, he unwrapped a large amount of dental floss and he is licking it. I wish he was flossing, but he's not. Just rubbing it back and forth across his tongue. I asked him if it tasted like candy. He just nodded with a big smile. What is a mother to do?