Look Out! UPDATE

Update: Here's the essay in its entirety. I'm so proud of him. Yes, I said him. David was okay with me outing his name because he actually felt like he might've learned something. J. was relieved to have her name cleared. :) And I have no idea if it's 250 words or not.

Sugar is very tasty and is harmless in small doses. But, it can be harmful in large amounts.

One of the most dangerous things about sugar is that it is addictive. I know this because I am slightly addicted to sugar and my quest for the aforementioned mineral led me to steal some of my sister’s cereal, punishment for which I was assigned this essay.

One of the side affects of sugar addiction is that you are more at risk for type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes affects the way Glucose (a.k.a sugar) is metabolized in the body and is caused by high blood sugar. It makes it more difficult for insulin to take care of your body. It can lead to rapid weight loss, fatigue, and excess thirst.

Another problem with sugar addiction is that it can lead to obesity. One third of Americans are now clinically obese. Obesity can cause a wide range of health problems and can increase your risk of a heart attack. Obesity can also lead to eating disorders, especially among adolescent girls, which are if possible even less healthy than obesity.

One of the most difficult things about sugar is that it really is not that bad in moderation, but is harmful in excess. My greatest personal challenge is to realize when to stop.
Sources:
The Mayo Clinic (type 2 Diabetes)
Down to earth health foods (Obesity)

So I have a lurve-hate relationship with days which have no plans--nothing on the calendar that we must do, except for those automatic nervous system things, like breathing. For, as much as down time is good, around here, it can mean lack of structure. And lack of structure might remind you of the "Idle hands..." saying. And indeed, some idle hands weren't so idle today.

We had some sugared cereal thievery between children today. They both have their own same sized bag of Rot Toothmeal, and have even penned their names on their bags in Sharpie. For apparently there isn't sharing of Rot Toothmeal in any shape or form. At this point, you can judge me for buying bagged cereal, rather than boxed cereal, because at the rate we go thru it, let's just say...I have to have $ left to pay the mortgage. But I digress. After said thievery occurred, there was much gnashing of teeth and yelling and there may have been soft touches bandied about between children.

I, of course, just wanted things to be quiet so I could continue reading blogs clean my house. So I sent the kids to their rooms, and spoke to each of them one on one re: stealing, reaction vs. responding, forgiveness, righteous anger, blah, blah, blah.

But I got to thinking...About stealing and about the lack of self control associated with drug seeking sugar seeking behavior and addiction. So, instead of a punishment, I wanted to be more biblical and teachy. I told the kids that we no longer think of treats as treats in our house--they're now "normal" and "every day". I told them that because of this, we needed to scale back the Rot Toothmeal experiences to more special occasions (e.g. first and last weeks of school, and Christmas Break). Surprisingly, they agreed, because they want to be healthy, too. It's a start, anyway.

The next thing I did, was tell the offender that s/he must apologize to the offendee, and that as a disciplinary action, s/he needed to write a paper of 250 words re: the dangers of sugar addiction. S/he could write it in any format, using any subtopic (e.g. Type 2 Diabetes, stealing), but that I didn't want funky margins or font sizes. The next part of the disciplinary process is the presentation of the paper tonight at dinner. Can't wait.

Aren't you glad you're not one of my kids?