8 Popular 'Science Myths' Where The Truth Is Way Cooler

3. Sugar Makes Children Hyperactive

Most parents will swear blind that it's the damn sugar that makes their little bundle of joy dismantle the sofa, empty mummy's handbag and shriek like a banshee on a ghost train, but they'd be wrong. That said, it's probably not a good idea to tell them that, as they're probably sleep deprived enough to swing for you.

It's probably more the case that children are much more likely to eat sugary foods in exciting situations such as a birthday party when they would be tearing the wallpaper down anyway, sugar or not. There's also a very real chance that all of that diet coke you're giving them (which can contain as much caffeine as a shot of espresso) is what has got them buzzed out of their tiny minds.

The interesting part is that a child's sugar consumption actually has more of an effect on the parent. A frazzled mum and dad are more likely to perceive hyperactive behaviour in their sprog if they expect sugar to have that effect. They will become less patient, stricter and more irritable if they believe that their kid has eaten sugar.

Obviously, it's still not a great idea to shovel your kids full of sugar unless you want them to be fat, toothless and diabetic before they hit adolescence, but it's not the reason they're currently flushing the contents of your wallet. That's just because they're children.