We’ve been trying to remove food dyes from our son’s diet. My son has been medicated for his ADHD, but since he’s not in school and hasn’t had appointments, we’ve been skipping the medication. You may remember Day 50 Unmedicated, Unquestionable Smiles where I discussed this in more depth. Since that post, I have been trying to figure out what could be making the sudden positive difference in his behavior while unmedicated. I narrowed it down to being food coloring... possibly. After all, science doesn't exactly back up the theory that food allergies or sensitivities can cause such reactions. I happen to disagree. After doing reading about food dye sensitivities with other families, and how food allergies/sensitivities can cause behavior issues, we began removing the food dyes red, yellow, and blue. When we have slipped up and he ate something with dyes, we’ve noticed his uncontrolled behaviors return. But it isn’t easy...
First of all, he has to look at every ingredient of everything he eats now. Just another stress to throw on that already taxed child’s back. The last thing I want to do is make his life harder, but I know that he will be better off if we find out that he does have a sensitivity dyes. I want him to be a happy, care free kid. Like he was this afternoon, after dinner was over of course!
He pulled on his helmet, hopped onto his kid sized ATV and drove around the house. He looked so happy. He just drives around and around, through the trees and over dips, but the look on his face says it all. He isn’t thinking of anything else like food labels and dyes, just about the ATV and where to go. It’s a look that I love, but don’t see enough. I wish he could ride that thing to school! I wish he could ride that thing in school!! From class to class! I know, that’s ridiculous. Besides, he would just get frustrated with the the kids that get in the way and honk his little horn at them. At least tonight he had a great time with his vehicle. An amazing look of joy and satisfaction.
Can you see the "ae" in there?
While he was out enjoying his hobby, I was out enjoying mine with him. I grabbed my camera and decided to play with the low lighting and bulb exposure. I was able to use his ATV headlights to write his initials into the image. It took some practice, but it was fun for both us. Definitely worth the time and worthy of a smile... Maybe one day I'll feel the same way about the food labels!
