food dye sensitivity
[email protected]
I'm pulling this out of a longer thread as its a separate issue:
Diane wrote:
""I noted that food dyes make DD crazy. It's a fact. She reacts
to them. Bu she is only three. So do I just let her eat all she wants of stuff
with food dyes cause she wants. She hasn't put together that food dyes make her
freak out. We talk about it but again she is only three. Also she loves beer. I
give her a little glass but she wants more. Do I let her get drunk now?""
Diane wrote:
""I noted that food dyes make DD crazy. It's a fact. She reacts
to them. Bu she is only three. So do I just let her eat all she wants of stuff
with food dyes cause she wants. She hasn't put together that food dyes make her
freak out. We talk about it but again she is only three. Also she loves beer. I
give her a little glass but she wants more. Do I let her get drunk now?""
Faith Void
I have a child that is very sensitive to food dyes, it is more than just
"behavioral". I won;t go into all the details.
I have given ds8 the space to figure it out. It does not mean having a house
full of dyes, It meant a little more work on my end finding food that he
wanted that didn't have dyes in it. It meant spending more money on snack
foods that were dye-free. If he wanted MnMs we would try Sunspots. If that
worked for him that's what we'd do. If he wanted lollies than we got College
Farm (or other dye free brands). If that worked we stuck to it. If he wants
something that has dye in it and nothing else will do I support that.
Supporting that includes not lecturing about the negative effects. It also
means that I give our family the space to ride out the effects. That can be
really challenging.
Ds is now 8 and understands the cause and effect of eating certain foods.
His body is different. He chooses not to eat certain things that he has
found hurt him. There are times he eats foods with dyes but it is really
rare, it just took time.
We don't really keep foods with dyes in our home now out of consideration
for his needs. All my children choose that. However if someone really wants
something we find a way.
Lately my oldest has been discovering that dyes effect her as well. I have
not done dyes in years because it effects my nervous system for weeks. I
just don't want to feel that way. I am assuming that my children learned how
I learned through eating the food than feeling unwell. I could never convey
that with just words. That would take a huge amount of trust. I prefer to
save that "trust card" for something really big.
Faith
"behavioral". I won;t go into all the details.
I have given ds8 the space to figure it out. It does not mean having a house
full of dyes, It meant a little more work on my end finding food that he
wanted that didn't have dyes in it. It meant spending more money on snack
foods that were dye-free. If he wanted MnMs we would try Sunspots. If that
worked for him that's what we'd do. If he wanted lollies than we got College
Farm (or other dye free brands). If that worked we stuck to it. If he wants
something that has dye in it and nothing else will do I support that.
Supporting that includes not lecturing about the negative effects. It also
means that I give our family the space to ride out the effects. That can be
really challenging.
Ds is now 8 and understands the cause and effect of eating certain foods.
His body is different. He chooses not to eat certain things that he has
found hurt him. There are times he eats foods with dyes but it is really
rare, it just took time.
We don't really keep foods with dyes in our home now out of consideration
for his needs. All my children choose that. However if someone really wants
something we find a way.
Lately my oldest has been discovering that dyes effect her as well. I have
not done dyes in years because it effects my nervous system for weeks. I
just don't want to feel that way. I am assuming that my children learned how
I learned through eating the food than feeling unwell. I could never convey
that with just words. That would take a huge amount of trust. I prefer to
save that "trust card" for something really big.
Faith
On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 10:26 AM, <[email protected]>wrote:
>
>
> I'm pulling this out of a longer thread as its a separate issue:
> Diane wrote:
>
> ""I noted that food dyes make DD crazy. It's a fact. She reacts
> to them. Bu she is only three. So do I just let her eat all she wants of
> stuff
> with food dyes cause she wants. She hasn't put together that food dyes make
> her
> freak out. We talk about it but again she is only three. Also she loves
> beer. I
> give her a little glass but she wants more. Do I let her get drunk now?""
>
>
>
>
--
www.bearthmama.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
plaidpanties666
> Diane wrote:It helps a whooooole lot to state the age of a child in this kind of topic! Three year olds need a lot more help navigating the world than 13yos.
>
> ""I noted that food dyes make DD crazy. It's a fact. She reacts
> to them. Bu she is only three. So do I just let her eat all she wants of stuff
> with food dyes cause she wants. She hasn't put together that food dyes make her
> freak out. We talk about it but again she is only three.
If she likes things that are colorful to eat, and many kids do, then by all means look for things she can eat safely! In fact, its a good idea to have things like naturally colored candy on-hand to offer any time you're out and about, too.
The specifics of dealing with each individual time she wants to try something with commercial dyes is going to vary a whole lot with circumstances. What does it mean "she goes crazy?" Does she have a looooot of energy? Does she hit and bite like a wild animal? One of my kids did both those things before we started unschooling and for awhile we thought it might be dyes. That turned out not to be the case, but our expectations colored what we "saw". I'm not saying dyes aren't an issue for some kids, though! I'm saying there may be options beyond "no, that's bad". One option is agreeing to let your child experiment with foods that might send her over the top in "safe" situations, times and places where "going crazy" is something you can deal with.
If "going crazy" is too much for you to deal with right now - and just as importantly too much for Her to deal with - then it might be better to simply say no *for now*, with a very simple explanation - the simpler the better. Don't make it about the food industry or artificial ingredients in general, just "I think this food color will make you sick, would you like this?" and offer something else that's just as exciting. Be matter of fact, rather than trying to make the moment into a "learning experience" - all that does is muddy the waters for young children.
Its totally okay to ease in to unschooling! Start slow! Build up your own skills and confidence in other areas! Do realize that its very very likely that she'll want to try those foods you say "no" to, though, and work on being okay with that. If you're okay with her experimenting, you'll be able to help her do it safely, and that's important.
>Also she loves beer. IIt might help to read some older threads on kids liking the taste of beer or wine - maybe someone can find them? Or do a search of the archives and see what comes up.
> give her a little glass but she wants more. Do I let her get drunk now?""
>
The options, though, aren't "say no or get her wasted". What about giving her a small glass of watered down beer so she can feel grown up, enjoy the taste, and get not much more alcohol than a few sips? Others will have more ideas, I'm sure - this topic has come up in the past.
---Meredith
otherstar
>Also she loves beer. I > give her a little glass but she wants more. Do I let her get drunk now?""It might help to read some older threads on kids liking the taste of beer or wine - maybe someone can find them? Or do a search of the archives and see what comes up.
>
The options, though, aren't "say no or get her wasted". What about giving her a small glass of watered down beer so she can feel grown up, enjoy the taste, and get not much more alcohol than a few sips? Others will have more ideas, I'm sure - this topic has come up in the past.
***************
Don't forget about the option of non-alcoholic beer. It may be that she likes the fact that the hops act as a sedative and have a calming effect. You can get hops to make teas out of that might satisfy the taste. I won't let my girls get drunk but I will let them have small sips and I will find alternatives that have the same taste/texture such as sparkling grape juice or other similar yet alcohol free alternatives.
Connie
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
otherstar
""I noted that food dyes make DD crazy. It's a fact. She reacts
to them. Bu she is only three. So do I just let her eat all she wants of stuff
with food dyes cause she wants. She hasn't put together that food dyes make her
freak out. We talk about it but again she is only three. Also she loves beer. I
give her a little glass but she wants more. Do I let her get drunk now?""
****************
Find alternatives. I suspected that my 6 year old has some sensitivities to dye, specifically the red ones. I did some experimenting with adding and removing things when she was younger and found that she doesn't tolerate red dyes in massive quantities. If she wants candy, she can eat straight chocolate without any problems. If she wants juices, we look for juices that don't have dyes in them. We ask family members to give us chocolate or other candies that don't have the colored coatings on them. You can find all kinds of interesting alternatives that don't have dyes in them. Sometimes, a little bit of dye may not elicit a reaction. If that is the case, then just don't have lots of it around.
As adults, my husband and I have finally figured out how to listen to our bodies. He can't eat cake and ice cream together or it gives him hives. He can eat them separately, but not together. Sometimes, it is a combination of foods. If your child is too young to talk and partner with, then sometimes the nicest thing that you can do is keep the offending things out of the house. That usually isn't a problem if there are enough other foods that are interesting and yummy.
Connie
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
to them. Bu she is only three. So do I just let her eat all she wants of stuff
with food dyes cause she wants. She hasn't put together that food dyes make her
freak out. We talk about it but again she is only three. Also she loves beer. I
give her a little glass but she wants more. Do I let her get drunk now?""
****************
Find alternatives. I suspected that my 6 year old has some sensitivities to dye, specifically the red ones. I did some experimenting with adding and removing things when she was younger and found that she doesn't tolerate red dyes in massive quantities. If she wants candy, she can eat straight chocolate without any problems. If she wants juices, we look for juices that don't have dyes in them. We ask family members to give us chocolate or other candies that don't have the colored coatings on them. You can find all kinds of interesting alternatives that don't have dyes in them. Sometimes, a little bit of dye may not elicit a reaction. If that is the case, then just don't have lots of it around.
As adults, my husband and I have finally figured out how to listen to our bodies. He can't eat cake and ice cream together or it gives him hives. He can eat them separately, but not together. Sometimes, it is a combination of foods. If your child is too young to talk and partner with, then sometimes the nicest thing that you can do is keep the offending things out of the house. That usually isn't a problem if there are enough other foods that are interesting and yummy.
Connie
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]