Something So Small
“Hey mom, can we get this?” my kids ask as we make our way through Sam’s Club. I look at what they are pointing to: Cheetos. “Sure”. Later that week after snack time, the kids are going wild – bouncing off the walls, being loud and obnoxious and I think to myself, “Well, I’m certainly glad that we live out in the middle of now where, where no one can see this!!!”
Several weeks later we are back in Sam’s Club for a quick stop before heading off to a Church event. “Mom, if I’m real good, can I get a Cherry Slurpee on the way out?” ‘Oh, the perfect bribe’ I think and then answer, “Sure!”. They were both great, so we got two Cherry Slurpee’s on the way out. It took us about 30 min to get there…they jumped out of the car and into pandemonium! I was mortified. I didn’t understand why my two angels were acting like, well like very bad kids! They had just proven themselves at Sam’s Club. They were fantastic kids, very polite and courteous to everyone. What happened?
The next Sunday as I picked up Ian from Sunday School, the teacher mentioned that he was a great kid for about the first 30 min, then he was just out of control. Hmmmm. This was just too much for me. I couldn’t take this any more. What in the world was happening? I mean, when we lived in the city they had outbursts like this, but once we moved to the mountains, I thought all that would just go away. It didn’t. But I was determined to find out what was happening. So I started asking questions. What were they doing in Sunday School that day, what did they eat/drink? They had cheese and crackers for snack with Hawaiian Punch to wash it down with.
I went back over all the other times that my normally good children acted like little apes and tried to see what activity, what food, what drink was the same each time. Then I found it: the golden thread: Cheetos, Cherry Slurpee, Hawaiian Punch… Red or Orange Dye! All at once I remembered the Dr’s telling me to watch out for that Red and Orange Dye and how it affects some kids very badly. Very badly was an understatement! I wish I had heeded the Dr’s words more carefully earlier in our lives, but…better late than never as they say.
Diet and Special Needs kids seem to go hand in hand. Of course, home dynamic’s can also play a huge roll in the emotional and physical health of anyone, but by far, THE most important change we’ve made in our household was the elimination of Red and Orange Dye!
“Oh, why that’s so easy” you might say, but stop and think about it for a moment. What color is Cheetos, Doritos, Cherry Slurpee, Cherry fruit roll ups, Cherry/Strawberry anything? The list of favorite snack foods that have Red or Orange Dye in them are amazing and very, very long!!!
This change was a hard sell in our house – but a necessary one! It’s so amazing that something so small can make such a huge difference in our daily life.
Do you think your child may have an illness caused by Food Allergies? Click here to learn how to “track down” the culprit!
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About the Author: Maggie is married to her best friend Dave. They live in the mountains of Southern California where they homeschool their kids. Their son has Aspergers Syndrome, ADHD, ODD along with a multitude of Learning Disabilities. Their daughter is “normal” - hyperactive, but “normal”. You can visit them at http://www.MaggieMcCormick.com
