Artificial colors

Austin's had some other behavior issues at school in recent months, really since being back at school from Christmas break. Every week or two we'd get a note home saying that he spit in another child's face or that he threw an ESL (translation...English as a Second Language) child's shoe in the sewer. I think that having the extended break and change in routine probably caused a lot of the problems and it's just taken a while to get back on track.

In my desperation to find something that will help change his behavior (and our reaction towards the undesirable behavior), I've been doing a lot of reading online and trying to find some solutions for us. Austin was diagnosed with ADHD in the fall and we started meds then. The dosage is very low and increasing it made him dazed and in a zone so we went back to the lower dose.

So, I wanted to find other things to try that didn't involve increasing meds. There are behavior modifications that we're doing at home. I read A LOT about artificial colors and how those may affect kid's behavior particularly those with ADHD. Some of the side affects of artificial colors could be hyperactivity and impulsivity which is what Austin has. We were willing to try anything to help him and this seemed pretty easy to cut out of our house.

I started looking at things in the pantry and refrigerator just out of curiosity to see what has artificial coloring and I was surprised. Of course, the usual things had artificial colors...Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, fruit snacks, M&Ms. But, crescent rolls???? Why would crescent rolls have yellow in it? Aren't they just dough? Another thing was the yogurt that we used every day to administer Austin's meds. It was Yoplait strawberry yogurt and it had Red Dye 40.

It just so happened that the week I decided to cut all this out was a wonderful shopping week at Publix. They had a ton of organic products on sale that week with coupon match ups. I went by myself (no kids) so I could really focus on reading ingredients. I bought boxes of Cascadian Farm Cinnamon Crunch cereal for $1.99 per box. I didn't buy much because I wasn't sure how Austin would like it; you just never know with 1) kids and 2) organic stuff. Would it taste like cardboard? I was so surprised! Austin loved it so much that I went back to the store and stocked up while it was on sale. I also bought their fruity Os cereal which is like the Fruity Cheerios without the artificial colors.

Danimails Crush Cups also are artificial color free. Austin loves these so this was a perfect thing to stock up on. Publix also had these on special and I had a coupon which was a bonus. He loves to snack on these in the afternoon when he gets home from school. And it's good for him!

Another thing I had NEVER thought about was toothpaste. Kids toothpaste has all sorts of artificial coloring. Blue, red, yellow...you name it, the toothpaste has it. I know it's supposed to make brushing more fun for the kids, but if you could make it without all of the color and it still be effective, why wouldn't you, Crest? I bought Tom's of Maine toothpaste at Target. I didn't know if Austin would actually like this toothpaste so I only bought one tube. Austin loved it! It was a little more expensive than regular toothpaste, but well worth it.

Overall, our efforts to cut out artificial colors hasn't been too bad. For the most part, the kids snack on fruit or crackers, things that don't have artificial colors anyway. Austin loves M&Ms, Popsicles and a Two Ball Screwball ice cream cone from the ice cream man. We allow Austin a few "treats" a week but nothing in excess.

Austin's had 2 GREAT weeks at school (we removed most artificial colors two weeks ago). I don't want to give too much credit to cutting out artificial colors as the reason for the great weeks. We've done other things at home too and this was just a part of it. But, with great behavior coinciding with us cutting these things out, it makes you wonder. Did these things really make him more impulsive, more hyper? Either way, we'll take 2 great weeks at school and home no matter how it happened. Way to go AUSTIN!