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A little while back i wrote about my son. I wrote that he had major issues in school keeping his hand and feet to himself among other things. I just talked to his teacher and she said he was extremely hyper all the time and could never sit still. We have at this point tried all sorts of behaviour assessments with him. We enrolled him in soccer, rewards system, possetive reinforcement, punishment, alot of love, strategy games, you name it. No results. Today i read an article how food additives such a red 40 food coloring can be really bad for kids who have adhd. I research it a bit and found tons of people who swore that once they cut that out of their kids diet they saw a "new child". The reason why this interest me so much is because ever since my son was old enough to drink juice from a zippy cup we have been giving him crystal light (red sherry). I truly thought it was harmless. His whole kindergarten year he brought crystal light for lunch to school as well as now in first grade. I always given him that because it is no sugar so that would mean less hyper.
Now im starting to believe that have been poisoning him all these years. What if his adhd symptoms are caused by crystal light and red 40 food coloring. Does any of you ever heard about this before?
A little while back i wrote about my son. I wrote that he had major issues in school keeping his hand and feet to himself among other things. I just talked to his teacher and she said he was extremely hyper all the time and could never sit still. We have at this point tried all sorts of behaviour assessments with him. We enrolled him in soccer, rewards system, possetive reinforcement, punishment, alot of love, strategy games, you name it. No results. Today i read an article how food additives such a red 40 food coloring can be really bad for kids who have adhd. I research it a bit and found tons of people who swore that once they cut that out of their kids diet they saw a "new child". The reason why this interest me so much is because ever since my son was old enough to drink juice from a zippy cup we have been giving him crystal light (red sherry). I truly thought it was harmless. His whole kindergarten year he brought crystal light for lunch to school as well as now in first grade. I always given him that because it is no sugar so that would mean less hyper.
Now im starting to believe that have been poisoning him all these years. What if his adhd symptoms are caused by crystal light and red 40 food coloring. Does any of you ever heard about this before?
Why don't you just cut out the crystal light and give him actual fruit juice or water instead? Anyway, this post is suspicious - never heard of crystal light for a kid, and never seen it given to a kid. Who in their right mind thinks that is healthy?
Additionally, if he has too much energy to sit still, that's not something he can control. You don't give much information - how is he doing academically (reading level, math level, not completed assignments)? And does he really need to sit still? Many teachers are successful with "hyper" students because they don't force them to sit still. They allow them to stand at their desks, for example, if they want to, instead of sitting. One teacher had an easel in the corner and allowed a really difficult student to go to the easel and paint any time he felt he just couldn't stand sitting there or participating anymore. That was very successful. Those stupid rewards programs do absolutely nothing for anyone except make people feel like they are trying to fix the problem.
Why don't you just cut out the crystal light and give him actual fruit juice or water instead? Anyway, this post is suspicious - never heard of crystal light for a kid, and never seen it given to a kid. Who in their right mind thinks that is healthy?
Crystal light is sold next to all the other juices in the grocery store. I It is not like I went to some drug dealer and bought it. I know many other kids who drink koolaid. Crystal light is kind of like the sigar free version of it. But thanks for being judgemental. I came here to get some ideas and maybe previous experiences on the matter. Not for you to accuse my thread of being suspicious.
Anyways, I am cutting the juice out completely. Thanks again
Anyway, this post is suspicious - never heard of crystal light for a kid, and never seen it given to a kid. Who in their right mind thinks that is healthy?
Why would it be suspicious? It's like a no sugar version of Kool Aid. Lots of people give it to their kids instead of sugary drinks. She's not giving him vodka!
At any rate I don't think it will hurt the OP's child if she reduces the amount of red dye and other artificial foods that her child eats. It may not help but it certainly will not hurt. Why wouldn't she try it?
If she said she gives her kid Mountain Dew, would that be less suspicious? I see Crystal Light every time I go to the grocery store, right next to water, kool aid, and tea mixes. Don't understand why it's a big deal.
I have heard that red dye causes hyperactivity, but I don't know how true it is. It would be worth a try. My dd won't drink plain drinking water, instead I buy the flavored water. It doesn't have dye and it tastes like fruit juice. Perhaps you could try that.
Why would it be suspicious? It's like a no sugar version of Kool Aid. Lots of people give it to their kids instead of sugary drinks. She's not giving him vodka!
At any rate I don't think it will hurt the OP's child if she reduces the amount of red dye and other artificial foods that her child eats. It may not help but it certainly will not hurt. Why wouldn't she try it?
Not judging the op at all but do "lots of people" give their kids Crystal Light? I get pretty bad headaches ( and my stomach doens't like some of them to boot) from artifical sweeetners myself - I don't give any to my daughter for those reasons. I totally quit drinking diet sodas a few years ago and now have limited "soda" . I buy the Izze (juice and sparkling water) - Every now and then I let my daughter have a sip or maybe two inches in her little cup...
I think the Red Dye theory has been out there for a while - some people are very convinced that avoiding it really helped their children.
I also don't know any kids whose parents give them Crystal Light, but I do know plenty who give their kids "diet" versions of plenty of things believing that they are healthier. My house has always been an artifical sweetener free land because they exacerbate my wifes migraines. My son was diagnosed with migraines as well a year ago and once that happened we became much more aware of the things with artificial sweeteners. Overall I think that "connection" just goes along with the food dyes one. For some people, it's not a problem, for others it can cause a wide range of issues and/or exacerbate underlying problems. Since you know you have this issue, I don't think it would hurt at all to eliminate or drastically limit things like food dyes and artifical sweeteners. Zimbo posted the links to the research and while it is not conclusive, it's not a disproven theory either.
My advice would be to start a food diary for your son to track what he eats and then how his behavior is. Gradually start eliminating things and see how he reacts over a period of several weeks. Since he seems to drink so much Crystal Light, start there and replace it with either 100% fruit juice (you can dillute it with water) or with just plain water. If going the water route, you could slowly scale back on the Crystal Light by adding less and less to the water until it is eliminated.
I have become a big believer in "diaries" when having issues like this with young kids ever since our youngest has had so many issues with development, sleep and behavior. You simply can't remember everything that happens to realize patterns or triggers, so write it down.
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