I post often about healthy recipes for kids, articles about getting kids to eat healthier and tips for healthy eating. Reading back through my posts though I realize I've never posted exactly 'why' this is a passion of mine.
I'm mom to a 9 year old little boy. My son has always been a healthy eater, I am so blessed with a little boy who loves his tomatoes and cucumbers. However when he was 5 I decided I need to do more. He was constantly having issues at school with his behavior. He would become frustrated easily, act out for no reason and just basically he was a child that couldn't control himself anymore. I was desperate to help my son become the lovable little boy I was sure he could be. As I had done many times before I went to my message boards and started posting. A good friend on one of my boards actually emailed me about my posts. She suggested that I take food dyes out of my sons diet. She gave me information and a lot of support on this subject. I knew it would be a big undertaking but I was so desperate at that point and I was willing to do anything to help him.
So I became a label reader. I read chips, pudding, yogurt, bread, you name it I read it! You would be amazed where they sneak food dyes in. Slowly but surely I eliminated all food dyes from his diet. Within 3 months he was completely dye free and believe it or not his behavior was changing! He was able to control himself and turned into that lovable little boy I knew he truly was.
Here we are now 4 years later and he is still dye free. Most parents would say 'How cruel! You don't let him have food dyes at all!' No, not cruel I just know what works for him and what doesn't. He also knows what works for him and what doesn't.
There you have it, my story. Since then I have been an advocate for Kids Eating Healthy. I helped to start the Kids Eating Healthy board on iVillage.com which I lead and then started this blog. Helping parents help their kids eat healthy is a passion of mine. I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I enjoy writing it.
Great entry Rebekah. I took a lot of dyes out of my son's diet when he was young and also sugar affected him. Dyes don't seem to affect him much now that he is an "adult". I think he has outgrown it, but not the sugar issue. I can definitely tell when he has had soda at school, he comes home w-i-r-e-d!
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