Mellow Yellow

I think I've mentioned that Mari's behavior as of late has been nothing short of atrocious. You can read more about it here if you want; the Spirited Child book has helped immensely - more in gauging my reactions and temperaments than in assessing Mari...I pretty much had her figured out, just needed to figure myself out to get the two of us on the same page.

One thing I noticed was that there was a very definite change in Mari's behavior starting around the time we went to KY. She was beginning to be a little naughty before we went but a lot of that seemed to be very reactionary to the whole "school changing" and we were working through that. I couldn't put my finger on what had made her "snap." I researched everything from sensory issues to attachment regression; I talked to her, role-played, imaginary played; I spoke with her teachers at school....tried anything to pinpoint WHAT changed her behavior so radically and quickly. I was at the end of my rope.

Last week was somewhat of a better week. We implemented a new reward system...she earns gold coins to put in her treasure chest and then she can buy things with the gold coins (haven't quite figured out the redeeming aspect of this...she's just thrilled to be earning coins). That seemed to help with motivation. We purchased an alarm clock that she can turn off herself and that turns green when it's "okay" for her to get out of bed. We pick out her clothes the night before and put them in a special basket so when it's time to get dressed, she just grabs the basket. It has helped somewhat.

So as a reward for all the progress we made last week, I decided to take Mari out to dinner and buy her a present. She had asked if she could get a baseball bat and ball. Sounded like a worthwhile prize to me. So we went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner and then on to Wal-Mart. We found the bats quickly and Mari immediately picked up a cheap, thin, spongy, yucky, BLUE bat and said that was the one she wanted. I wanted her to get a bigger (preschool friendly) bat and asked her to come look at the other not-so-blue ones (I never said she couldn't have the one she picked, just asked her to look at the others).

She snapped. Snapped. Bad snapped. OMG snapped. She started screaming and kicking and thrashing around. I knew she needed to be removed from the situation but I was hoping to get her settled down. So I picked her up and carried her to the garden department where it was a little quieter. She continued screaming and kicking and scratching and hitting...she was screaming so hard that she couldn't swallow her spit and started foaming at the mouth. So I carried her out to the car pretty much upside down. She was screaming so hard she threw up in the parking lot (or maybe that was because I carried her out upside down). It took me a full 5 minutes to get her buckled in the carseat. She was absolutely hysterical. I wasn't even upset at this point. I knew she had no control over whatever was going on. She calmed down about 5 minutes into the ride home and went straight to the tub and to bed...she was asleep by 6:45.

So............

Here's what I think happened (and thanks to my Cousin/BFF Juli for putting the clues together for me). When we went to Ruby Tuesday, Mari ordered lemonade. They have awesome lemonade - homemade, fresh-squeezed. Mari had downed about 1/2 cup and then knocked hers over....when I set it back up, I noticed it was fizzy. So I called the waiter over and asked him why her drink was fizzy (I was worried they had given her Mountain Dew). He explained that they were out of regular lemonade and substituted (without asking) a mixture of lemon syrup and club soda. I didn't think much about it. Mari drank 2 cups. Then flipped out in Wal-Mart.

So while I was recounting the evening with Juli (I was concerned maybe there was alcohol in the syrup - I couldn't smell any but....), she suggested maybe it was a food coloring thing. And then I got to thinking that we have been drinking LOTS of lemonade lately. We had some in KY (but it was pink lemonade) and then when we came home, we started drinking it pretty much exclusively. Country Time Lemonade - a gallon every two days. With Yellow 5 Lake added. And the week of good behavior leading up to the "incident" - we had mostly been drinking Minute Maid Fruit Falls (flavor water in pouches) - no food coloring.

Yellow 5 Lake - also known as tartrazine. Banned in most countries. Regulated by the FDA - it must be labelled when added to products (in other words, "artificial colors" does not cut it - it has to be specified). May cause hyperactivity in children. Also exacerbates asthma. Among lots of other lovely things.

We've now been without Yellow 5 Lake for 4 (almost 5) full days. The last tantrum was over 3 days ago. We have had a pleasant week. Not perfect but much more typical 3-yr-old-ness. Mari is still distractable, headstrong, spirited. But she is focused, directable, and most importantly, IN CONTROL of her emotions and impulses.

So we are going to be mellow without yellow in this house. I'm not going to become the "yellow police" - I don't want her to miss out on treats at school or parties because of this. But we will attempt to avoid it in as many situations as possible. Eliminating it will not give us perfect behavior but it will remove one obstacle that we can control.

Anyone else out there have any experience with food dye and behavior issues?