Behaviour Problems and Food Intolerance

Many young children show patterns of behaviour that parents find hard to accept. Among these, disobedience, feeding and sleeping problems, temper tantrums, restlessness and difficulties in concentrating are among the most common. It is often suggested that food intolerance or allergy may be a cause of these difficulties and there is some evidence that, in a small number of children, this is indeed the case. All the same, before jumping to the conclusion that your child is difficult because of something in his diet, it is sensible to be cautious.

First, what is problem behaviour? One person’s uncontrollable home-wrecker can be another’s adorable, lively toddler. Children do vary quite a bit in their personalities, and inevitably some are more active, restless and wilful than others. Second, our circumstances affect the way we view children’s behaviour – single parents with many problems, little support and bad housing will naturally find the normal phases children go through more of a strain. Your child’s behaviour certainly is a problem if you find your life is being spoiled by it, but the problem may be more in your child’s behaviour or more in the way you see it. If the problem goes on for some time, and other people, such as neighbours or a playgroup leader, comment on it, then probably the problem is more in the child than in you. Even if this is the case, the way you are bringing up your child may be important, as well as his personality.

Hyperactivity

‘My son never settled to long sleeps and cried a lot as a baby, but as a toddler he became impossible. He was always restless and miserable and never settled to anything. He was continually destructive but didn’t even seem to get pleasure from that, and the number of accidents he had would fill a book. At playgroup he was aggressive and would never sit down with other children for more than a few minutes at storytime. He just whined or wandered around, darting between activities. Then I read about how additives can make children ill. I changed his diet and within a week he began to sleep longer stretches at night, stopped wetting the bed and sat on my knee and let me read a book to him for the first time.’

One type of behaviour problem is ‘hyperactivity’. Doctors and psychologists use this term to describe children who are quite excessively active, have very poor concentration, and are reckless and impulsive wherever they may be – at home, with friends or in a playgroup. It is often suggested that children with this particular type of problem are especially likely to be reacting to something in their diets, and occasionally this may be the case. There are some convincing stories which have been widely publicised, and information about additive-free diets is given below. Before applying a diet, however, do remember these points:

Additive-Free Diets

Additives are chemicals added to packaged food to make it keep safely, last longer, or taste and look as a manufacturer thinks people find most appealing. Preservatives in the form of benzoic acid and the yellow colouring tartrazine are said to be the commonest culprits as far as allergies are concerned. There is no harm, however, in trying your child with a diet which omits the common additives listed below for a period to see if physical or behavioural problems improve. In some children simply cutting anything with artificial yellow colouring such as orange squash, lollies, cakes, sweets and anything coated in bright golden breadcrumbs makes a difference.

A number of manufacturers and supermarkets are now producing additive-free foods: the presence of additives is shown in foods on the content label of the tin or packet by what is called an E number – this is a code number recognised within the Common Market. Not all E numbers are harmful chemicals, some are vitamins or preservatives, but the following do cause reactions in some people:

If your child’s behaviour remains a problem after you have tried an additive-free diet, you should consult your doctor or health visitor. It is quite likely that factors other than diet may be producing the problem. Alternatively, if no other factors do seem likely and there are positive signs that diet may be the answer, then it is just possible that your child is reacting badly to naturally occurring foods such as milk, eggs, wheat, chocolate or some fruits. To take this further you must consult a doctor and a dietitian who will be able to advise you how to cut out certain foods or even, if the problem is a severe one, how to put your child on a diet limited to just a very few foods to see if this makes a difference.

It is potentially dangerous to put your child on a diet cutting out these foods unless alternative sources of calcium and so on are given, so this diet must be supervised by a dietitian.