Anyone using diet to adjust child's behaviour?

[Blt178]

My DD is very busy, bossy and the tantrums are making me crazy... I remember my aunt addressing my very hyperactive cousin's behaviour through diet and it was very successful! In fact, today he is one of the most wonderful, focused, gentle people I know! I don't think DD is near his extreme but it is bad enough that I am looking for all and any possible avenues to help...

Are any of you specifically addressing behaviour through your child's diet? If so, what are you restricting? Any reading or sites you can suggest to help me get started?

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I always have a look at diet when we have behavior problems. I think that just being conscious about diet and lifestyle can make a big impact. Does anyone have any specific diet instructions for addressing behavior issues? 

[One_Girl]

I didn't change anything in our diets other than making sure they followed the food pyramid fairly closely with dd but I did notice that her trigger was mostly hunger and made sure to have snacks on hand when she was younger. Her tantrums were hardest when I was getting used to her growing sense of self and her need for independence.

[The4OfUs]

When my kids have too much dairy, they explode - DS into sobbing tears and angst, DD into rage.  Soooo, we limit dairy to a couple servings spaced out per week, which they seem to be able to process.  

Junk food/fast food/filled with colors/flavors/preservatives makes them more hyper than usual (within 5-10 minutes of eating), so we limit those, too.  

Low grain (virtually wheat-free, and low on other grains), high protein, high vegetable, moderate fruit and liberal fat is the eating style that is optimum for our family and how we feel and act; we have varying degrees of compliance to that, though.  

[pek64]

My son, as a preschooler, was prone to needing everything *his* way. It was like walking on eggshells to keep him from melting down. As a baby, he had colic, and I gave up sugar to make the colic stop, but my mother convinced me that children need sugar, so I let him eat sugar in small quanities. With the behavior problems, I decided to remove sugar again. It was like night and day!! No more walking on eggshells. Now he's a teen, and we know he gets migraines from sugar. When I asked him about a time when he was 3.5 and had a donut and had a total meltdown, he was able to describe the feelings. At the time, he could only say he didn't feel like himself, as a teen he said his head felt too large and heavy, everything was too bright and too loud. After he had calmed down from the donut, I told him the sugar caused that feeling, and he decided to never have sugar again.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Wow, really interesting perspective, Pek!  It's wonderful when we have parents of older kids to share their long-term perspective on NFL. Thanks for sharing. 

[34me]

I have issues with peanut butter. As a kid I craved it with a capital c. Then my mom was listening to a radio show about people who crave what maybe they shouldn't eat. So - no peanut butter cold turkey. Boy I was mad for weeks. I was in 7th grade and still didn't believe it in HS so I started eating it more. After about 3 days, I was incredibly irritable. And I had to (silently) agree with my mom. I still love it but only eat it once in a while, never 2 days in a row.
So when my ds1 was a youngster and pretty irritable that is where we started. It wasn't the issue but a combo of dyes, sugar and caffeine seemed to be. So he was due free until last year (at 15/16 it's harder to manage him away from home ;-) ) and I try and keep sugar and caffeine to a minimum at home so when he is out it isn't too bad overall. Age has also helped him learn more self control.

[sassyfirechick]

I have to tell you, DH has major gluten/wheat issues as diagnosed by an accupuncturist confirmed with bloodwork. I keep our house mostly gluten free, BUT, he works long crazy hours part time, and full time is a firefighter with a 24hr on/72hr off schedule.  When he is at work, especially the firehouse, he eats a ton of crap (they are worse than middlschoolers with the teasing so a restricted diet is a losing battle) and I can tell when he gets home - he's such a miserable @**!  I was able to get him completely GF for about 3wks with a HUUUUGE difference in his overall attitude, but keeping him on it is a struggle :-P  My suggestion would be go to an ND and get your LO tested for specific foods.  I knew DD had dairy issues, and I had a good idea she was also reactive to oats, but it wasn't until we saw an ND that I was able to confirm that her sensitivity to oats was exclusively that and not a gluten problem - a huge help in knowing what I can feed her!