On the Coast – Families Issue 100 I June/July 2019 | Page 14

Food
& your child’s
behaviour
How can food contribute to
your child’s behaviour
BY CLARE MARCANGELO
W
hen we talk about diet,
and children, the first
conversation is, and always
should be, are they getting enough
nutrition from their food? Is their diet
varied enough to help every system in
their little body accomplish its particular
role and see their body grow and develop
as well as possible?
But sometimes we unfortunately
need to look at the foods our children are
consuming from a completely different
perspective. That is, could some of the
foods they are eating actually be causing
a negative outcome?
Have you ever witnessed a child’s
behaviour change rapidly, seemingly
like a switch has been turned on? We’ve
all known (or raised!) children who have
a tendency to have a tantrum over
small things, get angry easily or even
throw things and hurt others. But what
if this wasn’t just “personality” or a lack
of discipline, (sigh) as some people
would like to put it all down to. What if
these poor children had very little
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14
O N T H E C OA S T – FAM ILIES
control over these spikes of emotions, as
they were simply reacting to food
compounds their little bodies had low
tolerance to? The same can be said for
children who have a tendency to
behave impulsively. Silly or even
hyperactive behaviours can often
purely be a reaction to certain foods.
This explains how the behaviours can
shift or escalate sometimes so quickly,
but don’t always seem to be consistent.
This knowledge changes how we view
and also manage these issues.
Sc
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