NOT ANOTHER PARTY!
Let me share a story about the latest birthday party that my six-year-old daughter, Sami attended. This time of year she has many birthday parties to attend, including her own! The traditional food served usually is cake with gobs of frosting, ice cream, sugary drinks, and cheese snack foods.
It was a pool party, at a public pool, which began at 5:00 in the evening, which is dinnertime for many families. What was served? Little cheese and pepperoni pizzas from the snack bar, with 7-up fruit punch. And then, when it was time to do the song, presents and cake, she brought out a store bought cake with tons of frosting and served ice cream with it. I just sighed and crossed my fingers hoping for the best. Why?
Approximately 10 minutes later Sami had a complete break down. She started crying uncontrollably. Everyone thought she had been physically hurt. When my husband got over to her, she was crying because she couldn’t see her friend opening the presents. And later, I watched her become more stubborn than usual. She wouldn’t walk- she insisted on crawling away from the pool. When her best friend wanted to say goodbye, Sami just sat there pouting, and wouldn’t acknowledge her friend at all. This is unusual behavior for Sami, unless her body has been overwhelmed with certain types of foods, dairy or sugar and especially the two together.
Not only did Sami change, but I also watched the other girls get a little more hyper and less cooperative.
My friends have experienced similar situations with their children. Some of my friend’s children have been experiencing asthma-like episodes. Once dairy is taken out of their diets they have discovered, the asthma-like symptoms significantly reduce or go away altogether. The same is true for behavior problems – take away the sugar, or dairy, or both, and often the child is no longer labeled ADD or ADHD.
I’ve always tried to feed Sami wholsome foods. My definition of wholesome foods has been changing since her birth. This year instead of purchasing a cake from the bakery or making a cake from a recipe with white flour and regular table sugar, I made a cake with wholesome foods.
You may be wondering why I “torture” my child with these “awful tasting” foods – even on her birthday. It is because I have seen the positive difference in her behavior with the dietary changes.
In the past six months we have been under upper cervical care. This care has not only supported but encouraged better food choices. We’ve watched Sami’s infant sister, Lily who cried incessantly before coming under care, improve significantly. So there is hope, that with regular treatments Sami might be able to consume a wider variety of foods, and not have a negative reaction. With continued treatments my wish is that some day Sami can consume some of these foods, in small amounts, occasionally.
And as for the “awful tasting” cake, one of Sami’s friends said, “I love this cake! I really love this cake!” That could have been enough reward for me, but the “icing on the cake” was to watch a room full of five and six year olds enjoying themselves after eating. There were no meltdowns, no hyper activity, just pure enjoyment. And isn’t that what birthdays are supposed to be all about?
Sami’s Mom, Trina
