We have been working on eliminating “colors” from our daughters’ worlds for the last year and half or so. It has been a journey that we are still working on and through. At first, we just focused on food and tried not to have it in the main soaps and shampoos that they used. Then we added a color free laundry detergent and only allowed eating “colors” a.k.a artificial food dyes on special occasions or times when we weren’t going to have to be in school. As the girls got less colors though a strange thing happened. The less they ingested, through food, lotions, soaps, etc. the more sensitive they became to them when they did have them. Yellow heightened emotions and anger, red was like a bowl full of sugar and caffeine mixed together for hyperactivity. So, we have been slowly working to completely eliminate colors from their diet and our household products. Dish soap seems to be a last frontier that we haven’t conquered yet as well as hand soaps at school and church. The girls are pretty good about checking with the grown up they’re with for colors int heir food, but we haven’t trained them to ask about colors in their soaps.
Some people I’ve talked to wonder how we manage this when we’re not with the girls. I have to honestly answer that we just do what we can. We talk to the girls about the consequences of colors, how they feel and act. We try to point out the struggles they face in controlling themselves once they’ve had colors to help them make those connections. And so, they help govern themselves when we’re away. We also try to build a network of people around us and them so that multiple people check in on and monitor them for us when we’re apart. Fellow teachers at all of our schools have stepped in to check for colors, homeroom moms who are friends with my sisters have stopped the girls from eating things they shouldn’t have. And sometimes they get colors anyway. Then, we discuss it, try to practice grace, wait the craziness out until we return to “normal”.
Another thing that makes this journey stay colorful without colors are the growing number of companies and stores that are working to eliminate artificial dyes from their products. We started shopping at Aldi to save money. Before we embarked on this dye free journey, they embarked on it themselves, taking all artificial food dyes out of their store products. The bliss of buying “Fruit Loops”, Fruit Snacks, Neapolitan Ice Cream and many other colored things without having to even think about colors is PHENOMENAL!! Now I will warn you; this bliss can build complacency and one must remember when you are not shopping in your safe haven to CHECK THE LABELS! Because yes, white marshmallows can have BLUE dye in them!!!!
