From Moms Across America
Synthetic food dyes. They are approved for use by the FDA, so could they be causing the entire body a hysterical emotional meltdown? Indeed they were and can.
As a young child, my son had two identities. One was a sweet, curious boy who enjoyed reading and playing with his trains. The other, well, I can only refer to it as a dead ringer for the Tasmanian Devil. For those not subjected to hours of Looney Tunes as a child, Taz is an animated character who became famous for his short temper and extreme, hurricane-like energy bursts.
Doctors dismissed these outbursts as normal little boy behavior, but there was something peculiar about the tantrums. They triggered so quickly over nothing in particular like some switch had been activated in his mind that sent his nervous system into high gear. My mom’s mind fled into all kinds of worst-case scenarios, abetted by Google searches on everything from terrifying brain diseases to my general failure as a parent. Because what would mom-life be without some occasional self-blame.
A few months passed, and a few childhood viruses came and went. One particularly nasty flu sent me to the drugstore to pick up my son’s favorite grape-flavored Children’s Tylenol. Twenty minutes after dosing the Tylenol, that notorious Taz returned. I looked at the bottle.
