To be disgusted with Elf on the Shelf.

[ElfShelfIssues]

NC.
DS has ADHD. It is a daily, gruelling challenge to avoid him going hyperactive and to bring him down when he does. We're not sure on DD yet.
SIL bought the kids these "decorate your own elf" from the Elf on the Shelf brand. They contain 2 x tubes of "icing" (coloured gel) and a small packet of sprinkles, as well as a milk chocolate elf. DH gave these to the kids. They were so badly made that when you squeezed, the backs of the "icing" tubes burst on two of the colours, covering DH and DS with green and red gloop, respectively.

I had a moment which I told myself was paranoia, but decided to check the ingredients on the box to put my mind at ease, which is when I saw that they've used those shit food colours that can cause hyperactivity, but the kids had eaten it by the time I found this out.

I'm not mad at SIL because she wasn't to know, but we should be able to trust the food we feed our children and I am disgusted that a brand marketing their products specifically at children would use these E102 and E129 when the issues with them are so well-known that the packaging has to carry a warning! There are so many other red and green food colourings that are safe for children.

AIBU to be disgusted with Elf on the Shelf for making this rubbish and targeting children with it?

I wish these bloody food colours would be banned, there's no need for them, TBH.

Buckling up for an afternoon of pure hell now. Thanks Elf on the Shelf.

Sorry, this is on you (and/or DH) as the parents. My DS appears to have an allergy/intolerance to carmine. It's taken us a long time to narrow it down to that. So he/I check everything that it's likely to be in. If we miss it/ don't check then that's on us. Not the food company. Luckily it's not a serious allergy, he'll just vomit a few times.

Yes agree with this, sorry OP. If you have a DC who has a sensitivity/intolerance/allergy to any legal ingredient, you need to be checking the packaging of everything they eat.

Jesus, who would give their kids a foodstuff from China unless it was actual Chinese food.

Im no UPF zealot, I think a lot of that total ban and avoidance is loopy but this is sheer junk. And I say that while munching a bag of crisps.

I don't think they should use these colours any more but this is entirely on you,
@ElfShelfIssues

If you have a child who is likely to be sensitive to these, you check the ingredients before letting them eat something.

Hope any reaction isn't too bad though!

😂

E numbers cover all sorts, an E number doesn't necessarily mean a "bad" ingredient.

to be fair, what did you think was causing the bright colours? I don't do additives for my DC either, but that means I check the ingredients of everything I give them.

Also from that same link

*• the link between food colours and hyperactivity is not completely certain; more research is needed to confirm it
*

Elf on a Shelf is an American brand, they have all sorts of shite in their food products that we don't have over here but I'd imagine imported products direct or to one of the many American Sweet shops bypasses the guidelines.

I'm allergic to a certain ingredient in cold remedies. So I check before I buy. Problem solved.

One of my dc is NT, and the other ND. The NT one, is the one who is hyperactive with too much sugar. The ND one is so laid back, he's horizontal, nothing gets him moving! I think it depends on the child. I have never had an issue with food colouring. I use gel colours, you don't need as much of it.
I think it is pretty obvious that coloured icing will possibly have some chemicals in it. Christmas is once a year; hope your dc had fun!

(Apologies, I have annoyingly quoted the op by mistake!)

I was that kid, too. No sweets, no tinned fruit, no drinks, no lollipops, no jelly, no fruit juice, pure or 'fake' - meant I was left with an inordinate amount of cheese and pineapple hedgehog spines (no bad thing, IMO, I always liked them and just didn't mention I'd had pineapple) and a lot of Marmite sandwiches.

Kids food standards in general - and adults tbh - are mostly crap!! The food manufacturers and supermarkets are laughing as we all eat absolute rubbish and very little real food or variety. You can’t even buy much variety even if you wanted to now because farmers grow all the same foods based on what the supermarkets want which is low cost, efficiency, speed and volume.

Well it doesn’t cause ALL children or indeed adults to be hyperactive and it’s not a banned ingredient so YABU to expect it not to be sold

If is the parent’s responsibility, and that goes for your DH too, to check before it is used if you are concerned about the ingredients

I have one of those kids too, we avoid the majority of things that set him off. However he did get some sweets from somewhere once and whoosh he was up the pole all evening. He now knows to not eat sweets before they are checked. Then another time my older son took him to the shop and he came home having guzzled an entire can of red cola so another fun night. Couldn’t blame my son he wasn’t to know but you live and learn. The minute he came in having drank most of this putrid red crap face stained and all whilst giggling like a twit I knew I was in for a fun time. Even he knows to never touch the stuff now it’s not allowed in the house

Buckling up for an afternoon of pure hell now. Thanks Elf on the Shelf.

Dont “thank” elf on the shelf for this, thank your husband who gave it to him without checking the ingredients. As parents, it’s your responsibilities to check, especially if there are certain foods that will “give you an afternoon of pure hell.”

If your child has an Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity DISORDER, you're going to have to accept and manage some impulsivity and hyperfocus etc.

A taste of something with food colouring will hardly make a difference, if at all.

Have you actually read the information contained in your link?

• hyperactivity can have many different causes, including genetics, and food colours are probably only a small part of the problem
• removing food colours from your child's diet will not necessarily lead to an improvement in their behaviour

-the link between food colours and hyperactivity is not completely certain; more research is needed to confirm it

I don't think OP thinks food dyes cause her DC's ADHD, just that they will exacerbate the hyperactivity.

I do feel like this is a 'personal responsibility' situation.

No, I definitely don't think food dye can cause ADHD either. But I'm thinking it's also not the root of general hyperactive behaviour.

Because if you are already diagnosed with ADHD, it'll very most likely be down to that when you display hyperactivity!

Yes but I think you're misreading OP. She knows her kids are prone to hyperactivity because they have ADHD. She believes the food dyes make it worse, not cause it.

I had a moment which I told myself was paranoia, but decided to check the ingredients on the box to put my mind at ease, which is when I saw that they've used those shit food colours that can cause hyperactivity, but the kids had eaten it by the time I found this out.

Most brightly coloured food (especially Christmassy red things) is highly likely to contain food colourings - surely it's normal to look at the ingredients before eating a product if it's bright green or bright red when you know food colourings will cause your DC issues?

It sounds like the company listed the ingredients on the box but you're cross with them because you didn't read them. How is this the company's fault?

If you have a child who is intolerant, allergic or sensitive to certain ingredients, the responsibility is on you to check those foods before consumption. I'm sorry OP, the fault lies with you.

This is not the fault of ELF on the shelf
If you know food colourings affect your child's behavior then you need to read the list of ingredients in things
My severely autistic son reacts badly to certain sweets we avoid them.