I know it's been done before but I'm really confused :(

[hoppershopper]

I know that this is a bit of a taboo topic but really need some clarification.

We have just returned from our holiday abroad. As soon as she got home we went to my SILs for some tea. My 4 yr old dd as usual went to the cupboard and asked for a fruit shoot.
She drinks them quite regularly when we are out and about and we noticed before we went that she was a bit more hyper than usual after sneaking a couple of bottles from the cupboard one afternoon but put it down to her bieng giddy about what we were doing at the time.

Anyway, being on holiday she hasn't had any thing other than water and fresh fruit juice but tonight OMG she was literally bouncing off the walls. She was running about like a loon, wouldn't sit still, even bit me at one point, was cross one minute, screaching with laughter the next. She was pulling her 'angry face' and just being generally aggressive.
When we finally got her in bed, she was laid there rocking.
Im just confused as to whether she was excited to see her aunt and cousins or it was a reaction to the juice.

Can't seem to find a definitive answer to whether they likely to have caused this or not, some say it's all a myth and others say they are the work of the devil.

Don't want to say she can't ever have them if it is all a myth, but cant be having this behaviour if this is what's causing them

From what I have read on other threads, it's because they contain Aspartame which some people say can make their children behave strangely (similar to what you describe)

Here's some info from Wikipedia if it helps, I honestly don't know one way or t'other

Altinkum - Don't want to deny her them completely if they are not the problem - she does not have them all that often tbh but she does really love them!

A child I babysat for used to get like this if he had certain additives. They later found out he was allergic to them.

If they are the sugar free ones, there is a good possibility that it was the aspartame, if not sugar free, then the sugar content of them.

I would prevent her from having them, shaking should not be a side effect of a food/drink!

Do be aware, I was surprised to realise what sent my DS hyper was Orange Juice.

Now what cause all my 3 to be hyper yesterday? Was it just coming into our cool house after the heat of the day? (Because I don't think they ate anything in common before being hyper.)

Why not give her water in a fruit shoot bottle for a week so you can see if it's that or not. If it isnt then she can carry on having juice. Just buy a big bottle of squash and reuse the bottle, fruit shoots are a waste of money, it's just squash in a fancyish bottle!

If she loved peanuts but had a peanut allergy would you let her have them because she liked them? (And yes, I know that is an extreme analogy, but it was the first that came to mind.)

She reacted badly to it, whether she likes them or not. Seems pretty simple to me.

Sir boobAlot - of course if she had a peanut allergy I wouldn't give her them. I'm wondering if the ingredients in the things could be responsible for the change in her which is what I of course first assumed, however on reading further, more arguments seemed to point to it being a myth and of course seeing her family again agfter her hols was making her more hyper that's all.

altinkum - what I was trying to say was that yes she does a have them often but not all day everyday. Is that better for you?

give her one on a really, really boring day when you're only doing food shopping or other dull things. If she reacts similarly, you'll know it wasn't just over-excitement

My little girl bounces for hours if she has a fruit shoot, so she doesn't have them.

I wonder if 'Sunny D' would do the same, toxic coloured stuff!

I would take her for an allergy test to see if she is allergic to aspartame. If you actually establish that she is allergic to them then you can just tell her this and not have them any more.

I'm sure she'd "really love" all sorts of things , doesn't mean you have to give her soemthing which you suspect disagrees with her - myth or not. Also the sweetness on the sippy top won't be good for her teeth. Diluted fruit juice/cartons with straw would be a better option and no more expensive. She's only 4 not 14, plenty of time to influence her habits.

Can I just ask for an allergy test at the doctors?

I don't know, you may have to start a new thread to find that out. The allergy test I am referring to is one I had many years ago in a health food shop (by a visiting allergy practitioner) - they clipped something to your finger and were able to test loads of different substances. There is probably a better method now and I am not sure if doctor surgeries deal with this sort of stuff.

What is the sugar percentage in a frootshoot? AFAIK we don't have them in Australia.

I am an adult and aspartam makes me a really not nice person (only realised that about 6 months ago though so have been horrible to everyone for quite a while before realising!)

I just do not give things with aspartame to the Dcs anymore out of precaution but still let them have drinks with proper sugar once in a while (beware, some squashes have real sugar and aspartame! I would advise to read the labels of anything you have not baught before.)

I think you'd have to have a test done privately, it isn't as if it interferes with everyday life and exposure is unavoidable.

You can get a referral from your GP for specialist allergy testing prob done at a childrens hospital.

Children don't react to aspartme because they are allergic to it. They react to it because it is shit and an excitotoxin and their brains can't handle it.

I am with SirBoobAlot. Why anyone would give theirchild something that had this reaction on them totally escapes me.

My DS2 has a problem with artificial sweetners and so he is not allowed the. Thats it. It isn't a discussion.

And since seeing the info about aspartme I don't buy anything with it in.

robinsons do a be natural range of squashes that do not contain aspartame. Fruit shoots are evil, my DC have never had them as I had seen how my neices were when they had them and it shocked me.

I would not give my DS something with aspartame in as a matter of principle. Regular fruit shoots are just very high in sugar.

Additives etc can definitely affect children's behaviour. I would avoid giving them anyway. They are truly shit. Give her juice or proper squash fgs.