Is your formerly well-mannered child acting out? Are you finding that he or she is beginning to exhibit anti-social behaviors or are becoming unusually aggressive? Before you become overly anxious and start looking into psychiatric intervention or behavioral drugs, you may want to first examine your child's diet. It may be that foods your child is eating are missing or are deficient in the essential vitamins or minerals that are needed to regulate behavior. Ensure your child is consuming enough magnesium, vitamin B₁₂ and omega oils.

Magnesium

In June 2011, an article in Psychology Today reported a study linking a diet low in magnesium to such serious behavioral problems as depression, anxiety, and even psychosis. It is also known that we deplete our internal magnesium supplies when we are under stress or in difficult situations. Therefore, if you find your child is acting up when starting a new school or day care, it could be that stress has depleted his magnesium stores and he may need an adjustment to his diet to bring his behavior back under control. To fight a magnesium deficiency, ensure your child eats a diet full of green leafy vegetables, plenty of fish and add nuts, seeds and bananas for additional supplements.

Vitamin B₁₂

A deficiency in this vitamin can have an extreme effect on children. In fact, children with a low B₁₂ often exhibit behaviors that can mimic autism. They may have problems with speech, learning, obsessive-compulsive tendencies and unwarranted aggression. Although more common in adult and vegetarians, it would not hurt to have your child tested for a B₁₂ deficiency before commencing with chemical or psychiatric therapy. In the meantime, ensure your child is eating a diet with proper amounts of meat and dairy.

Omega Oils

There have been a number of studies performed in Australia, the United States and in Norway (on rats) that show that the omega oils and most especially Omega 3 can have a big impact on undesirable behavior. Adding an Omega 3 supplement to a child's diet may tone down ADHD symptoms such as aggression and hyperactivity and increase the child's ability to focus and pay attention. In fact, some people believe that the horrid tasting Castor oil children of prior generations were forced to swallow every morning was the reason that autism and ADHD were less prevalent in those days. Fortunately, for the kids today, there are more appealing version that contain the same essential oils to make your body and your brain function better.

Of course, if you fear that your child's behavior is extreme, talk to your pediatrician equipped with behavioral health EHR, but if your child is just going through a bit of a rough time perhaps you should look to the diet. In almost all cases, the financial cost of adding a supplement or eating more nutritional foods is a great investment to your child's health.