I'm concerned about her. This is so not healthy.

Home List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following Log in

Join Now

| | | | |

Previous 1, 2, 3, 4

Forum -> Parenting our children

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Maize

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 2:16 am

amother [ Raspberry ] wrote:

I was like that. For two years straight I only ate pasta and cheese. Then, I only ate pizza for a few years. Then, I ate pancakes for about a year.... I go through my phases with foods. I'm pretty ok now... however, I go back into these "phases" when I'm pregnant. Such as during one pregnancy, I couldn't eat supper, I only ate dried fruit. During another pregnancy, I only ate yogurt.....

My DD is going through the same thing now. IDK what tdo. following....

I'm the same... I eat a wide range of foods and healthily but when left to my own devices I tend to get into phases with eating around 4 of the same foods all the time (like I'll only eat oatmeal and cheese salad for a few weeks, with fruit for snacks, etc, so it's healthy but 'stuck in a rut'). It just seems to be my natural way of eating. Unfortunately my oldest son seems to be similar to be in this way. He has a very limited number of foods he'll eat and basically never eats supper with us. For weeks he'll only have cornflakes and cheese sandwiches and pretzels, but then he'll suddenly switch and it'll be all about hummus sandwiches. I try really hard not to make a big deal of it. Of course it upsets met that he won't try the food I make or eat with the rest of his siblings, but forcing him isn't going to help, and b"H he DOES eat, and it sometimes varies. I give him multivitamins...

mary6

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 3:56 am

Have you explained to her why she needs a balanced diet. Give her the example of how a car needs fuel can’t put Pepsi in, same with our bodies we need nutrients to help it stay healthy.
It’s important she sees you want to keep her healthy.
I have this with my 10 year old and it’s not perfect but she understands that she must pick a protein carb and veg for the meal for her health. She will eat a tiny bit of protein lots of carb and will happily eat cucumbers.
The other trick I do is have the carb ready only after the veg/protein and try and see if she’ll eat while everyone else is sitting at the table eating and tell her the pasta will be ready in 5 min….

FranticFrummie

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 4:02 am

amother [ Gladiolus ] wrote:

How about a gut detox? Sounds like candida bc craving carbs which turn into sugar.

In meantime it might help to bring in healthy pasta options like lentil, rice, quinoa, regular gluten free etc.. there are so! Many kinds. And then mix regular cheese with plant based so she at least will be having a more nutritious meal.

Will she eat popsicles? There are so many ways to make very loaded smoothies into popsicles

This. My DD craved bread, pizza, and pasta all the time. It turned out she has Celiac!
She switched to goat and sheep milk cheeses, and her complexion and gut problems got much better.

Try to get your DD to eat Greek Bio Yogurt with a teaspoon of silan or some fresh fruit instead of a piece of cheese. You get the calcium, but with tons more nutritional value.

If your DD has eczema, asthma, or mood swings, I think you'll find a major improvement.

It's not easy, but if you find tasty alternatives for her, she may get on board. Try to explain to her that some things are a healthier choice than others. Always talk in terms of nutrition, growing up healthy, and listening to doctors.

Do NOT ever make it about weight or food control. Just switch out her favorite foods for better options.

amother

Ginger

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 4:07 am

My sister was like this for years, didn't like any fleishigs and survived on pasta, cheese and french fries, so when we were at my parents this past yom tov I was so surprised to see her eating schnitzel. When I commented she laughed and said yeah, she discovered that she does actually like some stuff and she was so silly when she was younger, she never had anything to eat... she's 16 now!

ImmaBubby

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 4:48 am

גם זה יעבור.
My daughter who was just like this is bH now the very health conscious mother of a toddler who mostly eats a variety of healthy foods but has her stages.
Most people go through stages, and kids are no different.

Jewishmom8

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 5:15 am

mha3484 wrote:

How are the other areas of her life? Does she have friends? Does she like school? How are her grades? This could be an way of coping with emotional stress. Restricting food because you feel hefkerness in other areas.

I have an ODD daughter like this.
one of her big things has always been food related. She lets me know that only a few things are good and normal and if we do not have those things then our house has no food.
that we have nothing to eat even when we have a VERY stocked pantry and fridge.

amother

Papayawhip

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 5:56 am

My brother was the fussiest eater as a child, and super stubborn, refusing to try new foods and making everyone crazy.

Now as an adult he is super healthy, he is really into food and nutrition.
He cooks and is a bit of a foodie.

Hopefully this a stage that will pass!

amother

Tuberose

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 9:05 am

amother [ Papayawhip ] wrote:

Ive seen this happen more than once, in all the cases I know, it’s the same restrictiveness/obsessiveness presenting itself in opposite ways. Like FF once said on another thread, eating disorders is less about what’s on your plate and more about what’s going on in your mind.

amother

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 9:26 am

I don't need to explain things to her. She understands. We have discussed food groups and what they do in our body for us over the years and even recently. There are some very health focused people in our extended family so this comes up a lot.
Shes a very mature 10 year old. I can't "get her" to eat foods she doesn't want to.
I'm just looking for ways to expand her pallete without it being a control thing or cv trigger a eating disorder.
Thank you for all those, I used to be like this stories, gives me hope.

FranticFrummie

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 1:32 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Don't get her to eat, get her to try.

You don't have to like it.
You don't have to even swallow it.
You do have to try it.

Give her a paper napkin if she needs to spit it out, and say "Oh well, maybe later." Don't ask her to try it again for at least a month. Try something completely different next time.

See if you can get DD to explain what is bothering her about the food. "I don't like it" needs a little bit more info. Is it a texture? Are the foods touching each other? Does she not like the sauce on top, and would prefer it on the side for dunking? Is anything too spicy or too bland?

DD once looked at her food and said "It's all slimy!". I told her "That's not slime, that's gravy." She replied "It's too GRAVERY!" I made her a plain plate, and she ate everything without complaint. I ate her "gravery" food instead. She also had a deep and abiding loathing of black pepper. Even a single speck could ruin a whole meal.

B'H she grew out of (most of) her peculiarities.

nchr

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 1:36 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

You can't expand her tastes. You can only serve different foods by your table and she can choose to eat it or not.
You can give her a multi vitamin if you think she isn't eating enough fruits and vegetables, but give it to all of your children so she doesn't feel targeted.

amother

cornflower

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 7:36 pm

We can both be right.
However, it you express frequent anxiety around your kids, they will pick that up. They look to us for emotional guidance, not just nutritional guidance. There’s a way to address this in a calm way with a child, and there’s a way to make her unnecessarily anxious about it because her parent is.

amother [ Tuberose ] wrote:

OPs gut is telling her there is something abnormal with her kid restricting her food intake to so few foods. OP should listen to her gut, not be made to feel guilty for having gut feelings.

Previous 1, 2, 3, 4