food issues?

[Nancy423]

Just wondering if any other difficult child has food issues - not sensitivity but hoarding, stealing, and eating eating eating! I can't keep juice or tea mix in the house cuz she'll spoon feed it!

Just got a call from the nurse. difficult child was down there this morning saying how she's forgotten her snack again. They gave her a rice krispie treat. Well, she came back 2 more times today for another one (I'm assuming with- the same excuse) The office keeps the treats for diabetics.

If I send a box of snacks to school, I'm not so sure she won't eat them in one day (maybe 2?). I keep almost everything else locked up in my room now. but there are times I'll find wrapers, pop cans (??), and dirty dishes in her dresser drawers. But it's never been so bad where she's manipulating others for food.

she's NOT going to starve, but she is only 63lbs. I gave her a check for lunch money today too (she loves to eat school lunches, yes even the veggies)

I'm wondering if I just give the teacher like $10-20 bucks to just buy her snacks so I don't have to worry about them disappearing after she leaves the house.......??

any ideas? any ideas on how to curb this?

 

[DaisyFace]

Hmm--

Isn't it funny--I just posted about this in another thread...hiding food under the bed. Yes, my difficult child sneaks and hoards food, too.

We pre-pay for her school lunches by mailing a check to the school--but difficult child was buying snacks almost every day anyway by getting change from other kids.

I wonder how prevalent this is among these types of kids?

 

[klmno]

Yes!! In difficult child's case, I think it's a symptom of BiPolar (BP) (not that it necessarily means that ny kid who does this is BiPolar (BP)).

 

[4sumrzn]

My difficult child doesn't do this as often anymore....every once in awhile. But, it used to be terrible. She would get up in the middle of the night.....grab anything she could, eat some & put the rest under her bed or elsewhere like she was going to come back & get the rest. We locked everything up! Harder to do when they are older, I know Nothing like walking in on 2 dogs half under the bed, stuck, eating a open container of cream cheese & bagels. They could normally find her stashes though....thank goodness.

 

[Ropefree]

How about cinnamon? cinnamon has an effect on blood sugar. I think the root of the matter may be the seritonin that carbohydrates flood the brain with. would she be happy with veggies wrapped in lettus leaves or spinache or cabbage? These are carbohydrates too, but they are not refined and they will not lead to addiciton as sugar and treates do.
When I was in school the junk food was just arriving. I thought it was bad then and it is bad now. Why not ask the school to switch from junk to hiring a chef
and teaching children to eat good foods. A good chef will work that budget and the results will amaze.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

Couple you send her with a snack a day? Maybe some fruit or granola?

 

[klmno]

My therapist told me today that sometimes loading the kid up with high protein sometimes helps if the craving is for carbs. I think I'd read that on here before too.

 

[Nancy423]

i wonder.....is it the carbs or the sugar that she craves?

we do send her every day with- a snack. it sorta "disappears" before they eat it in class.....that's a hmmmmm moment...

 

[gcvmom]

Maybe she's just hungry? Sixty-three pounds is a bit on the light side for an 11yo. How tall is she?

Does she eat a high-protein/complex carb breakfast? That might help her last until lunch time, or recess when she could have another snack... like a 1/2 pbj sandwich.

 

[ML]

I too heard that giving extra protein is a good idea. I know mine is a carb man but if I can use the carb as the carrot I can usually get him to eat something with protein first.

 

[Wiped Out]

My difficult child used to do the hiding. One day when he was about 5 or 6 we woke up to find him covered in peanut butter along with it all over his sheets!

He doesn't hide it so much anymore but he does eat, eat, eat. He will try to sneak a snack when we are in the living room. He used to get violent over food-it was a major trigger. Usually he is a major carb person. Other than peanut butter once in awhile and a few processed meats he will not touch any meat and hardly any other proteins. Once in awhile he will eat some fruit.

Wish I had some advice but at least you know you are not alone. Hugs.

 

[Janna]

Did they give her 2 more of the Rice Krispie treats? Just curious.

My son doesn't do that, but he will eat and eat if we allow it. The medicine he takes too (Seroquel) has made him explode with his weight (12 y.o. 155 lbs). I mean, the kid's built like a linebacker, he'd be healthy at 120, but holy cow.

I, myself, have had weight issues, and can tell you just from experience, mental illness or not, the more you eat, the more your stomache expands and you *think* you are hungry, even if you're not. Of course, to a child, that's not how they think, they just assume they are always hungry. Trying to get a kid to distinguish between hunger and, say, boredom, is very, very difficult.

If you are going to keep snacks, I would just keep them locked up and send the 1 thing you're sending with her every day. With her school lunch, she should be fine. Does she eat a good breakfast in the mornings? D eats his breakfast, then lunch at school, then a snack at 3 when he gets home. Supper, then another snack (but it must be healthy, i.e. yogurt, fruit, etc) after supper. We just don't buy any of the other junk, so it's not here, so he can't eat it.

I don't know your daughter, but here's another thought. D works very well with structure. When things are written down, in front of him (he's Autistic, so...that would explain that, but even with kids that aren't, it helps). So, what I did was I got a small dry erase board, and wrote his menu on the board. So, he knows, exactly, what he can have daily. That has prevented the melt downs because he then knows what to expect. You just have to keep to it.

Wish I had more....

 

[Nancy423]

thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to see what I can do about adding add'l protein. Today I sent in a box of nutri-grain bars and told her that teacher is expecting the full box. I would love to send her in with- some veggies or fruits to snack on all day but I can't expect the school would be able to store fresh stuff. I will send apple sauce tho.

Problem with- snacks is that they are WAY high in carbs.

Yes, my difficult child is only 63lbs, but she EATS and does a fairly good job too. she does get in her mix of veggies etc during lunch & dinner so nutrition itself really istn' an issue. Plus, she looks like I did when I was her age! Neither of us like to sit and watch tv. She's out riding bikes and playing so her weight isn't a concern.

Has anyone had success with- adding add'l protein?