Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Internet Search
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
Should I be concerned about difficult child weight?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 172698" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>The food faddishness is probably connected to Sensory Integration Disorder (SID), if you've got a kid with autism or Asperger's.</p><p></p><p>As someone who also had strong likes/dislikes as a kid, let me plead on behalf of your children. In our more modern times we have the luxury of wider range of foods, more technology with which to prepare them and also more scope to cook multiple meals and cater for diverse tastes with less effort than it took to cook one meal for the same number of people, back in the bad old days before microwave ovens, crock pots, supermarkets and big freezers. I grew up having to stay at the table until I'd eaten everything on my plate. We were not well off; we grew most of our own food and my mother was so busy, had so much to do that she just didn't have the time to be a good cook. What meat we bought, was generally really cheap cuts. My mother would still cook steak as people like to cook steak - either grilling or pan-frying. But you don't do that to cheap cuts of steak especially if you don't own steak knives. The end result was literally like boot leather. I declared myself a vegetarian before I was at school. Not only was I a fussy eater, but I had some food allergies which WERE catered to.</p><p></p><p>To feed a large family on a tight budget, there were far fewer options back in the Fifties. Packing in the carbs was cheap tummy filler. But the main options were potatoes, bread and rice. Rice stored the best, so we were fed a lot of rice in various forms, including rice pudding which I learned to hate. If the rice pudding got scorched at all, it still couldn't be wasted. Burnt bits were cut off and the thing was still presented, even though the taste of blackened sugar had permeated the whole thing. These days, multiculturalism has given us many other high carb budget options such as pasta in vast diversity such as gnocchi. </p><p>Other food varieties - similar increase in options.</p><p></p><p>So we CAN do it.</p><p></p><p>I know that if I had been permitted some leeway I would have learned to eat a wider range of foods much sooner. But having to force down an entire meal which made me feel sick with every mouthful - I can still feel what it was like to try to eat a rice salad with small pieces of green pepper (capsicum) which tasted so bitter to me that I would swallow the pieces whole rather than chew. I learned very early where on my tongue the different types of tastebuds were so I could in my mouth place each type of food I didn't like so I wouldn't have to taste it before I swallowed it whole. I choked a few times when the pieces were a bit big. I also had to sit next to my father who would either scold or smack me on the leg if I "misbehaved". My memories of family mealtimes as a kid - atrocious. Horrible.</p><p></p><p>Maybe that is one reason why I've been far more willing to give the kids some space over their food issues.</p><p></p><p>Food shouldn't be wasted. But you can always make different choices at the time you buy the food and again as you prepare the food.</p><p></p><p>My parents didn't have that range of choice. As I've grown older, and choice has been diversified, I've found other ways to make unpalatable foods more acceptable.</p><p></p><p>It is often said that a child will not willingly starve themselves. Eventually they will eat, when they are hungry enough. But let me assure you, if your child is not eating what is available because they really do not like it, I believe they WILL continue to go hungry rather than eat it, if their dislike is intense enough. There is a lot more food available these days, it is much easier for a hungry child to sneak the food they like or to find snacks or rubbish, if they are hungry and the main meal is unpalateable. If you don't make some allowances often enough, you could risk driving your child into foraging habits that you cannot monitor, and set up lifelong unhealthy eating patterns.</p><p></p><p>If the dietician says your child is getting enough nutrition, then you are doing well. Some children are naturally thin - they burn off a lot of energy, too. What your child needs to grow healthy and strong is good nutrition, not just calories. Aim for balance, but please give the child some choice in what foods they eat, if it's not too much trouble. It may end up being less trouble in the long run.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 172698, member: 1991"] The food faddishness is probably connected to Sensory Integration Disorder (SID), if you've got a kid with autism or Asperger's. As someone who also had strong likes/dislikes as a kid, let me plead on behalf of your children. In our more modern times we have the luxury of wider range of foods, more technology with which to prepare them and also more scope to cook multiple meals and cater for diverse tastes with less effort than it took to cook one meal for the same number of people, back in the bad old days before microwave ovens, crock pots, supermarkets and big freezers. I grew up having to stay at the table until I'd eaten everything on my plate. We were not well off; we grew most of our own food and my mother was so busy, had so much to do that she just didn't have the time to be a good cook. What meat we bought, was generally really cheap cuts. My mother would still cook steak as people like to cook steak - either grilling or pan-frying. But you don't do that to cheap cuts of steak especially if you don't own steak knives. The end result was literally like boot leather. I declared myself a vegetarian before I was at school. Not only was I a fussy eater, but I had some food allergies which WERE catered to. To feed a large family on a tight budget, there were far fewer options back in the Fifties. Packing in the carbs was cheap tummy filler. But the main options were potatoes, bread and rice. Rice stored the best, so we were fed a lot of rice in various forms, including rice pudding which I learned to hate. If the rice pudding got scorched at all, it still couldn't be wasted. Burnt bits were cut off and the thing was still presented, even though the taste of blackened sugar had permeated the whole thing. These days, multiculturalism has given us many other high carb budget options such as pasta in vast diversity such as gnocchi. Other food varieties - similar increase in options. So we CAN do it. I know that if I had been permitted some leeway I would have learned to eat a wider range of foods much sooner. But having to force down an entire meal which made me feel sick with every mouthful - I can still feel what it was like to try to eat a rice salad with small pieces of green pepper (capsicum) which tasted so bitter to me that I would swallow the pieces whole rather than chew. I learned very early where on my tongue the different types of tastebuds were so I could in my mouth place each type of food I didn't like so I wouldn't have to taste it before I swallowed it whole. I choked a few times when the pieces were a bit big. I also had to sit next to my father who would either scold or smack me on the leg if I "misbehaved". My memories of family mealtimes as a kid - atrocious. Horrible. Maybe that is one reason why I've been far more willing to give the kids some space over their food issues. Food shouldn't be wasted. But you can always make different choices at the time you buy the food and again as you prepare the food. My parents didn't have that range of choice. As I've grown older, and choice has been diversified, I've found other ways to make unpalatable foods more acceptable. It is often said that a child will not willingly starve themselves. Eventually they will eat, when they are hungry enough. But let me assure you, if your child is not eating what is available because they really do not like it, I believe they WILL continue to go hungry rather than eat it, if their dislike is intense enough. There is a lot more food available these days, it is much easier for a hungry child to sneak the food they like or to find snacks or rubbish, if they are hungry and the main meal is unpalateable. If you don't make some allowances often enough, you could risk driving your child into foraging habits that you cannot monitor, and set up lifelong unhealthy eating patterns. If the dietician says your child is getting enough nutrition, then you are doing well. Some children are naturally thin - they burn off a lot of energy, too. What your child needs to grow healthy and strong is good nutrition, not just calories. Aim for balance, but please give the child some choice in what foods they eat, if it's not too much trouble. It may end up being less trouble in the long run. Marg [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
Should I be concerned about difficult child weight?
Top