Parents who struggle with this problem will have noticed that: kids usually start developing fussy eating habits in the 2nd year of life, refusing a lot of foods and limiting their diet to starchy and sweet foods:
•Breakfast cereals, crisps, chips, popcorn, cakes, biscuits
•Bananas, bread, rice, sweet yogurts
•Most refuse veg and most fruit, meat, fish and eggs
There are many physiological and nutritional reasons for this behaviour (usually nothing to do with them wanting to be ‘difficult’).
Digestive issues like worms (extremely common!), parasites (unfortunately also very easily picked up at daycare), candida (yeast overgrowth), gut dysbiosis (where bad bacteria multiply out of control) and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, where bad bugs spread upwards into the intestinal tract where they are not supposed to be found at all) are very prevalent in our modern world.
Most of these conditions result in your child CRAVING sweet, starchy or yeasty foods- in other words BREAD and CAKES!! Why? Because these bugs feed on sugar. Very simple- they use sugar for energy and the more your child eats the above foods, the more the bugs multiply and the more the cravings persist. It’s a vicious cycle. If you suspect one of the above conditions may be an issue or if there’s been a sudden change in eating behaviour, see a nutritionist or a naturopath, run some tests and then you’ll know how to deal with the issue.
The other obvious reason for fussiness is allergies or intolerances. Many kids are addicted to wheat and dairy foods: when wheat and dairy are ingested, they are only partially broken down and these partial proteins (peptides) mimic the chemical properties of opiates. Kids become literally addicted to these foods and crave them all the time.
Another major reason for fussiness can be vitamin and mineral deficiencies. MOST kids (yes MOST) today are deficient in Magnesium, Zinc, Iron, Copper, Iodine, Essential fatty acids, etc etc. Deficiencies can manifest as fussiness as kids will usually want the foods to replenish these vitamins.
So here is the list to get you started on the road to wholefood nutrition for your kids:
1. FIRST – rule out any medical and nutritional issues as above: allergies, intolerances, bacterial dysbiosis, mineral/vitamin deficiencies, etc. Get to the core of WHY they are fussy! This will take time and money, but if you really feel there is an issue beyond ‘behaviour’ then trust your gut and investigate it.
2. You are in charge of what the family eats, not the toddler/child! Be the leader, show that you make good food choices for the family.
3. Do not keep at home anything you don’t want the kids to eat. No junk food, no processed foods, only healthy options for snacks or dessert
4. New foods need to be offered continuously. Use a sticker chart and reward for trying new foods. Reward good food choices and trying new foods with lots of enthusiastic praise and hugs. Ignore the winging ‘I don’t like it’ behaviour completely.
Typical scenario “I offered her broccoli a couple of times, but she WON’T eat it”. My answer: “YES she will! You just need to keep offering it. INDEFINITELY! Until she eats it”. It took me a year to get my daughter to like sauerkraut. You get the idea! NEVER give up. Getting your child to eat many different healthy foods is so important, consider it your mission in life!!
5. Respect their right to choose foods for themselves- provide 2-3 choices, for example “today we’re having carrots, celery and capsicum, which 2 would you like?”
6. In the afternoon whilst dinner is getting made, offer veg sticks with avocado dip – these will disappear without any prompting if the kids are hungry
7. Limit or eliminate processed dairy, wheat and sweets (and all processed foods discussed above!)
8. Limit or eliminate sugar. It disrupts normal eating behaviours. This includes fruit juice
9. NEVER use food as a reward. Do not use the word ‘treat’. It sets up bad habits
10. Grow a vegie patch or potted herbs and get the kids involved in looking after these. There is nothing more rewarding than eating the ‘fruits of one’s labour’- my kids now eat parsley and mint with pleasure because they get to pick them from the vegie patch
11. Offer a variety of foods and flavours from early age
12. Offer nutrient dense traditional foods like bone broths, lacto-fermented foods, organ meats, lots of eggs, fish and seafood- these are deeply satisfying foods that will help your child grow well!
13. Model positive eating behaviour– enjoy vegetables, meat/fish and other healthy foods in front of your children!
14. Start with the easy things: always place something on the plate the child enjoys and offer all other healthy foods next to
15. Talk about healthy foods from a young age and explain why it’s important to eat healthy foods
16. Get kids involved in food prep and/or cooking
17. Always eat at the table – no walking around with food, no TV or other distractions
18. Don’t make kids finish all their food. Trust that they can listen to their appetite. Many disregulated eating patterns stem from the ‘you must finish your plate’ scenario
19. If your child doesn’t eat well at lunch/dinner, reduce the number and size of snacks or eliminate snacks altogether
20. Re-evaluate the amount of drinks that are not water, eg: stop fruit juices, rice/soy/almond milks. These provide no nutrition and take appetite away from proper food.
21. Do not force them to eat if feeling unwell. The best thing a body can do when it’s sick is to focus on healing and not digestion. Bone broths are best when the kids are sick, the appetite should come back when they are feeling better
22. Be loving but firm: understand the importance of good nutrition. If healthy food is not eaten, your child CAN go to sleep with no dinner. They won’t starve and it will only take a day or two to learn the lesson
23. The family meal is the only meal option– no other foods will be prepared on demand!
24. Enjoy family time at meals! Talk about something pleasant and the food will disappear by itself. It’s not a power struggle.
25. Focus on kids being active throughout the day– the more energy they expend, the more hungry they will be, the less fussy with food!
Source : True Foods Nutrition
Have you tried any other strategies with your fussy eaters that work? Tell Us in the comments section.
]]>1) Knowledge
Many adults are being diagnosed with ADHD. You never stop being a parent, so whether your child is 25 or 55 when they are first diagnosed with ADHD, you can feel guilty for not noticing signs of ADHD when they were a child.
Nowadays, books stores have a whole section for books about ADHD and there are many websites dedicated to the topic. However, it is easy to forget that this wasn’t always the case. Don’t judge yourself. As a parent you can only do the best you can with the knowledge that is available at the time.
2) Family characteristics
Your son or daughter’s ADHD behavior might not have been on your radar because it might have been similar to other members of your extended family.
For example, if you had brothers, sisters, cousins or parents who were ‘always on the go’ or ‘daydreamers’ then your child’s behavior might not look out of place. It might only be as a result of a teacher or friend mentioning ADHD that your child gets tested for ADHD. This often prompts other family members to get a diagnosis too.
3) ADHD was Being Masked
Sometimes ADHD symptoms aren’t detected because your child has another condition.
More than 50% of children with ADHD also have another condition that coexists with ADHD. A few examples include anxiety disorder, learning disabilities, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and substance abuse. If your child is diagnosed with another condition first, ADHD symptoms can be masked by or attributed to the first condition.
4) Coping Skills
Sometimes ADHD doesn’t become apparent until your child moves into the higher grades at school or attends university. This is because the skills they developed to cope with the challenges of ADHD aren’t enough anymore to manage the demands of higher academic requirements. The ADHD symptoms become more obvious at that point in their lives, both to you and your child.
5) Change in the Environment
Sometimes your child will have been treating their ADHD naturally without either of you realizing they had ADHD. It is only when their life changes and those helpful things are no long present that the ADHD becomes obvious. Here are some examples:
Structure
They move from a very structured school to a less structured school or university.
Class Size
They go from small class sizes to bigger classes.
Favourite Teacher
They may lose a favorite teacher either because they move, graduate or perhaps the teacher retires.
Exercise
They may stop exercising either because they lose interest in their favorite sport, become injured or they graduate and don’t find a another team to join.
Moving Away from Home
They miss the inbuilt structure, helpful reminders and healthy diet of home.
As hard as it is, try not to feel guilty. Instead use that energy to be proactive. No matter how old your child is, they will still look to you for guidance and support. Being accepting of the diagnosis as well as learning about ADHD will help your child feel loved and supported.
Source: About.com
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