Query about Kids

[ec1968]

I saw the article somewhere here about a mother who put her 7 year old on a diet, and a question about kids and the paeleo diet came to mind.

Bearing in mind that the paeleo 'diet' isn't really a diet as understood in the mass media, rather its a broader 'regimen for life'.

What age do children go on to the regimen, or do they stay off it until they are adults?

 

[mcb]

I saw the article somewhere here about a mother who put her 7 year old on a diet, and a question about kids and the paeleo diet came to mind.

Bearing in mind that the paeleo 'diet' isn't really a diet as understood in the mass media, rather its a broader 'regimen for life'.

What age do children go on to the regimen, or do they stay off it until they are adults?

If a diet is natural and healthy and "for life," why restrict it? Children do have a greater need for protein, so 'protein/caloric' restriction is not for them, but that's not exactly 'paleo' anyway.

About the worst thing you could do is keep kids on a standard "sugar diet." Now that is one that needs "restricting."

 

[ec1968]

About the worst thing you could do is keep kids on a standard "sugar diet." Now that is one that needs "restricting."

I agree Megan. I'm just curious as to how folk cope with picky toddlers when they're trying to stick to the paeleo diet.

 

[truth seeker]

About the worst thing you could do is keep kids on a standard "sugar diet." Now that is one that needs "restricting."

I agree Megan. I'm just curious as to how folk cope with picky toddlers when they're trying to stick to the paeleo diet.

Hey ec,

Keep in mind that I'm not a parent but have cared for other people's children so for what it's worth. Basically, I think the issue of diet isn't much different from any other issue when considering the long term health of children. Like anyone, they want what they want. Unfortunately that doesn't often translate in to being what's best for them.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle in this situation lies with parental feelings that have to do with feeling "bad" when their kids become upset so for you, I'd suggest really getting the reasons for doing this straight in your mind before proceeding otherwise you may find yourself giving in if/when tantrums occur.

Realize that these tantrums may not be related so much to them not getting what they want, but rather a kind of withdrawal due to being addicted to sugar so you'll need to be strong if this happens.

Also try to find some healthy substitute for what it is they want. This may not necessarily be a food but may well be affection/attention.

The temperament of your child and other factors will determine how long it will take for them to get used to paleo. Hang in there. Over time, I have no doubt that you'll see positive changes (many behavioral). Being that your child is still so young, it shouldn't take long. I'm sure others will chime in with relevant suggestions/corrections. Not sure if that helps.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

Our 6 year-old-daughter eats like us except that she still takes buckwheat crackers. She eats proteins, a lot of fat, vegetables, etc. She gets treats as well (I make cookies with almond butter and cocoa powder - they're delicious). School has been warned that she is 'allergic' to gluten and dairy (otherwise they 'impose' a cereal and dairy snack on kids) and when she goes to a birthday, I bring home-made chocolate cake (made with potato starch). Once in a while, she also gets chocolate (I live in Belgium :D) but it's usually just a few squares. She often eats home-made fish and mayonaise salad on crackers or meatballs dipped in guacamole and that's for her breakfast!

As a kid, I would have laughed at my parents to propose foods like these, especially for breakfast! She finds it natural now, so I think it's all a question of habit.

 

[Chrissy]

I thought I'd share some words of wisdom given to me by Anart on the subject of changing a child's diet.
Quote "I won't presume to tell you what you should do with your son - he's your son. I would like to point out, however, that since he is your son you ARE responsible for his body until he is an adult.

You are the parent - you are in control of his body/health until he can do it himself.

With all the troubles he's had at his young age, he absolutely needs to be off all gluten, sugar, dairy, processed foods and almost all carbs. If you can take this opportunity to completely change his diet - while he is still so young - you have a chance of improving the rest of his entire life. If he keeps eating the way he's eating, he'll be chronically ill for the rest of his life. Just my two cents."
Back in September, I changed the entire family's diet to low carb/paleo. In the beginning, it was hard. There were many bad habits that needed to be broken, but as time progressed and everyone started seeing the benefits with weight lose, more energy, less illness it became a way of life and not just a diet. I'd say the biggest obstacle for us was the social aspect of eating. Here in the US, fitting in and being accepted by peers is a major issue. My children want to be like the other children and with past experiences with my oldest being bullied and subsequentially ostracized from his main group of friends, I decided that there would have to be times where I would allow them to go off the diet, like a birthday party or a sleepover. So although I try my best for them, it's certainly not perfect.
I would say having a younger child would be an advantage. It will become all they know. There would be less social programming involved also. I would also say, the best thing you could do is stay current with your knowledge. New information keeps coming up. Read, research, try new approaches to old recipes and find staples you know your child likes that are healthy. That's just my 2 cents and I hope it has helped you in some way.

 

[Hildegarda]

I'm just curious as to how folk cope with picky toddlers when they're trying to stick to the paleo diet.

it's all a question of habit

I concur. My experience also suggests that the food choices themselves shape eating habits. A few of my friends have young children who are not at all picky about food. The common thing about these families is that the parents don't bother about food at all, or whether their children ate and how much. They throw a mostly homemade meal on the table, and the kids either eat it or not.

Picky kids have sensitive palates. Once their taste buds mature, a lot of those kids grow up being connoisseur of food, and many chefs used to be picky eaters. The danger here is that carb-based foods are the most plain in terms of flavor and texture, and they are also gluteny opiate-addictive and often sugar-laden to boot. So it is really easy for a picky eater to get addicted to mac and cheese, and then one thing reinforces the other.

Once we started limiting food choices to non-gluten, egg-free, soy-free etc, my very picky son began to eat a lot more variety and in general eat a lot more. We were also able to move from "kiddie" food to regular grown-up food.

I agree that it is OK not to make a big deal out of an occasional relapse, as accidents or for the reasons of social adjustment. The general rule, however, remains as follows: 1) if they are hungry, they'll eat, and 2) they'll eat what's on the table in front of them, because guess what, nothing else is available. And, it works all right.

 

[Firefly]

I have to say, it is a bit more work in the beginning to "convert" your kids into non-gluten, non-dairy eaters. You have to make all the foods and snacks at home and talk-talk-talk to your child about the diet. In order to get my son to switch, I had to get creative with his school lunches and snacks (for us it was the biggest challenge, since his school provides lunch for kids and I work full-time, meaning I have very little time in the morning to prepare his lunch). I always made sure that his lunches are more "fun" than the ones at school, I also bought him tons of cute containers to take to school. He really loves it - his lunches taste and look better than the school's ones and he now will tell you that they are better for you too. It is amaizing how much the kids understand, just give them some credit. He now will ask before eating something at a new place - does it have gluten in it? Is you ask him what does gluten sounds like - he'll tell you "Glue! And we don't eat glue". The initial stages are hard - I admit it. Make sure you have a lot of substitues and always prepare food in advance so you always have "good" food in the house and not be tempted to grab a quick bite of something that's out. Cook with your kid - and talk to him about what you are cooking and why it's good for you. I would also recommend to never have anything in the house that's not good for you. If you child doesn't eat first time - it's OK. Just tell them that's what's for dinner and that's it. Unless your child is malnurished, he'll be fine. Soon they will eat whatever you put in front of them. After just a little while it will become a second nature to you and your kid to eat this way. Good luck!

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

We recently had to go see my daughter's teacher to get her 'report' (she is in what we call the first year of Primary, which is the first year of school after kindergarten and yes, they already grade them...). We were reviewing together her 'exams' and we arrived at the exam about.. the food pyramid. This made my blood boil immediately but I kept it under control and kept on smiling. It really sunk in that my daughter, at the ripe old age of 6 (she actually turned 6 less than a month ago) already has to have to live a double life. She knows that everything she learned about the food pyramid is false and yet she got it all correct for the sake of appearances. This broke my heart.

Then the teacher showed me where my daughter answered erroneously: she categorized butter in - gasp- dairy! So I look at the teacher, incredulously, and she feels kind of embarrassed but does not say anything so I say, almost through clenched teeth "and butter does not belong in the dairy category??". "Yes, in a way, but we all agreed in class that we would put it in the 'fat' category." "Why can't it be both?" I asked. "Well, no, it was too complicated so they had to remember that we said 'fat' and not 'dairy'.
I just let it go but back home I realized that they could not put butter in the dairy category because they tell the kids that they should eat dairy at every meal and that fat should be avoided at all costs! This would have made butter a food that could be eaten all day long, and we don't want that now, do we?

My daughter told me that during this food pyramid lesson, when the teacher was saying that dairy was all good, she raised her hand and said 'but how come it makes some people so sick, then?" and the teacher said "it's just people like you who are allergic who get sick because of dairy'. My daughter said she knew this was false but she did not say anything...

 

[ana]

Oh dear, She seems pretty intelligent Mrs.Tigersoap and she is lucky to have you both.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

Oh dear, She seems pretty intelligent Mrs.Tigersoap and she is lucky to have you both.

Awww, thanks Ana! We're the ones who are lucky to have her!

 

[truth seeker]

She knows that everything she learned about the food pyramid is false and yet she got it all correct for the sake of appearances. This broke my heart.

Completely agree with Ana.

If you can think of it in terms of your daughter learning very early what we ourselves find difficult - playing a role in order to survive, perhaps that will make you feel a little better. Through narcissistic wounding, we usually learn to do this to our own detriment. What your daughter has learned is how to utilize that so that she can navigate a ponerized world. A very useful tool indeed and she used it beautifully. So take heart and be proud of not just her, but of yourselves. She's a very lucky child. :)

 

[shijing]

If you can think of it in terms of your daughter learning very early what we ourselves find difficult - playing a role in order to survive, perhaps that will make you feel a little better. Through narcissistic wounding, we usually learn to do this to our own detriment. What your daughter has learned is how to utilize that so that she can navigate a ponerized world. A very useful tool indeed and she used it beautifully. So take heart and be proud of not just her, but of yourselves. She's a very lucky child. :)

I agree with this too -- you will be dealing with situations like these as a family for years to come, but if you talk about it openly and regularly at home and give your daughter reinforcement through these frustrating situations, it can also be a learning exercise that's really good for her. At this age (and hopefully for some time to come), parents' messages will always trump the input she gets from teachers and other authority figures, so your continuous support will be worth gold to her. And yes, you guys are lucky to have each other :)

 

[Tigersoap]

Thanks...

We really try to give her tools to navigate the world but it's hard because there is so much to know and we don't want her to feel too different from her peers because it's not easy at such a young age.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

She knows that everything she learned about the food pyramid is false and yet she got it all correct for the sake of appearances. This broke my heart.

Completely agree with Ana.

If you can think of it in terms of your daughter learning very early what we ourselves find difficult - playing a role in order to survive, perhaps that will make you feel a little better. Through narcissistic wounding, we usually learn to do this to our own detriment. What your daughter has learned is how to utilize that so that she can navigate a ponerized world. A very useful tool indeed and she used it beautifully. So take heart and be proud of not just her, but of yourselves. She's a very lucky child. :)

Me, three! Yes, it's a sad state of affairs, but she has an early start on separating her inner world from her outer world, and that'll come in handy as she grows up! I think Gurdjieff would be proud. ;D