to think nesquick whole grain cereal, fat free milk and no added sugar juice is relatively healthy for a fussy eater

[twistedsista]

Hi,

My 7 year old Ds is a very fussy eater, tried everything!

I would love it if he would eat kale with cottage cheese on rice cakes for breakfast but get real no child eats perfectly like that.

Today he had a normal sized bowl of whole grain nesquick cereal with skimmed milk.I know it has some sugar in it but its only about the same as a banana and to counter this he has a glass of sugar free orange squash. Both the cereal and juice have added vitamins. Does everyone else agree this is pretty healthy and realistic breakfast?

Thanks

Marie

Add message | Report | Message poster WeddedBliss Sat 14-Jun-14 18:37:30
Really LtEve? Your child actually nearly died due to dehydration? Twice? Or is there maybe a tad of over-dramatization going on?

Yes, really. No dramatisation needed.

Once as a baby, because almost immediately on weaning she became a 'fluid' refuser. If it didn't come from me, she didn't want it. She would have NO fluids at all. She was hospitalised a number of times for screaming UTIs, and then we nearly lost her because her kidneys started packing up. The hospital suggested we tried smoothies, which we did and she drank them with gusto.

The second time was when she was 3, she was in hospital for 5 days and spent the first day unconscious. Oh, and as a result of her 'dramatic' hospitalisation the pre-school that was inforcing the 'water or nothing' rule (in 40 degree heat FFS) was ORDERED to change the rule, or close down. Funnily enough, they changed the rules and DD no longer had her weak juice tipped away.

FLUID is important. Juice is not poison and water is not a miracle cure.

But thanks for doubting me, tell me, where did you buy your medical degree? Tesco?

Fuck, I thought cheese strings were okay as 100% cheese .

it's true that water is a "better" drink than sweetened drinks
But - this:
fluid is important, juice is not poison and water is not a miracle cure
True.

@Itsfab, Mine have cheese strings if they want them. They are a bit salty, is only thing I have against them.

Mine have cheesestrings too, though only one a day - all things in moderation...

Cheese is salty anyway, Parmesan especially.

OP. Try ringing your local council and asking for the Health and Fitness Department. They may have something that your GP doesn't know about. They will give you definitive advise designed specifically for your circumstances.

Honestly, they will just give the same info as the op has been given by the nutritionist, in line with the piece of crap that is Change for Life. It will be a load of rubbish.

This thread is properly bonkers. I am so moving to Sweden!

I echo what Lowcarb says. Change for Life is sponsored by various shite food pedlars isn't it?

I suppose it depends where you live. I'm in Lancashire and tap water tastes delicious where I live, but i moved to Lincoln and couldn't drink it from there, I had to buy a Brita filter.

I went back to visit some mates, had a couple of beers (and it was just a couple), woke up dehydrated in the morning and necked a glass of water - was almost sick. Not from excess, but the awful flavour of the water

lowcarb It will be a load of rubbish
That's a very negative, unhelpful statement that you have no real way of knowing is true.

My council does family weight management courses where week by week small family groups are educated on how to shop and cook and manage their lifestyle - loads of really good tips for getting the kids active and the family together on the whole lifestyle changes - no good just teaching the kids at school what they should be eating when they have little or no control over the shopping and cooking.

And because it's small groups, it's really personal, not generic "cut this out/eat more of this". Families discuss what their routine/habits are and are shown how to make more informed choices. It's 50/50 education and activity.

It's bloody brilliant, and more importantly has really WORKED in a very run down, low expectation, high unemployment, high Asian population area with higher than average obesity, COPD, type II diabetes, and average mortality rates 8 years younger than National rates.

wedded bliss don't be absurd. Plenty of young children refuse water because they don't understand that they need it. They don't understand your connection between being thirsty and water being wet.

and they don't go along with the shite Change For Life peddle out either

Ringleader, I apologise. It sounds good. I'm surprised they aren't going with what is in Change for Life, it seems to be so connected with NHS dietary advice. But glad to be told they aren't. It sounds like a really helpful service.

They are attached to NHS, but as Health professionals they all have brains, do their own research, eat healthily themselves, and refuse to tell people to (eg) swap butter for hydrogenated fats, milk for semi skimmed (read this: butterbeliever.com/fat-free-dairy-skim-milk-secrets/ ) and sugar for chemicals.

Come on, most of us know that spoilt whining chidlren will not die of thirst if the little princess has to drink tap water like most of the planet and it will be much better for her. Yes of course some children have pretty awful mental disorders but the average fussy eater isn't in that category with the whole family pandering to them giving them junk drinks and foods.

Also parents get themselves into these problems. If the only thing to drink in the house is water the child will drink water. If there has never been any junk drinks or fresh juice in the house the child will definitely drink water.

In fact in my view the biggest health benefit we can give is to stop giving children drinks with sugar or sugar substitutes in them. it's colas and all the rest including diet drinks which has in large part made US and UK children so unhealthy and on the road to being fat, much worse than the food for many and adults can be as bad - they rarely think about what is in those really expensive Starbucks drinks they buy, some buying them every day and they think things like smoothies are healthy! They are conning themselves.

I agree Jane that high sugar foods are the main problem with childhood obesity (and obesity in general). However, your holier than thou attitude is not endearing people to you and therefore they are not going to listen to what you say.

hello and some of us are here to support, not wave smug judgey pants around.

I would suggest that your biggest problem is sugar, especially if he starting to put on weight. Sugar is so addictive for all of us, me included (I hAve just eaten far too much chocolate this evening). Things don't taste right for a while when we cut down on sugar and salt, so I am not surprised your LO finds things tasteless and boring if they are not what he is used to. That doesn't necessarily mean he is a fussy eater in itself - everyone has this reaction.

The problem you have, of course, is that we all find this hard even as adults who care and want to do better. When you are seven, you don't care if food is healthy, you just want what you like.

It might be worth moving away from nearly sweet substitutes to savoury. Scrambled eggs on buttery toast would be much better. Omelettes for breakfast are good too but he may be too young for them. You can microwave frozen blueberries for 1-2 minutes and you get a kind of jam that is great with porridge. Most kids I know don't like slimy porridge, they like the jumbo oats stuff. There's nothing wrong with a slice of ham or cheese for breakfast, that's what they eat further north, say in Sweden. You could make a toasted cheese sandwich. They smell great.

Having experienced feeding a very disabled child who absolutely cannot be reasoned with or bribed, I would say its about creating temptation and anticipation. So something that smells great, like bacon or toast, means you are halfway there.

As for juice, I personally think sweet fluids are not your friend in this situation. They fill them up and feed the sugar habit. I gave weak tea at this age- actually mainly milk, but served with a big helping of "ooh you are nearly old enough for grown up tea, oh go on then, as a treat". Some ppl say tea is bad for them, but its better than squash or fruit juice.

I don't think jane sounds holier than thou.

I think she has it spot on.

in my view the biggest health benefit we can give is to stop giving children drinks with sugar or sugar substitutes in them. it's colas and all the rest including diet drinks which has in large part made US and UK children so unhealthy and on the road to being fat

Nothing holier than thou in that.

"DC will only drink Coke Zero*, what can I do, they just HATE water and refuse to drink it, I HAVE to buy Coke Zero or they'll die of thirst"

Who bought them Coke Zero/other shite in the first place for them to get addicted to it or begin to get fussy and shun water?

*Coke Zero chosen at random; could be replaced with fruit shoots, Irn Bru, whatever.

Also parents get themselves into these problems. If the only thing to drink in the house is water the child will drink water. If there has never been any junk drinks or fresh juice in the house the child will definitely drink water

My DD didn't drink ANYTHING. She was a 'water refuser' before she even knew what water was. It almost killed her.

Mental disorders? Seriously? If you mean Special Needs, no, my daughter doesn't have any. She just would not drink.

I agree, Jane is right about sweet fluids. I was always told to avoid them at all costs with my very disabled child, because so many disabled kids are malnourished through filling up on sweet fizzy drinks. We were certainly given the advice, "just never start because once you do, your kids will never give up". What's interesting is that we thought it was because our non-verbal, non -reasoning kids couldn't be persuaded, bribed or even reminded. But it does seem that it is very hard for any kid, neurotypical or not, to reduce a sugar habit, aNd sweet fluids are the most dangerous way for that to get a hold.

What's interesting to me, is my generation grew up tutting at our mothers for smoking and making them give up. We brought up our kids to know smoking was bad, but we probably drank too much. My adult children hardly drink and they will clearly make sure their kids are more aware of alcohol than their shocking old grandma.

The problem, as we all know, for this generation is obesity. And I guess that there will be a lot of kids who will grow up very very suspicious of sugar and tell their parents off for our sugar habit .

With my parents its salt - they BATHE in the stuff! My Dad has been around for over 60 years and has seen the govt guidelines go from
eat butter - don't eat butter; go to work on an egg - don't eat eggs - then back again but not TOO many

No-one is saying it won't be hard to break the habit. That's why it's worth never forming the habit in the first place, just like with smoking.

For me, I'd rather have a big cream cake than have a can of coke. Same calories (maybe, but you get my point) but SOOOO much more satisfaction than a drink.

I do get why people have gone for that route, the "sugar free" being better than sugar. It was heavily marketed at us, as being "sin free". It isn't. A quick google will show you why you should cut out artificial sweeteners from your and your DCs diets.
It's been shown to cause behavioural problems in kids, esp those with ADHD. Since I stopped, I can taste one at a thousand paces. They really tast revolting when your palate isn't used to them, and they leave a horrible aftertaste.

I tell my kids and their care givers that they are allergic to artificial sweeteners, (banning them from their diet is not taken seriously until I say they have an allergy) as really they ARE - we ALL are - we have an adverse reaction to consuming them!

People seem more interested in counting calories than counting chemicals. Calories are needed.

Yes, my MIL eats salt by the bucketload and I think she has lost her sense of taste as she has got older. Salt and sugar are delicious and they definitely change the way we taste food. Once you are into it, everything tastes bland.

If I am Ill enough not to eat for a few days everything tastes very fresh and zingy afterwards. I get it on 5:2 as well after fast days. I think that's what it really tastes like underneath but mostly I can't detect it any more, I have numbed myself with salt and sugar, even trying not to.

Mental disorders

Ds4 was the same Lt he was getting on for a year old before he would touch anything but bm. He still doesn't drink much water at 16 months.

Ds2 & 3 drink water but have to be reminded constantly to drink, I can see how easy it would be for a child who refused water to become seriously dehydrated

I do agree about artificial sweeteners. The point is to have something else, such a a slice of toast, not to fake up sweet food with chemicals.

DS2 was BF till quite old as he couldn't eat or drink easily and anyway he puked up an awful lot. He was nearly two before we could rely on much else. But I used to give milk to drink rather than sweet fluids, and otherwise water, because if I didn't, he wouldn't have eaten anything. If they don't or won't eat much, you can't afford any of it to be rubbish.