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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask for help in reducing the sugar intake of my child?

80 replies

Poppybella2015 · 21/01/2016 10:25

A bit of background, toddler is dairy free, hates water and gets constipated easily. This is her typical days diet, I think she eats too much sugar and I need ideas on how to reduce it!

Breakfast: full sugar blackcurrant high juice, wholemeal toast with dairy free spread and a teaspoon of jam
Snack; vanilla soya milk, banana, Apple, raisins
Lunch: ham sandwich on wholemeal bread with dairy free spread, cucumber, peppers, olives, innocent fruit tube, blackcurrant high juice
Snack: chocolate soya milk, rich tea biscuit
Dinner: sausage, mash, peas, satsuma, blackcurrant high juice

OP posts:
SleepRefugee · 21/01/2016 22:35

If she doesn't like the soya milk plain, why not just leave it out and give calcium supplements instead? My DD is completely dairy, gluten and soya free and also used to drink loads of juice as we had massive problems with constipation. She's not keen on the calcium-fortified milk substitutes either, so to be sure she has enough calcium, we give her a supplement - stops the constant worrying. They do get more reasonable as they get older - DD (now 5) mostly has water now with just the odd cup of juice with breakfast!

NannyR · 21/01/2016 22:36

I think the advice is not to give young children too many higher fibre products as the extra fibre fills them up before they've had enough nutrition and calories.
It used to be referred to as "muesli malnutrition", where well meaning parents were giving children a diet that would be considered healthy for an adult with lots of whole grain, high fibre foods but the children were failing to thrive, losing weight.

I don't think the odd slice will do any harm though as part of a well balanced diet.

Poppybella2015 · 21/01/2016 22:40

Oh ok, my dd eats loads and a little plump thing so I guess it doesn't fill her up. I guess I can add some white bread in too though, I just don't want her to start preceding only white like I did when small!

OP posts:
RabbitSaysWoof · 21/01/2016 22:51

If she liked porridge or weetabix you can get a lot of milk into those, my ds had a couple of weetabix as a toddler (didn't snack tho) and that took loads of soya milk.
I found the 1+ milk to have a lot of sugar in, my ds threw it up once and it smelt like cake mix. I read somewhere that toddlers shouldn't have more than 17g a day of sugar and each milk cup had about 6.
For me I was looking more from a teeth point of view because I had a lot of dental surgery as a child and I wanted better for my child, so from your list I would swap to having the lovely salad bits your dd likes as snacks and the fruit snacks as part of a meal. If you google the Stephan Curve it explains why when you eat sugar is as important as how much, to snack on it is prolonged exposure.
I totally sympathise with the drinks, we give things we never intended to when we feel our hands are tied don't we, I remember giving diluted apple juice when my child was constipated, then diluting more and more until it was just water.

Iggi999 · 21/01/2016 23:03

My toddler eats almost nothing but toast Blush

ohlittlepea · 22/01/2016 06:24

You're not alone, my little one is dairy free too and it does cut down the snacking options quite a bit! Sometimes it's easier to tackle one thing at a time,

There is so much good in that diet, wholegrains, fruit, veg, and good fats in the olives :) you aren't doing such a terrible job :)
the juice is probably the first thing to tackle. I love the food colouring idea and choosing special bottles, you could offer lots of praise and sticker rewards to. Blackcurrant juices can irritate the bladder so if she will drink it I would use a different flavour.
For snack would she try crackers/dry cereal, chopped veg and a dip, avocado on toast or a cracker?

If she likes aby characters from books or TV sometimes these can be your friend, my daughter eats carrots like Peter rabbit, and spaghetti like Peppa pig...such good role models ha!
Do you see a dietician?
They sometimes have really useful recipes and advice :)

Oxfordblue · 22/01/2016 08:33

Wholemeal products need a HUGE amount of liquid for a toddler to process, their little digestive systems can't cope with the fibre, so you're just bunging them up.

Please don't worry about the white bread - buy a decent one, make sure it's got butter on it & limited it to 2 x slices a day.

Please keep away from wholemeal fibre cereal, look at the consistency of cooked porridge v wet weet a bix, you can see which is going to give you a better poo !

Along with this, get rid of the processed food in the diet, gradually is fine & she'll be much better for it.

clairedunphy · 22/01/2016 09:19

Belated thanks to JuxtapositionRecords for the pouch info.

Poppybella2015 · 22/01/2016 11:34

Is porridge better than weatabix?

OP posts:
Poppybella2015 · 22/01/2016 12:25

We had our first failure today while at the supermarket, dd was hungry so I grabbed her a fruit pouch and a carton of Apple juice while in the trolley, wow I added up the sugar and it's over double the daily allowance. Would I have been better off giving her a packet of crisps?? It's so confusing!

OP posts:
Artandco · 22/01/2016 12:30

Better off giving something non snack marketed. Like some cooked deli cold chicken, or a whole banana.

Is there a different juice carton you can buy out? I think there's one that's juice watered down

Artandco · 22/01/2016 12:34

For example cawstons kids juice cartoons are juice and water mix. 6g of sugar per 100g. Waitrose own mini Apple cartons are 11.8g per 100g

BaBaBaBoomBoom · 22/01/2016 12:54

Ds is dairy free and today I've discovered his love of baked beans and sausages! You can get reduced sugar ones too..

RabbitSaysWoof · 22/01/2016 13:12

I dont know if one is better, but I feel that weetablx seemed to hold the most milk, I you pour it on so it looks like too much milk, leave it a while and the weetabix drinks it all up, takes the pressure off to give the flavored milks. I find the cheaper brand weetabix has the least sugar. I dont know if one make you poo more but you can certainly tuck some calcium into them.

Littleoddfeet · 22/01/2016 13:15

It is a minefield. I try and be really careful about processed meats as well now (in light of the recent guidance) so we rarely have ham / sausages (much to Ds' annoyace!!)

ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba · 22/01/2016 13:37

Sweet Freedom makes a sugar substitute that looks like syrup but is made from fruit only, no added sugar.
And their Choc Shot product is made with fruits & carob, tastes like dark chocolate and is just delicious on porridge, toast, made into hot chocolate etc

Both are suitable for diabetics and are really useful if your try to cut down sugar!

HTH

SonjasSister7 · 22/01/2016 14:12

Licorice tea is very sweet but think its sugarless?

You are not alone! Processed foods are the very devil for sugar - its useful to the manufacturers in so many ways, makes us overeat, and is CHEAP!!! Pasta sauces, even wheaty snacks (ie looking like wotsits) I've found it everywhere . It resets everyone 's palates and is killing the whole bloody nation Angry a diabetic toe amputation at a time.

My two (teens) are now e aware of these issues having been brainwashed educated from an early age.By about 8 or so they were able to follow and respect my reasoning, and they now both drink a lot more water than I do Blush.

SonjasSister7 · 22/01/2016 14:20

It is a faff looking at the nutritional content on packets, but its second nature to me now . Another dairy free snack maybe toasted seeds (easy to diy with a dry pan), though maybe not for a yr or two

DeoGratias · 22/01/2016 15:34

Do they need snacks? If breakfast is eggs etc they tend not to need to eat until lunch time. It's only in the last 30 years children have been constantly grazing on junk.

Porridge if it is pure oats is better than weatbix which has all sorts added although they are both junk carbs and not a great choice unless you're very short of money and cannot even afford a tin of sardines or a carrot.

CallieG · 22/01/2016 16:46

Unless your DD has some sort of diagnosed medical condition that excludes dairy from her diet then you are not doing her any favors by not giving her any.
Proper Brain development depends on fat soluble vitamins that are contained in Red Meats, full fat Milk, Cheese, Yohgurt, Butter & Ice Cream.
Almost all your DDs carbs are coming from liquid & puree fruits. She is getting almost NO proper fibre, which is why she suffers almost constant constipation. She is not getting any dark green vegetables, spinach, beans, peas, cabbage, sprouts, broccoli, & other fibre rich veges carrots, peas, pumpkin, potato (not mashed) sweet potato, onions, celery, capsicum, mushrooms etc.
She is also getting very little in the way of good quality proteins, chicken, fish, eggs, etc.
A diet so high in fruit products will lead to candida albicans in the gut.
The MAXIMUM recommended daily intake of sugar in all forms ( Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, Dextrose is less than 3 teaspoons for a child, your DD is ingesting about THIRTY teaspoons of sugar A DAY; 10 times the recommended amount.. Just because something says no Added sugar it does not mean that it does not contain sugar or a high amount of natural sugar.
Such a high sugar intake is setting her well on the road to childhood diabetes & adolescent obesity & a mouth full of rotten teeth.
The three things that are making the world over weight and killing us faster than ever are, Sugar, Vegetable oil (Especially Canola (Rapeseed) oil , excessive consumption of corn & Soy bean by products.
These products are touted because they are very high yield for a small area, cheap to produce and return a high profit. High Fructose Corn Syrup HFCS is basically poison, sugar is addictive.
Most margarine's are made from Canola oil, that stuff is toxic, if you saw how it was made you would never have it near your mouth again.

Most 5 year olds like canned tuna or salmon, that can be made into fish cakes, casseroles, bakes. My kids always ate it right out of the can they love tuna. They also ate Broccoli, peas, carrots, jacket potatoes, and most salad vegetables from a young age, eating off my plate as babies.
The only thing that children need to drink is water & the occasional glass of milk if they like it & maybe a very weak very small amount of juice a couple of days a week. A 200 ml glass of Black currant and apple juice contains the juice of about 4 apples and 300 gr of Currants, which is about the same amount of sugar as a 300 ml glass of cola, try eating all that fruit in one go.
Many kids like olives from a jar but remember that the are high in salt.
Start cutting down the amount of juice and fruit purees that you give her by at least half every day & start offering her the things you want her to eat, porridge for breakfast with a drizzle of honey & strawberries or Blueberries.
The ham sandwich is great but try to get more vegetables on it Tomato, grated carrot, mixed lettuce.
You have to keep offering better food choices and stop giving her the sugary rubbish, offer an apple cut up (NOT Peeled) with some cheese cubes as a snack. Many vegetables can be hidden in pasta sauces, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, capsicums & in casseroles & the like, grate them, puree them, mince them, mash them.
New food Items need to be offered 5 or 6 times before a child gets used to the taste & texture; put the meal in front of them, give them 20 minutes to eat it and any uneaten portion goes in the fridge for later, DO NOT OFFER SWEET SUGARY ALTERNATIVES AND DON'T FIGHT ABOUT IT.

You Must be commited to changing her unhealthy eating habits, letting yourself feel good in the moment by giving in to her is not doing her any good or yourself any favors.
Consult a nutritionist & get some professional help if you feel you need it.

Poppybella2015 · 22/01/2016 18:00

The reason she has chronic constipation is because she has diagnosed cows milk protein intolerance!!!!!!! Which is now better after removing dairy, although it flares up if she accidentally eats dairy. Stupid woman!!!!!!!!

OP posts:
Poppybella2015 · 22/01/2016 18:05

She also eats loads of chicken, veg etc!!!!!

OP posts:
Poppybella2015 · 22/01/2016 20:59

Sorry if I sounded rude there but that post made me so angry. My dd had a great diet before we had to remove dairy and increase fluid intake. Now we have sugary drinks to get her to drink the required fluid intake for her medication and the consultant wants her to drink two cups of soya milk a day. And she will only drink it sweetened. Thank you to the helpful people who have posted such great ideas for reducing sugar on this thread. I feel like leaving the thread now, there always seems to be a horrible bully on threads when people are asking for help. Usually someone who hasn't got all the information or who had read the whole thread.

OP posts:
5minutestobed · 22/01/2016 21:03

You have had some strange responses on this thread OP, take no notice!
Just a thought but have you tried removing the soya milk for something else? I know some children who are CMPI are also sensitive to soya? Might be worth a try to help the constipation? (unless you've already tried it obviously!)

Poppybella2015 · 22/01/2016 21:08

She had been ok on the soya milk but every so often she will steal cheese or something at a toddler group and it brings the constipation back. Two weeks on movicol and she is back to normal. I am thinking of looking at an alternative milk though as I have heard people with cmpi can become intolerant to soya too do I think it might be worth switching to oat milk or something

OP posts: