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8 year old boy please help

19 replies

mtw · 17/10/2010 19:40

Sorry, last post was sent too soon! ANyway, I was hoping i could get some advice. My son is 8. We have major problems with him eating anything healthy, no fruit, veg, cheese, yoghurt. even bread - he is so picky it drives me crazy. We went to the doctors and she said start taking away things like TV, DS untill he plays the game and eats what he needs to eat, but still he will not eat anything that is good for him. SO he goes to bed, we are all upset and tired by the end of the day and this has been going on for a long time. The doctor cannot believe how stubborn he is. Another thing I get so upset about is that after school we come home and he never wants to go outside, he is happy just sitting in,but not really doing anything, not interested in playing outside. I have 2 other younger children so i am constantly torn between playing with them and trying to entertain my oldest. He has done a few seasons of football, but that will end soon - are there any parents out there who's kids do nothing after school?

He has friends in school but we never see then after school, we are new to the area and it's a hard area to meet people, there are no kids in the immediate area.

I just feel bad for him that he should be outside running about and enjoying himself,
but he just sits in.
Thanks for reading and any advice will be welcome.

OP posts:
stinkypants · 17/10/2010 21:39

i really disagree with the doctor's advice!!! the last thing you want to do i would think is to make the whole thing a major battle. have you tried rewards? i would try to play it down more than make a big issue. just make your evenings more pleasant and relaxed, and praise his efforts, slowly trying new recipes, get him involved with cooking- have seen a few supernanny episodes where this approach works.
are there any after school clubs? any school friends who could come for a sleepover? any local groups to meet people?
but again i would not put pressure on- make him feel confident and the rest may follow naturally?
good luck

moajab · 17/10/2010 22:31

The part about food could have been written about my DS also 8! We have endless discussions about it. I think many people don't understand what its really like to have a fussy eater. I get endless comments about how if they're only given healthy food that's what they'll eat etc. And it's just not true. If my DS is given food he doesn't like he'll either not eat it or he'll be sick! All I can do is make it as healthy as I can with the limited diet, for example he does like apples so I do insist on an apple a day. But don't even mention the word vegetable (apart from baked beans!) I agree with the rewards suggestion. Also try to find ways of making the things he likes healthier. Home made can make a big difference, for example using wholemeal flour in pizza or cakes. My DS will eat carrot cake, so even if it is full of calories I know there's also something good in it!

Can you invite some of his school friends round for tea? As well as giving him something to do he may well be less stressed about eating if he's busy chatting to his friend and if he is invited back he may well be more open to trying new food for another mum.

Also try to plan activities that all the children can do together. You don't say how old your other children are. but baking and crafts can be enjoyed by children of varying ages or give him some responsibility like planning an activity for the younger ones. Do you have a park nearby where you can all go at the weekend or holidays where he might well meet some other kids his own age?

Good luck - it's a tricky age, but then aren't they all!

mtw · 18/10/2010 00:04

THanks for your reply. At first I really though the doctors advice would work and really,he would be without the TV etc for 1-2 days then he would cotton on to the fact he had to eat a little bit of the good stuff, but he JUST DIDN'T CARE!!! And so it went on and on and then it turned into misery for everyone.

I did speak to the doctor again and tell he that it was NOT working and she was surprised but said keep going, but she didnt really offer any more help.

The evenings are very unpleasant, apart from the food, i just dont have any friends I can call, popover to with my kids for an early dinner etc, its just us every night, the 3 of us going crazy!!!

OP posts:
mtw · 18/10/2010 00:33

mojab, just seen your reply.
just thought it was so interesting about you saying no one really understands! and they tell you " just give it to them, if they are hungary, they will eat it " well - this theory doesn't work! and YES = my son has been sick from eating basic fruit & veg...why??

friends- yes i would love him to have play dates after school, but the families are so hard to get to know and i have tried, and he has seen a few on and off last year, but nothing that keeps going, then i dont want to keep pushing it and calling them.

i live in america, and in an area that i really dont enjoy, so that makes it even worse.

my other kids are 2 & 3. my 8 yr old is just NOT interested in doing crafty stuff/ or going for walks together - he just moans and complains.
as for cooking with me - tried it and he just complained and made no effort and i thought "bugger this " i am trying to do it for him thinking it would be fun etc... and he would rather not do it .

help!!!

OP posts:
stinkypants · 18/10/2010 13:32

the being sick - probably due to him finding it partly traumatic due to the associations he's built up with the food, and partly becuase he finds the texture / taste very unpleasant. i would totally avoid forcing him to eat anything. have you tried making smoothies to get a few vitamins into him?
or making pizza? or blending pasta sauce so vegetables are harder to detect? sorry if i'm suggesting things you've already done. if he's not interested i the cooking with you, i bet he'd enjoydoing it with a friend - i really think this needs to be the area to tackle as being bored and having no-one to play with will make the whole issue seem more huge - he needs to forget about it by being so busy having fun..
i really feel for you that you are finding it hard to meet new people - what is the area like? what are the people like? i'm sure there must be some people you'd get on with if only you could track them down...

kikibo · 18/10/2010 14:13

I can't help on the food front, but maybe it might be symptom of the rest.

Seems to me that he is in a depression? Is he maybe bullied at school, or maybe he doesn't have any friends (at least not ones where he can go, so no real contact.)? If he does not care about TV, cooking, arts and crafts or playing outside and only moans and complains instead of being content to read a book for example (which I would support if that is his favorite past-time instead of playing outside) then I think you are dealing with a child that feels alone. Bad eating habits could be a symptom of that... Cutting out TV, hungering him out and tactcs like that will then not help as he will feel even more that no-one cares about him.

Can you pin point when the trouble started or has it just come on gradually?

I had a time like that as a child, about twelve, where I couldn't eat, even wet my trousers and stuff like that... Through to 14-15. My parents did not want to understand, but I think, looking back, that it was a kind of depression about my grandparents dying, changing school and no friends or friends that came and went...

ragged · 18/10/2010 14:41

Exactly what does he eat?

mtw · 18/10/2010 18:01

Oh no, I have just read your post kikib and i thank you for replying, but i feel so depressed now. I think you are right, I have been doing him a huge disservice, making him feel worse with the food issues, punishing him, making him go to his room etc, i even made him cry, i feel like the worst mother and dug myself into this hole. The doctor worried me, by saying he was not going to get strong and could suffer in the future if his diet was so bad in his younger days.
So that is why i took her advice, but it didnt work and could have back fired and now it's all a big mess.
I also think you are right he must feel alone.
with no friends to play with.
I am sorry you had the hard time that you did and do you think that was brought on by your situation?

stinky pants,
we live in a close knit community, very hard to make any sort of inroads with the local mums who have lived here most of there lives and have family etc......
believe me i have tried - calling them and trying to get play dates, but they are so busy and then i feel like i am pestering them !!

ragged - he eats cereal in the a.m - a school lunch that could be chicken nuggets or burger , no fruit. then for dinner the normal stuff, casseroles, pizza, mac n cheese, chicken pastas etc - but such a minute amount - his 2 & 3 yr old siblings eat more than him, and then i tell them to eat a little bit of fruit and he will sit there all night just refusing. the brother & sister are long gone with full bellies.

maybe he is just not a big eater??

OP posts:
ragged · 18/10/2010 19:11

That doesn't really sound horrendous, MTW. Irritatingly restricted in moments, but not God-awful. Certainly not worth a punishment regime.

My almost 11yo DS does NOTHING organised after school. He fell out with what friends he did have locally. He holes up in his room and has no interests except reading, perusing catalogs for stuff he'd like to buy, and annoying his siblings. He'd play computer games if I let him (but I don't). I'm not saying this is ideal, but it's okay.

If you're in the USA are you buying into the idea that kids "need" afterschool activities in order to improve themselves? I am American and understand that mentality all too well. I find it super-pressurised, tbh!

Can you get vegies into his regularly accepted meals by disguise -- eg, would he eat a tomato-based sauce with spaghetti (you can blenderise stuff like broccoli into that).

ragged · 18/10/2010 19:14

ps: I was amused to learn last week that a lady I know (must be about 65) has not eaten vegetables or fruit in the last.... 50 years or so? She doesn't like 'em and won't eat 'em, end of story.

She drinks a lot of tea (good flavinoids). Her only health complaint is that she has put on too much weight recently.

stinkypants · 18/10/2010 19:35

just a thought, but could you volunteer to run / help out with some local activity and gradually meet people and he could then get involved. youth club / cubs etc. not sure what to suggest. i still feel that the people locally must have some desire to make new friends too and there must be some lovely ones who would be a real source of support to you.
i agree with above posts that the food issue is secondary to the friendships / social issue. he is only a child and needs your help to know how to make friends and have the opportunities to develop friendships, and if you are also struggling to make friends then you cant be a role model to him of how to do it - sorry, i dont mean to sound harsh, but i cant see any other way - i would suggest you continue to pester (your word - although i'm sure no-one sees it this way) people and assert yourself into the community!! i bet you have loads to offer and people will be glad of your contribution.

MadameSin · 18/10/2010 19:50

Oooh, I think the doc is very wrong. I had similar to my ds1 when he was about 9. Also took him to doctors who told me not to make a big deal out of eating. He explained that some kids need fewer calories then others and some need more carbs etc etc. They are all different. Unless your son is starving himself, I would not make an issue out of it. I certainly would not relate food to privileges ie: ds, tv - that is creating an unhealthy association with food.

kikibo · 18/10/2010 20:36

mtw, I didn't want to make you feel depressed! Certainly not, but I just spoke my mind. I just had a look from a different angle, that's all. Don't think that you are a bad mother! Bad mothers wouldn't care.

I understand that it is kind of difficult to get 'in' with the crowd if that crowd is so close-knit... Can you yourself do something and then lay contact with people and meet up maybe? I don't know, knitting club Wink or whatever other mums do in that place... I mean even if they work all day, then still I hope they do stuff? That way, you get to know them, they get to know you and then you can maybe meet up 'casually' so your son doesn't suspect anything? That's only an idea though, I can't really smell your situation Grin.

Anyway, what ragged said is probably a good idea, but I don't know if you wouldn't end up blening stuff forever... He should try.

I have heard that not eating veggies or fruit could make you feel depressed. No offense to you, but him not wanting to eat them is of course a vicious circle if his eating habits are connected with depression (which I don't say it is but I have an inkling only, I am not qualified in this). Believe it or not, my hubby and I went to Poland, didn't eat a vegetable for a week and felt so miserable, until we had some green runnerbeens. That was fab! We felt so much better! By which I want to say that your son might be stuck in a vicious circle. It needs to be borken and that is hard, but rewarding afterwards! For everyone!

Anyway, so, tomatoes are happy veggies. Does he eat tomatoes? I guess he doesn, because he eats pizza. You can do loads with tomatoes (they are a start): soup with meatballs (mmmmmm Smile), salad (though that will not be a success, I guess), pasta sauce, just tomatoe sauce over other veggies etc.

Maybe, like you say, he is a small eater. Then there is no reason to force him. If he just eats and is not extremely skinny, it shouldn't be a worry, but I would definitely work on this.

I have seen in such programms on TV that they gave children (a lot younger) something they did like and something they didn't, say whole broccoli pieces, boiled. The thing they did like was allowed when they had licked the broccoli or whatever. (please, do ick two things that are compatible. Not banana and meatballs Confused) Is that not something to try? If he smells it, great! Applaud. (If he doesn't like this, then don't. I would have hated it. Then just give him a reward he likes. No sweets though, but something he likes, I am sure you know your son better than I Wink). And a reward. Then if he licks it, great, another reward! Then he will take a little bite, great! Another reward. And by the end of a week he should be able to eat that particular thing.

Also, make things tasty. Broccoli steamed is much better than boiled to bits.
Actually, try sweet tomatoes first. Cherry tomatoes are great. Does he like fruit? Try that too. If he likes the taste (so drinks smoothies), then there is nothing but the texture that holds him back and that is not absolutely impossible to tackle. The only thing is try, try, try and try some more.
Try carrots. Do not boil them, that's juck. Try to cut them fine, in small pieces, sweat an onion and then the carrots, with a little sugar (coffee spoon at most), add some water (small amount), lid on the pan and wait until cooked. That is jummy. Sweet is always good with children.
Cauliflower with white sauce? If made well, that's also nice.
Sweet peas.

I don't know, you know him better. Also try some herbs. He is old enough now not to worry about it. Makes food more tasty.

Do you know whether he actually has any real friends, or does he only 'know' people? Otherwise, ask them to your place?
If he doesn't like out of school activity, then do not force him. I never saw the use of it and thankfully my father was also a loner. If I had asked, though, I would have got it, but other than that, I wasn't interested. That in itself is not really a concern.
Otherwie, the school might be able to help as they can actually observe his behaviour in school, whether he is bullied or whatever.
Do you also know that he doesn't eat too much at lunch so he can't actually eat anymore in the evening? I mean, that's well possible. So if you then, on doctor's adivce, hunger him out, it won't really help as he still gets his lunch the next day. And, if you don't mind me asking, do they not have anything apart from chicken nuggets or burgers? Then it might be a wise idea just to make some nice healthy soup when he gets home or so to get the happy vitamins in him Smile...

Good luck! Let me know how it goes. Smile

kikibo · 18/10/2010 20:44

Ah, yes, to answer your question about me... Thinking back, I think it was brought on by that, but I'm not sure of course.

At 11 my beloved grandmother died, at 12-13 I changed schools, as so many others, to go to secondary school, so new friends to make. At 14, my friends were in another class and the one that was in mine made an argument with me. I got bullied as well. Whole year I head no friends. At 15 I finally got friends round about Easter and my grandfather died. But that's when it was really already over.

Thing is that I maybe couldn't handle changing schools and having my granny die at the same time...

Has anything happened like that to you and your children? Even just moving could have a devastating effect. Not that you have to feel guilty, but one has to understand before actually be able to tackle it, no?

LynetteScavo · 18/10/2010 20:56

The GP sounds like a fool!

Don't punish him for not eating. Provide the food, let him eat what he wants (don't pile too much on his plate) and move on. Don't keep him at the table trying to coerce food into him.

will he take any vitamin supplements? If so, I'd offer them, and chill out about the fruit and veg for now.

It's great that he has friends in school. Try inviting them to tea (again if you already have).

Does he just watch TV after school, or literally stare at the walls? Or play by himself?

kikibo · 18/10/2010 21:00

oh, and maybe, if he has had chicken nuggets, burgers etc then make something without meat? Meat is heavy on the stomach and so he will not really feel like eating a lot. Veggies are more easily digestable...

That's easy of course, if one eats veggies Wink

LynLiesNomoreZombieFest · 18/10/2010 22:07

I had similar problems with my DS9 very restricted diet.

I sat down and spoke to him, asked him what he thought he could manage to introduce into his diet.

I introduced one thing at a time, and had it regularly until it became normal.

I spoke to the dinner ladies and found there were some things he would eat at school that we had not had at home and introduced those.

I changed the things he would eat homemade burgers with lean steak, chips cooked in olive oil.

He does not play outside, he does not like being away from adults.

I play cricket with him, and he loves swimming.

He has made a lot of progress in fitness and weight loss in the past year.

I would sit down and talk to your son, maybe offer a reward for trying new things.

He needs to be part of the process and not pushed too much.

Good luck

mtw · 19/10/2010 03:47

Thank you ALL for your replies. I mean it - I loved reading them and they ALL helped.
Ragged - yes - it is hard NOT to buy into the idea of after school activities and my son is probably the only one who does so little after school. Just by casually talking to the other Mum's, he is def. low key and they are UP there with 4/5 out of school nights it will be a sport or music etc. thank you for making what the doctor said I should do seem unreasonable. Yes, I was punishing him - for more than 4 weeks this has been going on and i am really just so drained by it, he said to me tonight - do i have to go to my room now ( it was 6pm ) GOD it broke my heart,so I am stopping all this nonsense.

stinky pants - i appriciate your honesty, yes I do feel like i pester them , and you are right i cannot be a good role model at making friends if i struggle with that, oh no.....what to do, it's been over 1 yr now and I am tired of asserting myself and just want to throw the towel in and say " bugger the lot of you "

MadameSIn - i wish i had had your doctor, it would have saved us all alot of heartache.
why why did i go with her ideas. I did follow up with her about what was happening ( the fact her plan was not working ) and she was surprised he was being so stubborn but told me to keep trying.

Kikbo, i love all your foodieideas and i have tried them for years and it all gets rejected. on ething that bothers me is that he will say - even before trying it - errr, thats gross - or something equally as nice and of course the 2 younger siblings are then going to get on his bandwagon and not even try it - so this has to be addressed.
No - no fruit / smoothies etc - not a chance in hell - he is point blank against them.
As far as his school dinner go, they always have a protein - and then a fruit/salad/veggie as part of the meal but of course he doesnt eat that bit.

Lynettescarvo,
well, this is what he does after school - jumps about - in side, imagining he is playing football ( US football ) he has this softball and he throws that about. Drives me nuts.
He would watch TV till bed time if i let him.

I know he is tired when he comes home - it is a long day - 7.30 - 4 by the time we get home. Then he has 1/2 homework and bits of project work - so he is SHOT and really just wants to do his own thing.THEN on top of that he had a mother from hell who made his life so miserable with dinner. My stomach is in knots recalling all this.

Lyn lies - good for you getting success with your son and his eating.Does he play with friends?

OP posts:
kikibo · 19/10/2010 08:48

What LinLies said, could be a god thing. Try to talk to him.

Frankly he does not want to try, so he has no argument.

Tell him about the fact that he gets a reward first, and then see what happens. Only has to be a bite. I am sure such a big by can manage?

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