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Dd gaining weight, fussy eater, help?

6 replies

Lovemusic33 · 04/09/2017 07:54

Dd is 13 and very lazy, she has Aspergers and a lot of sensory issues around food but is also very stuburn, won't attempt to try new foods, won't go near a vegetable and will hardly touch fruit, she also won't eat meat. Her diet consists of cheese, bread, pizza, chips and blueberries. She also has hyper mobility and hypertonia so gets very painful joints, she has been advised that this could improve with exercise but she refuses to do any and argues that it hurts her legs, if I make her walk a small distance she cries (not in pain, just because she doesn't want to do it), we have a large garden with a trampoline but she won't use it.

She has just got up to get ready for school and the trousers I had bought her won't go over her bum, the school she goes too asks for specific brand of trousers and I none of the styles will fit her, she's quite short, 30" waist but large bum. I have just had a talk to her about eating better and doing more exercise, not really because of the trouser situation but because m worried about her long term health. I think 💭 have upset her but I just don't know what to do Sad.

I have tried only giving her healthy food but she just refuses to eat it. She has free school meals so can buy what she likes at school, the school serves pizza and it's the only thing they serve that she will eat, she will then buy herself a cake to go with it, school provide healthy options but she says she doesn't like them. Her diet is so limited that it's hard to extend it (I have been trying for years), we make our own pizza but she won't contemplate adding new ingredients so will just have cheese on it. I make my own chips using fry lite but she complains about them. It took me years to get her to eat the inside of a jacket potato and she will only eat it if covered in cheese. I am tempted to remove all cheese from her diet but then she won't eat anything.

I'm worried that dd will become overweight, she already gets bullied and called 'weird', 'geek' etc.. and she gets bullied for being slow on her feet due to her hypermobility. I don't want another reason for her to get picked on but she doesn't see it that ways and says she doesn't care if she gets fat and doesn't care if she ends up in a wheelchair because of the hypermobility (which will happen if she gains too much weight), she makes jokes about owning a mobility scooter and stair lift in the future.

What can I do? At the moment I am trying to bribe her into trying new things, we have a chart and she gets money towards a game she wants if she tries something new, we have been doing this for a month and she's only tried 2 new things and hated them both.

OP posts:
Lovemusic33 · 04/09/2017 08:48

Anyone? Do I need to get her to a dietitian?

OP posts:
burninghigh · 06/09/2017 12:52

No experience of this but it sounds to me that your daughter is struggling with lots of things. In your position I would be looking for some age appropriate counselling as much as a referral to a dietician. You know her diet is poor but you need to get to the root of that.

I was a bit overweight as a young teen and it is very daunting. She will be surrounded by peers who are sailing through puberty in an effortless beautiful fashion all slim and long limbed (in her eyes anyhow). Are you active? Is your diet good? It might be you need to do some stuff with her.

On the basis of what you have said I think you need to work on her being happy and accepting of herself and her condition first. I feel for you though.

burninghigh · 06/09/2017 12:53

Also is a change of school possible. Bullying is awful and would explain a lot of what you have written.

Lovemusic33 · 06/09/2017 13:13

Burn I go to the gym almost every day and my diet is quite good as is her sisters, I do eat take away from time to time and the odd slice of cake. I am really active, I try and get dd to join in but she cries and complains, I take her sister swimming every week but dd1 refuses to come, we try and do things at the weekend that involve walking but again she will make a fuss.

She actually really loves her school and has been counting down the days until so goes back, she has a small group of friends and sticks with them, she ignores the bullies as much as possible, she has been in 3 different schools and the bullying happens everywhere, she will always be a target as she's quirky and obviously different. Most of the girls in her year are bigger than her, yes there are the tall slim ones but there seems to be a lot more now that are larger. Dd is quite short, because of her leg problems she walks in a odd way and is slow on her feet, kids tell her to hurry up and to get out of the way. It doesn't seem to upset her much, she is quite confident and doesn't seem to care too much about what others think.

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burninghigh · 06/09/2017 16:23

I was very good at hiding the fact I was upset and being bullied by exclusion. I was very lonely at around 13 and remember feeling wretched.

I didn't want to worry my parents though so I'm sure I came across as happy and confident. I really wasn't though.

For me the pretence became a reality and once I had a few really good friends everything got much better. Does she have a best friend?

Lovemusic33 · 06/09/2017 16:57

Really she is happier than she was at the other schools, she has friends, she has a boy friend and she's a happy teenager at school and at home. The food issues have been ongoing since she was 2.

She loves school, would stay there longer if she could, she goes to youth club with her friends, any bullying has been addressed by the school, she's doing great at school, top in all subjects and all her teachers say she's confident and happy in class.

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