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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

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Original poster

Today I found in my DD's room...

17 replies

PingPongBat · 01/05/2015 12:24

Empty packets for...

7 double deckers
2 mars bars
1 bag Pop chips
1 bag Mini cheddars
Large bag minstrels
Large bag randoms
Tube of mentos
Large bag mini eggs
Bag of strawberry pencils
1 Tube Fruit pastilles
2 bags skittles
3 cheese strings
Bag of munchies
Large (200g) bar dairy milk
2 Mr kipling single packs (despite denying all knowledge of the sudden decrease in the number of Mr Kiplings in the food cupboard yesterday)

and

1 half eaten chocolate hob nob

...and I know that her school bag has multiple pockets full of empty sweet wrappers.

She has recently declared that she is on a healthy eating plan

OP posts:

Fuckup · 01/05/2015 12:30

Could these be old packets accumulated over time or do you think she's bingeing? I over ate sweets quite badly between the ages of 12-15, although I did get anorexia in later years so not sure my eating habits were healthy. I was never over weight and ate steadily through out the day rather than bingeing all in one go (think a mars bar at break, skittles on the bus, cake at home, so that did end up with quite a lot of wrappers iyswim).

How old is your dd? is she a healthy weight?

Its a difficult one because a lot of teenagers go through stages of eating a lot of crap and grow out of it with no I'll effects, but obviously for some its a symptom of wider problems.

WhoNickedMyName · 01/05/2015 12:32

crikey, is that a build up of rubbish over a long while? Even over one month that's really excessive.

MollieCoddler · 01/05/2015 12:37

Omg. Does she have cavities?!

Original poster

PingPongBat · 01/05/2015 12:39

She's 13, physically very mature (looks about 17), is a healthy weight, not keen on sport but participates willingly in PE. I think/hope it's a build up over time, with a couple of incidences where she's been to the local shop with a friend and binged on sweets.

DH has suggested a 'no food in the room rule' (which we already have and is repeated often!) and a 'bit of a chat' about trust.

I'm going to start hiding the mars bars & double deckers (which are only supposed to be for a Saturday morning treat - DH gives DS a mars bar at footie on a Saturday, & we I rather foolishly agreed that DD could have something similar, despite not exerting herself at all at weekends apart from stumbling from her bedroom to the sofa... )

OP posts:

ImperialBlether · 01/05/2015 12:39

Are these empty or full?

If they are full, are they hidden? Is her wastebin full of wrappers?

Original poster

PingPongBat · 01/05/2015 12:39

Teeth are fine - surprisingly - regular check ups and no problems!

OP posts:

Original poster

PingPongBat · 01/05/2015 12:40

All empty packs. Waste bin empty.

Hence the indication that she knows this is wrong and is hiding it

OP posts:

OutragedFromLeeds · 01/05/2015 12:59

I think eating junk food on the sly is normal teenage behaviour isn't it? We all did as teenagers and all reasonably healthy adults now.

I wouldn't be overly concerned. DH is probably right. Chat about trust and why that amount of junk food isn't good for your health/teeth/weight/skin and then wait for her to grow out of it.

chocoluvva · 01/05/2015 13:08

My DD used to eat no end of junk too. She has a much better diet now she's an older teenager.

DS (16) still eats a right load of sweets, crisps etc. Sometimes hides it because he knows I won't approve.

I wouldn't talk to her about trust - she should be starting to make choices about things like what she eats now - but I would remind her very matter of factly that it's unhealthy. And eating choc/sweets isn't earned through exertion or a reward for exertion - it's an occasional treat - nothing more nothing less.

Don't attach any value judgements to her behaviour - disappointment, annoyance, worry; nothing like that. Just something you're bringing up because it's unhealthy.

Original poster

PingPongBat · 01/05/2015 13:10

I tried to work out how much sugar she's consumed, & I was surprised to see how hard it still is to work this out - I thought manufacturers were supposed to be making it easier for us to make informed decisions on how much sugar etc we eat! (perhaps I was being rather too naive... )

For example, the front of the Skittles pack shows very prominently that 45g of Skittles has 182 calories, slightly less prominent is the info that 100g has 404 cals, but the bag is 174 calories.... The strawberry pencils give info about how many cals etc for 4 pencils, but the pack size is 75g and on the back it shows nutritional info for 100g.

Not that any self respecting teenager would even look at the "nutritional" information

OP posts:

MyballsareSandy · 01/05/2015 13:15

One of my DDs is the same, eats a load of crap every single day. It drives me mad. She does a lot of sport but has recently put on a lot of weight - we don't have scales but I can tell visibly that her weight has increased and she looks very overweight.

I'm finding it hard how to broach it - I've done the healthy eating/teeth/skin etc talk, she doesn't seem to care.

mummytime · 01/05/2015 13:23

It is going to be a fine balancing act. Do not go too over the top, or she will just hide eating more and that can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food.

I would make sure there were healthy snacks around, make sure she knows where the bread bin is etc.

Maybe give your son a healthy snack treat on Saturdays rather than a mars bar? You can repeat the no food in room rule, but they may well still cheat on it.

VenusRising · 01/05/2015 13:23

Put all the wrappers on her bed, and a nice note to ask her to come and have a chat about her healthy eating plan.

If she's tired she may be turning to sugar, so how much sleep shoul also be included when you listen to what she has to say about her life.

Get a juicer for her to help her.

JoyceDivision · 01/05/2015 13:31

Getall the treats and keep the in the car boot, or take them to work , like my colleague did with the router when the kids were on teh xbox all day

Travelledtheworld · 02/05/2015 23:52

My router goes in the car boot too but I have to hide it in the spare wheel compartment

sherbetlemonD · 06/05/2015 16:11

I used to comfort eat and hide food- so this from me looks like she's doing the same. Is she having a tough time? Does she have lots of friends- i.e. could she be getting bullied at school? It can be hard to approach parents/teachers about it- I didn't approach anyone but eventually one of my teachers came to me, we had a chat and while nothing drastically changed because my parents weren't supportive- it was nice to know that someone cared.

I wouldn't make an argument out of it- i'd sit her down and tell her you are concerned and ask her if there is anything she needs to talk about.

I guess if your sure this isn't the case then it's a different kettle of fish- but I can only offer advice from my own experience.

mathanxiety · 06/05/2015 17:32

I am not sure that hiding sweets and doling them out in a limited way (chocolate on Saturdays for example) is the way to go. I think that actually sets up a situation where kids sneak around behind your back. It also makes the issue all about sneaky sugar consumption when that might just be the symptom of something else.

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