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Hi everyone,
Thank you for all the wonderful responses to my 'terrible 2' issues I am
having with my son with CD. I think just knowing that we are not the only
ones that have gone through this has helped us tremendously. I couldn't
respond to everyone but definitely wanted to note that every single one
helped...THANKS!!!
It is pretty impossible to summarize all the great comments so I will try
to highlight the most often mentioned:
1. Get Ellyn Satter's 'Child of Mine' book (out of print on Amazon but
you can find it in bookstores still or find used)...It is GREAT in just a
basic, common sense approach to feeding your kids. I found this very
helpful in setting new ground rules for me and my son...a few also
suggested 'Unplugging Power Struggles' by Jan Faull - I haven't bought
this yet but I probably will soon..it sounds good...
2. Stop negatively reinforcement and focus on positive
reinforcement...sound obvious but can be hard
3. Get child more involved in food process...let him help cook, decorate,
etc...get him more interested in what he is suppose to eat...
4. take the stress out - obvious again - making the mealtimes more
stressful was a lose/lose for everyone...do what you can to make it as
relaxing, (i.e. not a battle) as you can....
5. Many folks said 'he won't starve..he will eat when he gets
hungry'..again, an obvious suggestion..I think this one heavily depends on
the health of your child...we saw our pediatric GI before doing this for
his opinion and I would suggest doing this as well if your child is
recently diagnosed (just to do a sanity check to make sure he is healthy
enough)....
6. give him (and yourself) a break - Many folks reminded me that my son
probably still has pain or at least remembers the pain from eating and
that we should not get too worked up over his eating habits right
now..give him a break for a while...and give yourself a break...Celiac is
hard on everyone so don't sweat the seemingly small stuff...always a good
reminder...
7. Get help if you think you need it - Many folks told me to trust
myself and go to a child psychologist if we thought it necessary. My
husband and I are going back and forth on this..we've talked with one and
are trying some of her initial suggestions and then waiting a few weeks to
see how successful....but I must tell you that many of her suggestions are
the same as above....
8. What out for fluids - he may be filling up on fluids (milk, juice,
etc.) so he is not hungry for meals....Jason was doing this so a good
suggestion to limit fluids so it doesn't disrupt meals...
9. Overall most folks just suggested that I just treat him like a normal
toddler as much as possible..if I make a big deal over food with him, he
will continue to act up since he is getting the attention etc..again,
obvious but I needed to hear it from people I don't know...
I especially want to thanks the people with the kids with more severe
eating problems. I know that there is no 'answer out there'. I think
just knowing that we are not alone made the biggest difference of all. I
appreciate all of you kind words and direct, frank emails..it was what we
needed to hear....especially the reminder that this celiac thing does get
easier over time...thank goodness...
Happy eating everyone...
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Original Message
Hello fellow CD parents,
I am at my wits end and in need of some help. My 2 1/2 year old son was
diagnosed with Celiac about 6 weeks ago. We are having behavioral issues
with him now and I am not quite sure how to deal with it. I am hoping you
may have some 'pearls of wisdom' that might help me through this.
When diagnosed, he was basically refusing to eat anything and having
severe behavioral problems in any eating situation (at the dinner table,
etc.). Once we started the GF diet, we were told to try to make
eating 'fun' and not have any battles over eating. We tried letting him
color at the table, bring toys to the table, etc. This enables us to put
food in his mouth(he won't self feed but will allow us to put food in to
his mouth with a folk) because he is 'distracted' by the toys, coloring,
etc.
I thought that once he started to feel better, he would start eating on
his own again...boy, was I wrong!!!!
Now that he is starting to gain a bit of weight (and I am sure feeling a
bit better), I really need him to get back to more of a 'normal' self-
feeding behavior (I have a 14 month old as well and meal times are
becoming very difficult with both of them requiring so much attention).
I've tried no toys, etc. and he will just sit there in his seat and not
touch his food, he will throw tantrums for his favorite toys, even started
hitting me/kicking tables and throwing cups, dishes, etc. All this time
he will NOT feed himself (longest meal was 2 hours with no self
feeding..it is driving me crazy)....
His behavior the rest of the time (i.e. not food related) is fine. He is
in fact pretty
well behaved if eating is not involved.
So here is my question: Did anyone have similar experiences with your
toddlers of having extremely poor behavior with eating? If so, did you
try to 'normal' toddler approaches of basically letting them go hungry for
a few days/weeks (I have not yet had the nerve to do this since he is so
recently diagnosed and still under-weight). I am not sure how much of
this is a true disorder(that I may possibly go to a child psychologist
for) or just a 2 1/2 year old taking advantage of the situation (i.e.
getting more attention regarding food, etc.).
Any thoughts from veterans like yourselves would be invaluable. I will
compile all the responses for the archive..
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