Anyone out there know when the food issues go away???? The need to constantly eat and hearing "I'm starving!" is going to drive us nuts. Tetyana eats more than both Luke and I at all meals and has 2 snacks in between each meal. She has to have 2 snacks or she is not happy. I understand where it all stems from but we have fed her consistently for over a year and there is always an over stocked pantry and 2 refrigerators full of food.
Thankfully she does not hoard food but she does sneak food. I was out of town for 2 days and she managed to eat 6 packages of Oreo's without Drew knowing plus her regular diet. I have had her screened for parasites and that is not the issue. I honestly don't think she knows when she is full. After she eats an entire chicken breast, a large helping of a vegetable and a large helping of rice and asks for more food saying she is still hungry we don't let her eat more even though she insists she is still hungry. Even if she wants more to eat she can't be hungry, right?
I am very strict about what my kids eat and they rarely get junk. If there is food out that is at all junk like she will take way more than her share and go back for more if nobody is watching. I am afraid of what she does when she goes over to a friends house. I try to feed her before she goes over and let the parent know.
So when do eating issues go away???
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3 comments:
This sounds very much like what my kids do, especially my youngest. We've been home going on two years and his food issues are still going strong. In fact, when we ran errands just tonight, he made sure to remind us several times that we still needed to go to the grocery store...and then he made sure he went to that section of Wally's World with Daddy just to make sure we really did buy more food.
This sounds familiar enough that I'm willing to bet the farm I don't have that your daughter's issues aren't really about food. More than likely they're about deprivation (especially if she has a history of early neglect.) Her behavior with food is really a manifestation of a deep fear that there will never be enough or that tonight might be the night she goes to bed hungry. Until those deeper issues are healed, the food issues will remain in tact. If you fight them without addressing what's really causing them, you run a big risk that she'll transfer that manifestation to some other form of deviant behavior such as bulimia or cutting.
Probably not the warm fuzzy "all is well and everything will be ok" response you were looking for - but hopefully it is something that will give you something to think about and look into.
Michelle, Isn't Tetyana still very thin for her height? If is has a huge appetite and is still thin, she may have an extremely fast metabolism. She could still be catching up with nutrient deficiencies and cell repair required for optimal growth. Maybe she needs additional calories that could be gained from a protein shake or similar supplement. She may gorge on junk food because of its high calorie content. However most kids love junk food, especially when it is restricted!
Anyway, I would monitor her height/weight ratio and keep in touch with her pediatrician. There may be a physical component as well as psychological.
It will take a while of making her aware that what she thinks is hunger is really some other feeling or emotion. On the other hand I grew up with never enough and hungry and still have issues of needing my pantry overflowing with things we will never eat in a year, and the moment I can see the shelf I have to stock up again...My hubby and I know it's an outcome of my childhood and just laugh. But it doesn't stop the fear of running out!
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