My kids steal food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you’ve described sounds like the result of food restriction, which includes both real and mental restriction. Binge eating and bulimia are actually delayed responses to real or mental food restriction... there is a cycle that involves shame, guilt, self-loathing when someone knows they are “not supposed” to eat something. Then when they do, they self-loathe for the “bad” behavior. This then leads to a period of restriction again to correct for the mistake, which will inevitably result again in the binge.

I recommend you have your daughter speak to an eating disorder specialist, and possibly you too. It sounds to be like there is a relationship here between control, restriction, food and body that has already become toxic and may lead to disordered eating or an eating disorder if it has not already.

Food issues are very real and are rooted in control and emotional regulation issues in the individual or family system. Also, be sure not to make associations between body size and eating behavior or food choices if disordered eating is suspected to be present. This will exacerbate feelings of shame and guilt etc... which make it worse.

In the meantime I would recommend completely getting rid of locking food up and any measures you have in place to forcibly prevent or restrict your kids intake of specific foods. If your kid wants lasagna and their favorite part is the top then let the kid cut a big slice and eat only the top if they want. If the kid wants a big bowl or two of their dads favorite ice cream that’s awesome! Tell them to go for it! When access to food becomes free again then your kids might have the chance to start figuring out for themselves what it is that they want. Their bodies won’t betray them.

Disagree. People are allowed to have their own food. If the kids want some of that ice cream, buy them their own carton, but Dad is allowed to have some of his own damn ice cream.

I think the dad ice cream is super weird.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry but what is so wrong with feeding hummus and chips to a kid? It’s healthy and our whole family likes it. What should I be eating/feeding my chips instead? Teddy grahams? Gummy bears? Please enlighten me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Typical day: breakfast burritos and fruit. Chicken nuggets, string cheese, apples and ketchup for lunch. Chili with ground beef and rice and a veggie for dinner. Snacks about 11 and 2 and 4. Snacks might include: pepperoni, fruit leather, yogurt, carrots, bell peppers, cheese and crackers, popcorn, plus a serving of whatever we baked that day. We go for hot chocolate at Starbucks once or twice a week. We do dessert of fruit and cool whip or a serving of ice cream.

The additional food is on top of all that.

Those aren't the healthiest meals, IMO. Also, you don't need two desserts a day (baked treat plus dessert) - that's probably 500 calories right there. Try exchanging those for more protein and make sure every snack has protein too (carrots and hummus, apple and peanut butter)

Here are my kids' meals today:

Breakfast - omelets with cheese, mushrooms, and turkey bacon (This is what we had, it's not for health reasons, sometimes we have regular bacon)
Lunch - ham and cheese sandwich with cherry tomatoes on the side. They were still hungry, so they each had a mandarin orange.
Dinner - chicken souvlaki with couscous and tzatziki sauce

This is the diet of a peri menapausal woman.

That is the comment of a mom who only feeds her children dino nuggets and mac and cheese.

No doubt this comment is by the pp who accuses others of having an eating disorder while he shops only perimeter of the grocery store and feeds hummus to her kids! Yet, she thinks she has no eating disorder!

Sounds like you are over weight, I am sorry for your struggles. It’s not a good reason to put down others who care about feeling healthful foods to their families though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Typical day: breakfast burritos and fruit. Chicken nuggets, string cheese, apples and ketchup for lunch. Chili with ground beef and rice and a veggie for dinner. Snacks about 11 and 2 and 4. Snacks might include: pepperoni, fruit leather, yogurt, carrots, bell peppers, cheese and crackers, popcorn, plus a serving of whatever we baked that day. We go for hot chocolate at Starbucks once or twice a week. We do dessert of fruit and cool whip or a serving of ice cream.

The additional food is on top of all that.

Those aren't the healthiest meals, IMO. Also, you don't need two desserts a day (baked treat plus dessert) - that's probably 500 calories right there. Try exchanging those for more protein and make sure every snack has protein too (carrots and hummus, apple and peanut butter)

Here are my kids' meals today:

Breakfast - omelets with cheese, mushrooms, and turkey bacon (This is what we had, it's not for health reasons, sometimes we have regular bacon)
Lunch - ham and cheese sandwich with cherry tomatoes on the side. They were still hungry, so they each had a mandarin orange.
Dinner - chicken souvlaki with couscous and tzatziki sauce

This is the diet of a peri menapausal woman.

That is the comment of a mom who only feeds her children dino nuggets and mac and cheese.

No doubt this comment is by the pp who accuses others of having an eating disorder while he shops only perimeter of the grocery store and feeds hummus to her kids! Yet, she thinks she has no eating disorder!

Do you have something against middle eastern food? First you shame me for feeding my children couscous, now you think hummus is bad for children? WTF???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Typical day: breakfast burritos and fruit. Chicken nuggets, string cheese, apples and ketchup for lunch. Chili with ground beef and rice and a veggie for dinner. Snacks about 11 and 2 and 4. Snacks might include: pepperoni, fruit leather, yogurt, carrots, bell peppers, cheese and crackers, popcorn, plus a serving of whatever we baked that day. We go for hot chocolate at Starbucks once or twice a week. We do dessert of fruit and cool whip or a serving of ice cream.

The additional food is on top of all that.

Those aren't the healthiest meals, IMO. Also, you don't need two desserts a day (baked treat plus dessert) - that's probably 500 calories right there. Try exchanging those for more protein and make sure every snack has protein too (carrots and hummus, apple and peanut butter)

Here are my kids' meals today:

Breakfast - omelets with cheese, mushrooms, and turkey bacon (This is what we had, it's not for health reasons, sometimes we have regular bacon)
Lunch - ham and cheese sandwich with cherry tomatoes on the side. They were still hungry, so they each had a mandarin orange.
Dinner - chicken souvlaki with couscous and tzatziki sauce

This is the diet of a peri menapausal woman.

That is the comment of a mom who only feeds her children dino nuggets and mac and cheese.

No doubt this comment is by the pp who accuses others of having an eating disorder while he shops only perimeter of the grocery store and feeds hummus to her kids! Yet, she thinks she has no eating disorder!

Do you have something against middle eastern food? First you shame me for feeding my children couscous, now you think hummus is bad for children? WTF???

Right?? I am honestly so confused by this anti hummus stance. I think it’s a filling and healthy snack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but what is so wrong with feeding hummus and chips to a kid? It’s healthy and our whole family likes it. What should I be eating/feeding my chips instead? Teddy grahams? Gummy bears? Please enlighten me.

Right? She probably thinks a healthy snack is potato chips and french onion dip! I mean, if my kids enjoy pita chips and hummus, why wouldn't I feed it to them?

My kids have a diverse palate, they've eaten the same foods as us since they were babies - yes, hummus was in our baby food repertoire, LOL. I don't think that's any weirder than powdered rice and mashed up peas, do you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but what is so wrong with feeding hummus and chips to a kid? It’s healthy and our whole family likes it. What should I be eating/feeding my chips instead? Teddy grahams? Gummy bears? Please enlighten me.

OMG. I forgot how amazing the cinnamon teddy graham are. Thank you for the reminder! Your kid can binge eat them at my house

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but what is so wrong with feeding hummus and chips to a kid? It’s healthy and our whole family likes it. What should I be eating/feeding my chips instead? Teddy grahams? Gummy bears? Please enlighten me.

Right? She probably thinks a healthy snack is potato chips and french onion dip! I mean, if my kids enjoy pita chips and hummus, why wouldn't I feed it to them?

My kids have a diverse palate, they've eaten the same foods as us since they were babies - yes, hummus was in our baby food repertoire, LOL. I don't think that's any weirder than powdered rice and mashed up peas, do you?

Yep, mine too! Starting them out on eating healthy food that the rest of the family eats helps avoid having a kid who will only eat Mac and cheese and chicken tenders.

[Anonymous]

I find it interesting that Ellen Satter, whose books I see recommenced in this thread and a lot of other threads about kids and how to teach healthy eating/habits, is obese herself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that Ellen Satter, whose books I see recommenced in this thread and a lot of other threads about kids and how to teach healthy eating/habits, is obese herself.

What, really??? Kind of destroys her credibility...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you’ve described sounds like the result of food restriction, which includes both real and mental restriction. Binge eating and bulimia are actually delayed responses to real or mental food restriction... there is a cycle that involves shame, guilt, self-loathing when someone knows they are “not supposed” to eat something. Then when they do, they self-loathe for the “bad” behavior. This then leads to a period of restriction again to correct for the mistake, which will inevitably result again in the binge.

I recommend you have your daughter speak to an eating disorder specialist, and possibly you too. It sounds to be like there is a relationship here between control, restriction, food and body that has already become toxic and may lead to disordered eating or an eating disorder if it has not already.

Food issues are very real and are rooted in control and emotional regulation issues in the individual or family system. Also, be sure not to make associations between body size and eating behavior or food choices if disordered eating is suspected to be present. This will exacerbate feelings of shame and guilt etc... which make it worse.

In the meantime I would recommend completely getting rid of locking food up and any measures you have in place to forcibly prevent or restrict your kids intake of specific foods. If your kid wants lasagna and their favorite part is the top then let the kid cut a big slice and eat only the top if they want. If the kid wants a big bowl or two of their dads favorite ice cream that’s awesome! Tell them to go for it! When access to food becomes free again then your kids might have the chance to start figuring out for themselves what it is that they want. Their bodies won’t betray them.

Disagree. People are allowed to have their own food. If the kids want some of that ice cream, buy them their own carton, but Dad is allowed to have some of his own damn ice cream.

I think the dad ice cream is super weird.

Not really. We buy packs of Hagen Daz drumsticks. If we buy 2 packs it’s enough for each person in our family of four to have 2. I would be seriously annoyed if my kid ate my share or their siblings. Some things come in fixed portions. If I pick up a dozen donuts at Krispie Kreme I expect my kid to understand it’s not appropriate to eat 9 of them. The solution is not to fill the freezer with Hagen Daz and get 100 donuts — it’s self control and consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have neighbors whose kids were like this. It was because their parents made their kids eat the same restricted diets as them.

I do everything I can to prevent my kids from being this way. When they were super small I noticed they would always ask for snacks at friends house. Two really good friends said to me just go to Sam's club and buy a variety of snacks. Once it's available the kids don't beg for it nor do they binge it. I buy a variety, there is nothing wrong with a rice krispie treat, dried fruit,granola bars, chips, belivsts bars etc especially if you are an active kid.

That’s what I thought too but I have a kid with ADHD and she eats nonstop. Would eat 5 brownies if she could. And would then throw up. No experience is universal!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t bring myself to read through ten pages, but I got to page three and no one said the words “yes basket” yet. If it hasn’t been covered, OP, Google it.


Also it is possible - but VERY expensive - to only stock “yes foods” in the whole house. Requires lots of grocery trips (or instacart deliveries) and meticulous meal planning, but it’s possible. Not often feasible, but a potential last resort., OP, quote and respond if you need details.

Not OP but id like more info

She already said to Google it. You'll burn some calories typing.

A yes basket is exactly what it sounds like - stock it with food (adult provided food) and the answer is ALWAYS yes. Before dinner? Yes. After lunch? Yes. Right before bed? Yes, but brush your teeth again please. It gives kids control of something, and especially for kids with food hoarding problems or coming from food insecurity(ie foster care), it is reassuring to know there is always a yes.

Turning your kitchen into a yes kitchen is much harder on the parent end. It requires very careful planning and extensive patience because if you buy food Tuesday for dinner on Thursday but the kid eats it on Wednesday, you can’t be upset or angry because the kitchen is a yes, you already gave permission. This DOES NOT work for everyone. It is VERY hard to keep up, especially for long periods of time. However, if food restriction fights are breaking families and relationships, for a committed adult, it is another technique to try.

[Anonymous]

OP, having sauce left over after you sauce a 1-lb box of pasta is not a sign that you have great quantities of sauce in the first place. This makes me wonder about your judgment regarding portions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, having sauce left over after you sauce a 1-lb box of pasta is not a sign that you have great quantities of sauce in the first place. This makes me wonder about your judgment regarding portions.

You people are insane. I am sorry the idea of batch cooking healthy food is so offensive to you that you need to pick the whole post apart.