My 12 year old won't stop eating raw onions, could it be a vitamin deficiency?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am concerned by your second last sentence where you say you "let her eat it because it's s vegetable".

It sounds like you control what she eats and you would not let her eat other non veggie snacks. She should be eating a big carb / protein snack after all that exercise.

I don't know if it is you or your DD that has some disordered eating but it sounds like there are issues that need to be addressed.

So sick of the crappy parents who think parents encouraging their kids to eat vegetables must have "eating disorders". You know that kids are SUPPOSED to eat vegetables, right? Not crap from a factory? I mean, that's the way our bodies were designed to function.

As for the onions, I only know of one person who used to eat onions like that. He was healthy and fine, just liked onions. I prefer them cooked, myself, but each to their own

r

You are really off base. Kids need veggies but also protein and fat. The disordered eater the poster is asking about is the OP, not the kid.

[Anonymous]

Hello, this is OP. Sorry, I never read the responses, life happened and I completely forgot. Thank you for all the replies. My daughter's onion habit is still going strong LOL. Thank you for all the responses. To clarify, she not only eats an onion, that is just what she wants first and foremost as soon as she gets home. She sometimes has other snacks and always eats the onion with a glass of milk because it is spicy. On swim days she eats a helping of whatever I cooked for dinner, right after or along with her onion. She needs food early because of swimming. Then she has another portion of dinner when she comes back from practice. She is a good eater, like I said before. The bulk of her calories are at dinner, except on the weekends when I think her bulk of calories are at breakfast (her favorite meal-eggs, bacon, pancakes, etc, except on school days because it is so damn early and she's not that hungry at 6am). I don't control the quantity of what she eats, I just make sure to cook balanced meals, and she really eats everything except fish. I called her pediatrician and they don't seem worried at all about a deficiency since she does eat a variety of food. They just think she likes onions, so I guess I'll leave it at that. Thanks again for all the replies.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the update, OP. I was one of those who was concerned because my child had an easting disorder, but it sounds as though your DD is doing pretty well. I'd just recommend lots of breath mints! I find that raw onion stays on my husband's breath for hours and hours... eventually there may be social repercussions for your kid if she keeps up the raw onion habit.

[Anonymous]

If I'm cooking and I have chopped onions and peppers, my 11 YO DD feasts on that stuff. She is a great eater and personally, I think it's great that she enjoys eating certain raw veggies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I think the possibility of the start of an eating disorder should be considered, because I would always keep my eyes open for it in swimmers or other athletes who exercise a lot.

Your child is on the slim side already you say, and at age 12 is probably going through pubertal growth spurt PLUS she's doing all that swimming. She is using up a ton of calories. You say her weight is perfect for her height, but get ahold of her historic growth charts from the pediatrician. As an example, say she was always around 75%ile for BMI for her age, but now is only 50th%ile BMI for her age. Technically you would say that's perfectly normal/average BMI for her age but it isn't normal for HER, it represents a drop for HER. And this is an early warning that anorexia could be developing.

My son developed an eating disorder around this age, and yes an early sign was craving hot pickled peppers. Every single day. He ate normally at first but later cut out more and more foods.

I wouldn't freak out or anything but I would check your daughters historical weight pattern and how many calories she is eating every day (approximately) and maybe offer her some more high calorie foods like high calorie, high fat smoothies etc. Just make sure she is getting all the nutrition she needs as an athlete who is also probably going through a growth spurt. These kids can need up to 3000 calories + a day! When they come home from school or practice they really need a full meal as a "snack" not an onion.

Keep your eye on her.

Why "offer high fat smoothies" to a hypothetical teenager who slims down from 75th percentile to 50th? If she has developed anorexia, deal with that. But if she's developing better eating habits and snacking on onions instead of cookies, be glad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Why "offer high fat smoothies" to a hypothetical teenager who slims down from 75th percentile to 50th? If she has developed anorexia, deal with that. But if she's developing better eating habits and snacking on onions instead of cookies, be glad.

Because "slimming down" from 75th percentile to 50th%ile for a young teen who is exercising strenuously can be a trigger for developing anorexia.

High fat smoothies are a great way to nip this in the bud and can be extremely healthy and nutrient dense. If you need extra calories to fuel growth and exercise, it's a great place to get it.

Knowing what I know about how awful anorexia is, I would do anything to avoid it even starting. Knowing what I know about swimmers and anorexia, I would not let my child swim competitively if he or she lost anything in the weight percentile. I'd make sure he or she kept eating enough calories to fuel the exercise.

SO MANY parents of athletes who end up developing anorexia say they wish they had understood the signs sooner and not been so reluctant to intervene, because they thought their child was eating "healthily". And it's good to "slim down" right?? But calories are also healthy and fat is healthy. If you have an active child who is also still growing just PAY ATTENTION and make she she isn't slipping in her weight percentiles and not eating enough calories. That's all I'm saying.