8-year-old DD Binge Eating?

[Anonymous]

Have noticed lately that my 8 year old DD has been binge eating and I am not sure how to approach this without giving her more of a complex. Examples: I bought Oreos for special treat for last day of school class party. Leftovers came home, and I put them above the refrigerator out of reach. 12am or 5am, DD pushed a bar stool over while everyone is still asleep and ate the entire package. At least 10-12 or more. I understand a couple of cookies as a treat. My son will grab 2-3. But DD sneaks around and then binges on 10 or more and does this frequently. Second example, I find candy and snack wrappers in her room hidden in drawers and under bed. I found 12 fruit snacks wrappers hidden behind our sofa one morning after DD was sitting there. Hidden stashes of Halloween candy for months afterward. And she sneaks it at night after she brushes her teeth. So her last dentist appointment wasnt good. Her teeth were very plaquey. At the pool she will go to the snack bar with our family code (yes my bad for sharing it with her - I thought she was responsible enough. Wrong) and instead of getting a single ice cream bar or bag of chips, she will get 4. And eat them all at once. After lunch.

She is not overweight and was in the 45th percentile for weight at her last physical. So normal. She dances, plays soccer, swims and is generally active. But I am worried about this issue bc it's not healthy for her mind, body or teeth. I'm not a parent who denies sweets or snacks. We always have treats around for snacks or dessert. So it's not like she is deprived.

Is this something that needs a trip to a child psych about? The doctor spoke with her about healthy choices. The dentist told her it's not good to do after brushing bc the sugar sits on her teeth all night. I've tried to discuss healthy choices with her. Nothing works. Its almost compulsive.

I am afraid this is going to lead to bulemia as she gets into her preteen and teen years.

Any advice or thoughts? Has anyone else dealt successfully with this? Do I just stop buying sweets altogether?

[Anonymous]

If I were you, I would speak with a therapist that deals with this before taking your DD anywhere.

[Anonymous]

I'd be most worried about why she felt the need to sneak the food. It sounds like she wants the treats and knows you won't let her have them if she doesn't sneak them. You might want to address it from a dental health angle and ask that she not eat the snacks after brushing. But you would need to be ok with her eating them at all other times.

[Anonymous]

My six year old has eaten 10 Oreos in a row! Those things are addictive. Why did you put the leftovers on top of the fridge? I find that bizarre! I have found hidden left-over Halloween wrappers in my kids' rooms. It doesn't mean binge eating (on its own). A lot of this means that kids just don't want to disappoint us.

We parents are unintentionally going to give our children food complexes in an attempt to teach healthy eating habits. I would dial back and be very causal about food while continuing to make yummy homemade meals.

Don't attach shame to junk food.

[Anonymous]

Most of the stuff you're mentioning is sweet stuff. Is she especially addicted to sweets? Does she know much about nutrition and the health problems that come from eating too much sugar?

[Anonymous]

What healthy foods does she eat? Does she get a lot of protein and complex carbs with her meals, along with some fruits and vegetables for fiber? You might want to see if more protein, fiber, and complex carbs can hold back her cravings.

In the end, I would say that binging on sweets at her age is abnormal. My kids love sweets like most kids do, but even they seem to naturally cut themselves off after 4 or 5 cookies, and they have never gotten up in the middle of the night to eat.

[Anonymous]

I'm hearing secret eating not binge eating. Totally different.

[Anonymous]

I'd make sure she's getting enough real food at meals e.g. protein, whole grains, healthy fats, etc. Make sure portion sizes are big enough and maybe she needs to add a few more healthy snacks during the day. If she's that active and on the lower end of the spectrum for weight, she might just be hungry and eating what tastes good and is easy for her to grab.

[Anonymous]

I did this all growing up and was very skinny (105 lbs and 5'2'' height), it's really not such a big deal? Sometimes for school lunch I'd eat 10 Chips ahoy cookies.

[Anonymous]

I have binge eating disorder and have since at least age 10. I agree that it does sound more like secret eating. Binge eating is a compulsion and not solely limited to sweets (though junk is a huge trigger). But binge eaters will eat themselves sick.

And if it's a at all helpful- my BED was brought on by anxiety. It's a way to self medicate and try to tamp down the anxiety. That's not the cause for everyone but it is for many. Does she show signs of anxiety op?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did this all growing up and was very skinny (105 lbs and 5'2'' height), it's really not such a big deal? Sometimes for school lunch I'd eat 10 Chips ahoy cookies.

There are other considerations here than if the kid is skinny

[Anonymous]

Sugar is hard, and managing cravings for and addiction to sugar is harder for some people than others due to different genectics. Definitely do what pp says about serving plenty of healthy foods. And, yes, stop keeping sweets around the house. Don't talk about it or announce a new policy; just taper it off. If there not there, she doesn't have to put mental attention on thinking about them. You don't have to cut your family off from treats -- go out for ice cream and enjoy cake at parties. Just don't set up an issue for her at home. And talk to a therapist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My six year old has eaten 10 Oreos in a row! Those things are addictive. Why did you put the leftovers on top of the fridge? I find that bizarre! I have found hidden left-over Halloween wrappers in my kids' rooms. It doesn't mean binge eating (on its own). A lot of this means that kids just don't want to disappoint us.

We parents are unintentionally going to give our children food complexes in an attempt to teach healthy eating habits. I would dial back and be very causal about food while continuing to make yummy homemade meals.

Don't attach shame to junk food.

So just leave the cookies out and let her binge eat while condoning it? As opposed to at least attempting to hide the sweets out of
Reach? Makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. OP here. She gets plenty of healthy foods at home. Salads. Veggies. Salmon. Avocado. I also have plenty of easy to serve stuff like grapes and berries in the fridge. Cheese sticks. Hummus. Even in the single serving portions for snacks. Nuts. It's easier for her to grab a cheese stick out of the fridge than to go through the effort of pushing a barstool to the fridge, climbing up dangerously, getting the OREOS, and hiding them in her room. I have a huge bowl of apples and clementines sitting on the counter!

So yes going to have to eliminate the sweets altogether to curb this. We do tend to have them around and my DH also likes to binge snack at night on carbs. Maybe that's the problem.

To the PP with BED, yes I do sometimes think she has anxiety. Or very mild ADHD. She has a lot
Of trouble self regulating and getting to bed on time too. She can stay up until 10-11pm after a full day of school and activities. So I wonder if this is all related. I just don't want her to have a mouth full of cavities bc these are adult teeth coming in now.

What is the difference between secret eating and binge eating?

I think the issue may be more of self regulation. Most kids will sneak a few but not 10-12!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd be most worried about why she felt the need to sneak the food. It sounds like she wants the treats and knows you won't let her have them if she doesn't sneak them. You might want to address it from a dental health angle and ask that she not eat the snacks after brushing. But you would need to be ok with her eating them at all other times.

Op here. I will let her have 1-2 cookies for dessert if it's before 7. We have a no sugar after 7 policy bc she has trouble settling down and going to bed at a normal hour if she eats sugar late.

But it's not just the sneaking. It's the 4 ice creams at the pool. Not 1-2.