General Chat

Liz, its my daughter.Very concerned for her now.5ft and 7in and weighs 7 stone.No periods for 4 mths.She likes food but is very very fussy.What she eats today she will not eat tomorrow.One big nightmare for me.My grandaughter is coming up for 12 and was born 10lb 4 oz always been a very large girl ate everything in sight.Now there is nothing of her she decided what her body nows wants and she is lovely.My 14yr grandson is a very bad diabetic on 4 injections a day always in a coma as he asks his friends to buy him sweets at school.There is no easy way for mums with kids,They are always going to be a worry.Annie

Hi Evangeline (I love the name too), I am hoping she will grow out of it, but she starts big school soon, where there are crisp and chocolate machines everywhere, so I feel like I am running out of time. Hi Catherine, The thing is, she ate everything we gave her (healthy food) until she started school and went to friends' houses who had chicken nuggets for tea, followed by choccie biscuits. Since then, that type of food is all she wants, and its been seven years of battle and its getting me down. We've tried the Supernanny tricks, but after seven years of giving her a balanced home-cooked meal night after night, and then chucking it in the bin night after night, I'm wondering where I've gone wrong. Liz

hi there liz? young girls can be a worry in nowa days, my sister was like that when she was younger but it was jam sandwiches with her and i remember my mam going mad with her all the time to no avail. In the end my parents came to agree ment that no snack food was to be kept in the house.she was put on school meals and the school informed of her eating habits,my parents then did dayly trips to the shop to get thing for our evening meal which was always healthy,it was a strain on my parents cas they both worked,my self and my brotheres were set to my grans house for breakfast and lunch so that my parents could consentrate on my sister.my parents would say if its not in the house she cant eat it and for about amonth there was nothin in the kitchen wots so ever. it is a worry for us parents,i think if u persevera with your daughter dont put to much presure on her as this could make things worse,i think things will come right for you. good luck sam x

How about dairylea triangles and mini bread sticks put into a little plastic bag or foil ? Or triangles, plain crackers, slices of ham all individually wrapped ? Or dairylea spread on bread to make a sandwich ? May be an alternative to lunchables. As for the milk issue, try yogurts or cheese, or ask at the local health food shop if they have a crusha alternative (or at your local supermarket's free from ranges) Get her involved with making dinner, and if she makes good effort with her dinners all week, you will give her a couple of pound extra pocket money. As for breakfast, if she likes peanut butter sarnies, then try peanut butter on toast, this is wonderful...really tasty. Elaine x

the forbidden fuit is always the sweetest though! unless she is grossly over weight - which sounds unlikely - can you not compromise - (dont inc packed lunch because she'll dispose of it rather than fail). if she eats her breakfast, and her dinner at night ( being reasonable on your part offering food she does like ) cant she have a well earned bag of crisps with your blessing for supper? Sound as though you have locked horns and need to unlock before you move on jess

Hi Julie, Have tried that - she begs and borrows from her schoolmates. Hi Grannie, I am so sorry about your grand-daughter. Anorexia is an absolute demon. BJ is such a beautiful, intelligent, vivacious girl, who is a delight in every other way, but she is breaking my heart over this. Liz x

Oh Liz I do sympathise with you. I have a 9 year old who loves her food and I have to make sure she eats in moderation, don't get me wrong she's not into junk food, she loves the home cooking too much.so she's really good. My 2 year old son on the other hand is the total opposite. He loves fruit and yoghurt. He will only eat chicken nuggets, chips, garlick break. The odd sausage roll and saugage. This is the sum total of his menu. I have tried to get him to eat home cooking and he won't have any of it. I'm worried he will go worse. no vege, not even spag hoops, potates it's a nightmare. You give him a sandwich and you would think he was being poisoned. It's so frustrating. Maybe we need supernanny.

Hello, I know it's not much help, but we went through the same thing with my brother around the age of 10/11 because he felt fat. He wouldn't take lunch to school except a pack of go ahead biscuits. We had to end up getting him the slimfast shakes for breakfast and he would eat dinner but not a lot of it. He's now nearly 14 about 5ft9 or more skinny like a rake and eats like a pig. We tried to get him to eat but he'd only eat when and what he wanted. He's out grown it and he's no worse for it. But if your that worried about your daughter maybe you should get some medical advice. Sx

Oh dear,I put a thread up last night.Took my 16 yr old daughter to doctors yesterday and she is borderline anorexia.Wished she would eat something.Annie

Sounds tricky and I don't really have any useful advice. If it were me (and I am not suggesting you do this) I would stop her pocket money and stop buying crisps. Julie xxx

BJ is just eleven, and despite having been weaned on lovingly pureed home cooked vegetables and casseroles, has developed into a nightmare eater. She will only consider chocolate spread on white toast for breakfast, and then only eats half a slice. She will not tpuch milk with a bargepole, unless it has Crusha syrup in it which I think is too sugary and full of E numbers. She reacts badly behaviour-wise to E numbers, so for several years now I have cooked proper meals fir the family and avoided ready meals and the like. For her packed lunch she says she will eat peanut butter sandwiches only, but they usually come home uneaten. I have tried all manner of alternatives, but they all come back home. I refuse to buy her suggestion of Dairylea lunchables for health reasons. After school, she raids my cupboards when I am not looking and eats packet after packet of crisps - some days I find 8 empty packets shoved behind her TV. Last year I stopped buying crisps completely, but she sneaked out after school and cycled to the shops (which she is NOT allowed to do) and bought crisps out of her pocket money. When I found out she was grounded for 2 weeks, but I daren't risk her doing it again. Then, of course, she won't eat her evening meal. I have tried ignoring the issue, persuasion, bribery, shouting, threatening, discussions about healthy eating and development - she always cries and says sorry, but does not change. I do not want to give in to her and let her eat a diet full of rubbish, but I don't want to make a big issue out of it either because of the thought of anorexia looming in her teenage years. I am at a loss as to what to do with her. Any ideas welcome - please? Liz x

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