Big Kids

[nikkilcotie]

I guess I've been pent up prior to joining DC! I hope nobody gets annoyed at how much I plan on sharing with everyone! LOL. I have a 3 year old (turns 4 in August) daughter. She is currently at 62 lbs and her height is 42 1/2 inches (which is past the height of a 4 toddler I think). Since birth to 15 mo., her doctors would tell me feed her (formula, cereal, etc) on demand. She was ALWAYS eating! My mother in law wasn't happy. My daughter was gaining weight FAST! Doctors still said nothing. She was 4 months old when she got RSV (had NO idea what this was at the time) and the DR's said it was a good thing she was chubby, because she lost more weight than she should have. And they still said it was ok for her to eat the way she did. Finally at 15 months, I found a doctor who said we had a problem. She was too big. She's 3 now and wearing size 8-10 GIRLS pants. She doesn't eat enough to explain her size and she's quite active. I've been to 7 pediatricians. I dread when she goes to school, if she's still big. She's already really tall for her age, and kids can be SOOO cruel. Since I'm pregnant again, I've been told I can't even pick her up because she's too big. Do toddler's go on diets? Is it safe? What foods are best for them? And is OJ (Sunny D) really good for them? It's getting harder to trust Doctors when I've already been to 7 and a specialist. Their opinions are so scattered in different directions I don't know what to do. I just want her to be happy and healthy and complex free.

 

[jkath]

I'm not familiar with RSV, but I do know a bit about kids. (Mine are a little older, 11 and 14). But the best advice I can give is to feed the kids food that was readily available 100 years ago. Things like fresh orange juice are fine but not sunnyD - too many other ingreds. Fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and meat cooked in a healthy way (not fried, processed) is so much better for their little bellies. Milk is great! Eggs are great!
Train yourself to bypass all fast food places. (honestly, why eat if there's no good food value?) Make a list of farmer's markets around you and visit them often!
As for worrying about how other kids are, remember, some kids will just pick on other kids for no apparent reason. Not just because they are tall, but they will do it because the other kid is too small, or they have weird hair, or they have too many freckles, or wear glasses, or have a green bicycle, or their Dad drives an old car....and the list goes on. Your daughter will do fine when she finds true friends that like her for who she is.

 

[Poutine]

Your daughter is extremely tall. And it makes sence that she would weigh more than a child shorter. But it is still got to make sre that she is eating a healthy diet and has a good start on a lifetime of healthy eating habits.

One thing I know is that children (under 6 years old) are not supposed to drink more than 1 cup of 100% fruit juice and NEVER drink those "fruit beverages". Sunny D is not orange juice it is "beverage" which means that it is a lot of flavouring and sugar.

The sugars in juice and beverages are hard on the teeth and can contribute to weight gain.

She should be drinking milk and water. The 1 cup of juice should be diluted (you do not want to give your daughter a sweet tooth).

Like jkath said, serve healthy foods.
No deep fried foods, avoid refined sugars and flours, avoid anything with corn syrup, fructose, or glucose. It is hard at first to get used to making food from scratch but it is worth it to give your daughter and other children healthy eating habits for life.

Don't "reward" or "punish" your children with food - it leads to a lifetime of bad habits. (One of the reasons so many people USE food like a drug is because of this common practise.)

Remeber kids learn from example - everybody in your household needs to eat a healthy diet too.

Don't expect results overnight. I'm sure she will grow into some of her weight and some of the weight is just because she is tall. With a healthy diet everything should balance out.
Sounds like she will make a great volleyball or basketball player one day.

Good web sites for every parent:
Children
Helping Your Overweight Child

 

[StirBlue]

Treat your child like a happy kid. Never deprive them of kid foods. We could not always afford to go to McDonalds for a happy meal. I bought lunch bags and we colored pictures on them or pasted magazine pictures on them. They got a toy and put it in the bag. I cooked a burger and fries and put it in little tupperware containers and in the bag it went. We usually put a lil Debbie or a pudding cup, or jello cup in as a treat. Drink was a sippy cup of Juicey Juice.
I never gave them big food like a chicken breast. We consumed many cheesy chicken nuggets.
Many times we learned to make and share our food. I would put out peanut butter and grape jam on a saucer for each. On another plate (usually paper plate), was two slices of bread. And with a spoon and knife, we made pb&j's. Then we traded our sandwiches. Nothing washes down a pb&j like a cold glass of milk.
For snack time, we sometimes did a living room camp out. I bought small cans of pork n' beans, and made some cheese cubes and crackers. I threw a vinyle table cloth on the living room floor. They had one of those little indoor pop up tents. We ate our beans straight out of the can with a plastic spoon and had bottled water.
Never make your kids finish everything on their plate. When they are full, they are full.
We used to count the green peas on our plate. Then we ate a few and recounted the peas left.
Probably, we had 6-8 tiny mini meals a day rather than three.
Breakfast might start with a poptart on the porch. We really liked cheese boats for breakfast (cheese melted on english muffin), a few scrambles and an apple or orange slice.
Have fun with your child and no matter what happens at school, they will always know that they are loved.

 

[nikkilcotie]

Wow. This is great. I DO (or did) reward good behavior with cookies or snacks. I don't even know how it started...anyway, I'm Italian and so we eat alot of pastas. She eats snacks like celery with fat free cream cheese, apples with peanut butter, banana's, etc. But 10 minutes after that she's hungry again. I know kids will be kids and find mean things to say...it's just she's already so tall...But she DOES eat more happy meals than I'd like. I am definitely taking this advice to heart. I can't believe the sunny D info. I had NO idea. Reading the labels would be a GREAT start. Great mom I am. She goes thru about 3 jugs a week of Sunny D. NO MORE!! To new beginnings...

 

[Corey123]

My landlord's son is only 15, yet he's taller and bigger than me and weighs the same as me - 240lbs!! He's a very big boy for his age!!

 

[Poutine]

Healthy Choices

I'm glad we could offer some help.

3 jugs of Sunny D! Wow! I found when I gave up drinking juice and making sure that I ate 4-5 servings/day of fruits and 4-5/day of veggies I lost weight without having to do anything else.
Since you eat a lot of pasta you should also try the whole wheat pastas - they are yummy!
Those snacks that you are giving her sound great. Maybe try giving her some more fibre to fill her up (see the muffin recipe) and asking her to have her snack then go do something for 30mins before she eats more than what you put out (it takes your brain and stomach 20-30mins to register that you are full). Also she should have a glass of water with every meal/snack and at least two glasses of milk/day. Dehydration is often confused with hunger.

I am so glad that you are being such a great mom and looking out for your children's future. Every healthy choice you make now contributes to a lifetime of healthy choices for your children and their children too.



Triple Hitter Muffins
have apple sauce, zucchini and carrots and taste good too

 

[babyhuggies]

i would just watch the sugary snacks and take out.sounds like she already likes some snacks a 3 year old would turn their nose up at(mine). Maybe she needs a little more of the healthy snacks at snack time then maybe she won't be hungry ten minutes later.
I know when my 4 year old is going through a growth spurt,he can eat all the time.i am not the best at stopping the sugary snacks either,but i do try and even it out. tonight he turned his nose up at the chicken(favorite) to have broccoli...so he got all he wanted of that.
i'm not a doctor just a mom, but if you watch the little things and she is active(3 i'm sure she is) then that's a good start for later in life~hmmm guess i could take some of my own advice and cut down on the sugar intake going around this house

 

[Caine]

First of all, Sunny Delight is one of the worst things since Kool-Aid to give a child to drink. It has so little nutritional value it is scary! As far as regular juice, you have to remember that when drinking fruit juice, your child is getting all the sugar of the original fruit, in a condensed form, without any of the fiber that controls the absorption of that sugar.

As a nutritionist, my opinion is to ask your child's doctor for a referal to a registered dietician, preferably one that specializes in children. 65% of Americans are overweight, and 35% of those are obese. Right now, one out of every three American children will suffer from obesity, and the type II diabetes and heart disease that goes with it. And those figures will slowly but surely nudge upward every year unless we do somethiong about it.

 

[StirBlue]

Poutine: 3 jugs of Sunny D! Wow! She's a kid! All things come in small sizes! That could mean individual size jugs (6 oz). You fill their sipper cup and find it half full the next time they are thirsty; pour it out, rinse, refill.
They ask for some Sunny D, you give them some and then make yourself a glass. It happens.

For those who love SUNNY D as much as I do, you will be happy to know that orange/tangerine 100% juice put out by Tropicana taste very much like Sunny D.

The 90's people lived for Sunny Delight! And Gatorade.

Children grow at different rates. J. was the least tall boy until 9th grade. Now he is 5'8". B. was the tallest girl in the 5th grade. She graduated in 2004 and was 5'0" tall.

Thanks for the recipe, I have been looking for one like this for a long time.

 

[suzyQ3]

First of all, Sunny Delight is one of the worst things since Kool-Aid to give a child to drink. It has so little nutritional value it is scary! As far as regular juice, you have to remember that when drinking fruit juice, your child is getting all the sugar of the original fruit, in a condensed form, without any of the fiber that controls the absorption of that sugar.

As a nutritionist, my opinion is to ask your child's doctor for a referal to a registered dietician, preferably one that specializes in children. 65% of Americans are overweight, and 35% of those are obese. Right now, one out of every three American children will suffer from obesity, and the type II diabetes and heart disease that goes with it. And those figures will slowly but surely nudge upward every year unless we do somethiong about it.

Excellent advice, Caine. Give children whole fruit and get them acclimated to drinking water when they're thirsty.

 

[jabbur]

My niece is in the same boat. She's 8 turning 9 in April and wears a teen size 12-14. Her father is 6'5" so we know where she gets it. She loves fruit and drinks mostly water. My sister limits her sweets but doesn't deny them to her. Only one cookie etc. each day. We worry about her but the pediatrician doesn't want her to diet because of the nutritional factors kids need to grow. Since she is so tall as well, the few things I would suggest would to be to ask for some testing to be done. There are some simple xrays called bone age studies that will tell you what "age" her frame is. I would also want to have her thyroid checked. It's a simple blood test. This gland can go wacky even in young children and cause weight gain and abnormal growth. These may all check out fine but are worth investigating if you haven't already. Otherwise, don't stress. She'll pick up on the fact that you think there is a problem and it may lead to other issues down the road. Love her the way she is and give her the good foods she needs.

 

[Poutine]

Poutine: 3 jugs of Sunny D! Wow! She's a kid! All things come in small sizes! That could mean individual size jugs (6 oz).

I have never heard of a 6oz JUG

 

[StirBlue]

I have never heard of a 6oz JUG

They come in a package of eight and are usually stocked on the upper shelf above the refrigerated quarts of Sunny D. When my children were in grade school, I bought them for school field trips. They were just the right size for the thermal lunch bag.
100% fruit juice is a heavy drink on a hot day and the pouch filled bags squirt when you put the straw in. Thermal lunch bags do not keep milk real cold. Bottled water is too big & clunky and will crunch and smash up your chips and stuff. A little ole bottle of Sunny D fits right in and the teachers will allow you to refill the bottle with water because it has a cap.
They are discouraged to bring soda, tea, and chocolate drinks. It does not mean that the drinks will be taken away from the kids. The teachers are suggesting that you choose a more appropriate drink. One kid brought a pepsi and chocolate chip cookies.
I generally pack the traditional lunch/ham&cheese sandwich, chips, apple, cookie, drink. Sometimes the teachers will furnish koolaid to avoid the problem. I think the key here is moderation.

 

[Corey123]

I have never heard of a 6oz JUG

Yes, they DO have Sunny D in 6-0z bottles.

 

[auntdot]

In my opinion any child who is over the 90th percentile for weight or height needs a thorough evaluation at a place where they know how to do that.

Don't know where you live but would get a referral to an endocrinologist at a first rate children's hospital, there are many around the country.

Just my opinion.

 

[Corey123]

Kids are kids. They don't know any better because they think the bad stuff they're eating and drinking might be good for them. And it's soley up to the parents or guardians to try to get them to eat right.

Heathier choices now, over non-healthy choices will definitely help them in their teenage years to avoid high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, diseases that are commonplace in my family!

An 11-year-old boy recently was a guest on the Maury Polvish Show. The episode was about fat babies and obese older children

But this is no ordinary normal boy! He's very big for his age.

He weighs a whopping 306lbs, has eaten unhealthy foods all of his life, has a size 46 waist and he will even go as far as eating a whole stick of butter alone!! Also, he's maturing way too fast - practically years ahead of his time to become a man! Even his voice makes him sound almost grown And he already wears mens' clothing has a short mustache!!

I wouldn't want to make HIM angry!!

Compare him to the 12-year-old boy that I know in my neighborhood who is skinny as a rail and probably weighs about only 90lbs!

He's being tormented by his schoolmates, ridiculed and teased all the time. I truly hope that his parents can get him the professional help that he so seriously needs.

His classmates could possibly wake up a sleeping giant, and someone will be on their way to the hospital, or worst yet, DEAD!!

Kids like that sometimes don't know their own strengh and this boy could possibly and seriously maim and injure someone 2 to 3 times his age, possibly sending that person to the hospital!!

 

[jkath]

She eats snacks like celery with fat free cream cheese, apples with peanut butter, banana's, etc. But 10 minutes after that she's hungry again.

Is she really? Or is she bored?
A lot of times people (kids and adults) will munch from boredom. Or, because they're so used to eating and eating and eating that they assume it's time to chew again.

Perhaps when she has her healthy snacks, like the celery & apples, cut them up, put them in a baggie and take a walk. When you reach your destination (park or wherever sounds fun), take them out, along with a water bottle. After she's done, walk home. It's a good way to incorporate both exercise and limiting food intake.

 

[Dandelion]

I like what jkath brought up here; in my experience kids often eat just to have something to munch on. I know my little brothers misidentify that as hunger.

 

[urmaniac13]

Hi Nikki!! Your problem is very close to our heart, as the daughter of my partner is pretty much in a similar situation, except that she is already 11. She is 150cm in height (about 5ft) and weighs 77kg (almost 170lbs), she has to wear adult big size with legs and sleeves shortened, forget about cool pretty clothes, she has to do with whatever that she can fit into.

Like your daughter she doesn't eat THAT much, though her diet may not be very well balanced, and while she is never a sportive type, she is not a couch potato either, so logically she really shouldn't be in the form she is. She has been tested by various specialists, without anything definitive for the cause of her problem coming out. She is now on a trial diet and doing regular light exercise for a month, at this point she lost half kilo (about 1lb). Not a significant change, but at least she is not gaining at this moment....

It is good that you recognise the problem early on, please do whatever you can to get to the root of it, and try to find why she is in the condition she is. There are so many possibilities. It is great that your girl is healthy and happy, though, which is basically the most important thing. Try to keep her active, and on a healthy diet in the meantime, and always let her know what a special and beautiful child she is and how much she is loved. My very best wishes to you, and keep us posted on how she is doing by all means please!!

(((Hugs)))