I was just wondering because I can see my daughter, turning more and more like the way I was when I was a little girl.

She is almost 4 and weighs 48 pounds. For her height, she should be between 32-40. (According to her Dr.) At the age of 5 and a half, I was over 100 pounds, however, when looking at pictures of me when I was her age, I was about her size...SO I am worried to say the least.

I have taken certain steps inorder for her to be a more healthy eater however, she is hungry ALOT, just like I used to be. And she loves the pasta, breads, and sugars, just like the old me. (Where I have bought lowcarb breads, she still loves her mac and cheese ) And still continues to gain weight, slowly...

So is genetics playing a part here, and should I think about putting her on a "LC" way of life? Is she too young? I have talked to her Dr before but can't say that he has been much help, but then agan, neither were any of the nutrionists that MY mother took me to...

So if anyone should have any information on this topic, I would love to hear about it. Thanks!

__________________
Remember...
"GOD" helps those who help themselves!
Highest weight, started lc @ 306 pounds
Current weight, 286.5 pounds
Pounds Lost LowCarbing-19.5

This is a subject near and dear to my heart. I'm going to tell you how we deal with it with our children.

1. I have tried my very best to NOT project on them my past bad weight experience. It's so temping to say "Oh my gosh, that's just how I started out...she's going down the same path." That isn't going to happen, because you know better! And you're taking the RIGHT steps NOW.

2. My gut feeling is that my having issues with being carb addicted is (just like other addicitons) means they might too.

3. Dieting in any form is not good for kids unless their pediatrician specifically recommends it. Studies have shown that the more pre-pubescent girls' food is restricted, the more they eat.

4. Having said all that...

Cutting out junk carbs, reducing portions of whole-grain pasta, bread and cereal, and substituting those with high quality protein and lots of high fiber veggies and some fruit is, well, the DIET we should all be following!!!


I have several very specific recommendations:

1. Immediately stop buying any and all drinks containing sugar, including fruit juices. substitute with water, flavored water, flavored seltzer and - very occasionally - sugar free lemonade and the like as a treat.

If every parent did that, we'd see a hugh drop in childhood obesity in this country.

2. Immediately stop buying, on a regular basis, any type of junk food, almost all of which is junk (refined) carbs. For the purpose of this, crackers, fish crackers, graham crackers, and any and all FRUIT SNACKS (the little ones with the horrid dyes made into shapes that make kids want to buy them) are considered junk food. You may want to try whole wheat pretzels in moderation. But regular pretzels, made from white flour, are out.

Of course, you'll buy these occasionally.

But making them a regular part of your child's diet - as so many families do - is another reason our kids are getting fatter.

3. On most nights, serve 2 veggies with your protein instead of a veggie and a starch. But do serve moderate servings of pasta and potato occasionally for them! (unless potatoes are very small, a half is a portion!)

4. Keep them as active as possible.


Most of all, keep a postitive outlook, and keep telling your daughter how beautiful she is. Let her see you make good choices both in terms of food and activity.

HTH,
LCandrea

Right on, Andrea! I agree 100%. One of the reasons why your daughter may be hungry alot is because she is snacking on stuff that she processes super quick.

One thing you may want to try is gauging if she is realy hungry, or has just gotten a tatse for something sweet or feels like munching. For example, my kids will come in hollering about how hungry they are and demanding chips or ice cream for a snack. I ALWAYS say no, but offer them something else, like peanut butter on celery sticks, veggies and dip or apples with sliced cheese. About 50% of the time they say no thanks, and off they go. If they are really hungry, they'll go for what I offer them.

__________________
Jen



179/179/120

Ditto.

Excellent suggestions both of you.

I don't have young kids but my sister has 3 and I've now gotten her to do low carb as well. Her kids are 6, 4, 3 and over the last year she has been slowing buying less and less crap and giving them more snacks like Jesty suggested, cheese, apple, peanut butter on celery, etc. Even a slice of roast beef rolled up with a slice of cheese in it.

You would be doing your daughter a GREAT service to get her eating on the right path now. How wonderful it would be if she didn't have to suffer like we all did.

__________________
It is always necessary to leave some part
of cooking to improvisation. - Paul Bocuse
Member since 2001

In my humble opinion, one of the best things we can do for our kids is to keep them away from junk food as much as possible. I'm not saying they should never have a cookie or a piece of birthday cake, but I believe that a daily diet of processed cereal and other "kid" food like mac & cheese or breaded fish sticks and a routine sugary dessert sets a young person up for trouble down the road. Somehow we seem to believe that kids can "get away with" eating just about anything, buy there is emerging evidence that health problems related to nutrition have their roots in childhood. Our arteries don't just suddenly clog up when we turn 40, you know!

As parents, we have a responsibility to keep our children as healthy as possible, and that includes teaching them how and what to eat. Andrea and Jestey have given some good advice. I especially agree with Andrea's suggestion that the focus with a kid neds to be on their health, not their weight. And do follow Jestey's approach of always offering "real" food when kids say they are hungry, not just letting them grab junk. Distinguishing between genuine hunger and a whole range of other feelings is/has been an issue for most of us on this board, and that confusion starts in childhood. Being offered food as a comfort, a consolation, a reward, or a bribe - especially when it is junk food - is what put many of us on the path to weight issues in the first place.

So should kids eat low-carb? To the extent that it means cutting out processed junk food and refined sugars, I say it's one of the best gifts we can give them.

Sky
Atkins since 8/02
196/144/under 150

omg im the same way with my daughter. shes always been off the charts in both weight and height. shes 5 1/2 and is 4'2 and 63 pounds. of all the things she had to inherit from me it HAD to be my butt and thighs....
i still let her have the childhood faves...like mac and cheese or pb&j sandwiches...i juss make them seem as more of a treat now. she doesnt seem to miss the pasta 2 times a week and enjoys eating salads now and weve been this way since january 04. for the first time in her life shes having regular bowel movements without straining and crying that she hurts. that in itself is worth everything to me.
docs r skeptical about us as ADULTS doing atkins...like theyre gonna give u advice on atkins for ur child. i say no one knows my kid as much as i do and as long as shes not missing n e vitamins and minerals and is happy and healthy...IIIIII know whuts best for her.

__________________
~~funkynut

started: 1/8/04
263/223/150 (5'6)
223/223/210 ~ halloween challenge
223/223/205 ~ thanksgiving challenge

I have no children of my own but I will tell you what it was like in my childhood. Growing up, it was very rare - like maybe once every few months -to have any kind of sugary treat in our household. You'd think I'd be thin because of this. But I wasn't. You'd think I wouldn't want sugar or that I would develop a dislike for it. I didn't. Sometimes my mom would even go buy oreo cookies and not offer any to us 3 kids. She'd eat them herself right in front of us...so I guess you could say that I felt deprived. I think that's the reason I had a sugar addiction for such a long time. At high school, I'd go buy nothing but junk food for lunch just so I wouldn't feel deprived, and that way, my mom wouldn't be able to see me eating it, either. I got sick one time downing one full bag of oreos at a church function when I waa 17 years old. Yes, one FULL bag. I'm surprised I didn't gain those extra pounds then. Nope. Gained them 13 years later. (weight has a way of doing that to you)...I think had my mom told me the benefits of making better food choices and the reason sugar wasn't in the house all that much, I don't think I would have become the sugar addict I once was. And eating those oreos in front of us kids...well, let's just say that wasn't a good decision. Don't get me wrong. I love my mom dearly and she's proud of how far I have come with my weight loss and all...I just wish she would have explained the reasoning behind the decisions not to keep sugary treats in the house all that much. (and for eating those oreos!) And I really believe that would have helped me make better food choices later on in life.

Sheyla

*Clap, clap, clap* for Andrea!!!!!

I agree. And what would be so unhealthy about cutting sugar out of a child's diet and adding more veggies? This is a no brainer to me. (I wish I had known then what I know now when I was raising my kids!!!)

So what about giving your little one raw veggies and a yummy dip to snack on. Or how about nuts? I see nothing wrong with those types of foods for a child as old as 4. As long as they have molars, they can chew almost anything (accept maybe meat that is as tough as a tire)

And for heaven's sakes, getting a child to choose water over pop is the best gift of all. My girls much prefer water to pop, since I raised them that way. (Although I though I was giving them healthy stuff when I gave them fruit juice.)

I don't think you have to cut out ALL starches with a growing child, they are GROWING afterall. Their little bodies will use up the glucose efficiently if you cut out the garbage. I even think popcorn would be okay for them occasionally, or potatoes or whole grains, or unpolished rices. I would just limit them. How about trying to get her off the mac and cheese by substituting it with cheesed up brown rice??? She might like that instead. It's a matter of finding substitutions. I like to smother my broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce too. (homemade of course.) And if she like s things like catsup, there are some really good sugar-free versions out on the market too that are pretty comparable in price to the sugar laden stuff.

I could ramble on here forever, but you get the picture. I'll stop for now (cuz I gotta get my rear to Curves. )

Need anymore suggestions, let us know!!!!!! Oh and have you checked out the recipe data base yet?

__________________

Umm, Andrea...could you have a talk with my BF? :o

He has cut back quite alot, due to my nagging, and now his ex is reading Schwarzbein thanks to me, so he's really in for it now, from both sides! But, you should see the amount of sheer JUNK he buys himself and his kids to eat. And it's funny. 10 minutes after the little one eats a big bowl of (blues clues) mac n cheese, she specifically says, "I want something sweet". Oy vey.

__________________
"Live strong." ~ Lance Armstrong
SLEEP BE DAMNED! GET THY BUTT TO THE GYM!
Start Atkins 9.1.03
225/198/130ish

__________________

I feed my 9 year old very much like I eat. . .I see nothing wrong with her eating veggies, whole wheat breads, a few potatos and even the occasional box of mac and cheese, but most nights it is meat and veggies and an apple or pear for example for dessert. She gets yogurt--yes the one with fruit and *GASP* sugar. . .but I feel it is much better than other things she could be choosing. She has a box of goldfish in the cabinet that she has eaten maybe two handsfull out of in a month--she loves sunflower seeds and almonds. She likes the sugar free freeze pops, she prefers water or diet pop to other choices and yes she still drinks kool aid occasionally and even orange juice and regular milk. . .but the fewer items I have in the house that are just "hers" the better she eats and often she forgets "her" foods are there and eats mine anyway! Just try to forbid her to have a meat and cheese rollup or an apple!HEHEHE!

__________________
Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130

I dont push lc on my son as much as i am committed, however i dont buy any sugary drinks, sugar, rice, potatoes so he really doesnt have access to a lot of stuff that he did before i started. Now, he doesnt care for chips as much as he used to, he prefers a pb & j on whole wheat over cookies. He doesnt drink sugary drinks any longer and since i started this woe he's lost a total of 11lbs. He's gotten comments from lots people about his losses and it really boosts his ego and attn to what he's eating when im not around. At the same time i let him know that he doesnt have to watch as hard as mommy, but he definetly cant have sugared drinks and candy anymore. He even works out with me and walks with me when i go walking.

In my household this WOE and exercising has definetly become a family affair. Health and fitness has become a top priority for my family not just myself.

__________________
Started LC 1-10-04

302/199/160, 103lbs down, 39 to go, simply remarkable.

Restart- 8-19-07
242/226/160


405 points to date ( HOLIDAY CHALLENGE )

Wow, thanks everyone...
I take everything, everyone says to heart, and plan to implement alot of the great advice. I also have already told her "nana", and her father about this new woe for Mikela, and they feel it is a good choice to make. (Although--Her Nana said, "She can't even have fruit and yogurt parfats anymore, from Mc. Donalds?) It will take awhile longer for my mother to get used to than my daughter. Lol.
Good thing is, that she ALWAYS wants to eat what I am eating. Yea for that! I plan on writing down what she eats, inorder for me to really "see" how different foods affect her. I am excited but also sad... Excited that she will have a better "headstart" on the weight thing than I had, but sad that she is just like me...and can't eat like other children.

I will keep ya informed, and thanks again. Especially you Andrea, this forum is such a great place for information.

Take care and God Bless-

__________________
Remember...
"GOD" helps those who help themselves!
Highest weight, started lc @ 306 pounds
Current weight, 286.5 pounds
Pounds Lost LowCarbing-19.5

But if you think about it, those kids that are eating the "normal" American diet are becoming statistics in the ever alarming rate of obesity and Type II Diabetes in children. So pat yourself on the back, being a conscientious mother and CARING about what goes into your child's body. When this topic comes up I always like to quote from the inspiring Maya Angelou..........."I did the best I could, and when I knew better, I did better." You now know better..........so you can now DO better!!!!!

__________________

I am not yet a mother, but I wholeheartedly agree with what everyone is saying. NOT giving kids the processed crap in boxes is an amazing gift.

However, I think it's important to remember (and this applies to many situations, not just lc eating) that YOU are the parent; YOU are the adult. Limiting a child's options to healthy choices (I'm a believer in choice) allows them some autonomy, but you're not creating a stomp-my-foot-and-throw-a-tantrum-if-I-don't-get-my-way type of behavior. A four year old is not old enough to make a choice between ice cream or broccoli, ya know? But give them a choice of sugar-free jello or fruit, and you might avoid a power struggle.

Of course kids (myself included) need a treat now and then, but that is what is should be: a treat, not an everyday snack.

Also, maybe a homeade version of mac n'cheese would be a little healthier? Just an idea.

I've worked with a lot of parents, and I believe you are doing the best things for your lovely little girl!

Big hugs to you both!
J-girl