At my wits end- do any of you have kids?

[JoanneWaters]

This may be slightly off topic, but I don't know where else to go. There is not much support for this type of problem out there. I am at my wits end. My husband and I are both overweight but we work very hard to stay on top of it. There is morbid obesity in my husbands family. In fact, I can not think of one person in his entire family that is not obese. My family is not as bad but there are still many overweight family members. Our 2 year old daughter
is headed down that road. She has always been a bottomless pit. She eats more than adults eat. She NEVER gets full, I swear. We feed her as healthy as we know how, and try to lead by example. But, she is constantly begging for food and throwing fits for food between meal and snack times. We have let her eat and eat before to see if she would actually stop on her own. She doesn't. She is not really overweight yet because we have been limiting her portions and serving healthy foods. She is not very active even though we try hard to get her active. It is to the point where we cannot even
take her anywhere. If she sees food she will scream for it. We went to Chuck E Cheese to play games and we gave her a healthy lunch (we brought our own). She would not even play because she kept going to peoples tables trying to get their food. If we go to a restaurant, she screams when we leave no matter how much food she has just eaten. I swear she never gets full. My mother in law is 450 pounds and she thinks my child has a medical problem. I feel my child has inherited my husband's obesity genes and is just an over-eater. His whole family obviously over-eats, which is why they are obese. My mother in law refuses to believe this. Did any of your children act like this as toddlers? I am so stressed over this. I worry about my child being teased in school and this is breaking my heart into a million pieces. Did any of your kids act like this? If so, did they turn out to be really overweight as they grew up?

[Mommyof4]

I have 4 of them My 11 year old was like that and really chunked up for awhile. I was so worried. Puberty is hitting now and she is getting taller. She is also not eating the same things since I no longer have them available to her.

My 3 and 4 year old do this now. I noticed that boredom eating turned into a habit. I started serving a meal and then planning an activity right after. I would tell them that they needed to eat so we could play Memory or Hungry Hungry Hippo. Once I got their minds off of it, they slowed down and didnt focus on the meal.

They really do this when I dont have organized meals. I graze throughout the day if I am not careful so they are just following my example. I have really been trying to have meals at a certain time and be consistent. They snack on graham crackers and apples for the most part. I make them drink one glass of water for one glass of anything else. It really is working for us.

I wish you the best and hope you find a solution that works for your family

[MandyAnne26]

Ask the doctor what he/she thinks. But this may be something you can change on your own. Since she is eating alot stay away from any kind of junk food, have lots of fresh fruit and veggies for her to snack on, if she's going to eat a lot she might as well be eating things her body needs. Since she's two she can start to understand which behaviours are ok and ones that aren't. Provide her with of course her 3 meals a day and than have things for her to just grab and snak on set aside a certin amount for morning, after noon and bedtime snack and let her know that once it's gone it's gone than she'll have to wait for the next meal. When you are out let her know that if she goes to other tables and tries to get more food that you will go home and she won't get to play. It's hard to say wether her overeating is a learned behaviour or something that she can't control, the doctor will have more answers for you. If your feeding her snacks and 3 meals a day than you can be sure your not underfeeding her so you know she's not starving. Also, to get her to be more active take her to a park with lots of other kids, or playgroups, places she can run around, also if you have a recreation center in your area you should check into wether they have programs for toddlers that include things like tumbling and swimming.

[ozark]

i would check with your pediatrician....there is a syndrome called prader willy ...i'm not sure she fits into that category but you can look it up....its the only medical condition i can think....does she drink a lot or urinate a lot? she could be tested for diabetes....talk with your pediatrician tho for advise....good luck

[JoanneWaters]

Her pedi just thinks she eats like this because of her genes. Like I said, he father's family is full over overeaters. There seriously is not one single family member who is thin. They are all at least 70 pounds overweight, but most are 100-300 pounds or more overweight. My daughter has eaten like this since birth, so I don't think it is a learned behavior. Plus, my husband and I are always trying to lead by example. You should see her when we serve her a meal. She eats two handed and is finished within 2 minutes. I am so scared for her.