Son's Weight (Concern)

[Troy810]

Hi,
My son is 10, due to a tragedy in our life, we lost a child while wife was pregnant with him, due to stress..he's got a few problems.
1 is Sensory problems with food, the problem is he eats a lot of carb foods.

He's now 10 and is about 5ft and 120. I worry of his weight cause he has a stomach and such, and I am concern.

He's somewhat active plays football, hockey and basketball so yes, active, but a bigger boy,
PLEASE any GOOD ADVICE, hate to say Diet, but any LIFESTYLE advice?
THANKS TO YOU ALL.

[Iamjennmedic]

Hey been a long time since I've seen you around these parts. I have a few things that I use with my little guy. He is seven and has GAD and is on the Chunky side too. I have cut out pop (soda) and limit his juice intake. That is one of the easiest ways to cut out a lot of calories. I also buy snacks that are packaged to only have a certain number of calories in them, so he learns moderation. I have also sat down and we have made a list of the fruits and veggies that he really likes to eat and I keep a huge stock of them in the fridge. The rule is he has to eat a fruit or veggie before he is allowed to eat a snack. I won't put him on a "diet" but we have managed to cut 500 calories just by taking out the pop and limiting the juices, and cutting the amount of snack stuff he eats. Also make sure dinners are healthy and less carby but still things that he likes. I don't want my son to think he is fat or that he is restricted from eating, that just makes him want to eat more. Once or twice a month we go out to eat, for example he passed his belt test in taekwondo this weekend so we went out for pizza and wings as our eat out meal for the month. I find by making him aware of the excessive amount of calories and sugars etc in some of the foods and that he becomes aware that eating veggies etc, he actually gets to eat more and is satisfied. Trick is to find things he likes and make sure they are on hand. Combined with a ton of praise for each small success it has made a huge difference.

I hope that makes sense and helps a little.

Jenn

[diamondpete]

Some suggestions from my own experience: I have 2 boys 9 and almost 5 (as I am constantly reminded):

1. have a wide variety of "snack" foods that are not crap. Such as fruits, veggies, etc. At age 10, most kids will eat anything if is is "prepped" for them and they are not forced to eat it. (Given that and the choice of nothing). Put out a dish of cut and peeled apples. It will disappear. So rather than tell him to eat an apple, it is good for you, have one there- it will be consumed.

2. Conversely, gradually eliminate the junk food in your house. As with healthy food choices, if unhealthy ones are there, they will eat them.


3. At meals serve less. Let him ask for seconds or thirds. (it takes about 20 min for leptin to kick in- though not sure if this differs in kids) This will encourage him to eat what he wants, not eat what is there. It may also slow down the pace of gobbling (I do not think boys eat, they gorge LOL)

4. DO not use food as a reward (you have been such a good boy, let's have a special treat!!! Or conversely, You little turd! No ice cream for you.) This is a very common phenomena in North America, and the kind of parenting our generation often encountered. It makes food an emotional reward, not a good habit to develop.

5. Encourage him to eat the food he likes first (many kids "hoard" the favorite part of the meal and eat it at the end, even if they are full) . Try to set portions smaller or equal than what you think he will eat, but if he cannot finish his meal, do not give him the speech about all the starving kids in the world who would love to have that. True as it maybe, and though we do not wish to waste food, the problem that faces the industrialized world is excess of food, not a shortage. So I would say if you are not hungry, don't eat it. (I do not like to see that either because it goes against everything I "learned" of about wasting food, but the reality has changed. That is why we go for smaller servings with serving dishes on the table.) (unless my wife it out, then eating standing up in front of the stove directly from the pot also works- LOL).

6. Lead by example: Even if you are fit and can get away with a twinkie here and there, don't.

I think with a bit of tweaking, you can probably manage this issue without making a big deal out of it. I would just gradually make the changes and not even "link" them to his weight. You are very lucky in that he is physically active, because that is more than half the battle. I hope that my comments are of some help to you. Good luck and please keep us posted on what you decide to do and how it is working out.

Peter

[castufari]

Originally Posted by diamondpete

Some suggestions from my own experience:

My kid is fairly thin and I use the same stuff for her. I keep a pitcher of filtered water on the counter - she drinks it like it's going out of style. Fruits and nuts are always on the counter in the "snack area".

Sometimes I do buy chips or a Coke but it's always a small bag of chips and one of those 8oz cokes. We'll split it.

I never use food for a reward. I might say "hey, today we really got a lot of stuff (chores, homework, etc), let's get a pizza" but I won't say "if you do your chores I'll make you a pizza". I sometimes just spring for a special treat but I won't use it as a reward.

[AllGenetix]

i think one important thing is that he IS active. i was a much larger kid when i was younger (5'6 - 180+) and was still very active. as long as you teach him good habits thats a great start, his body will grow and lengthen which requires a lot of calories which it may be storing as fat now, at least thats how it worked for me. So teach good habits, keep him active and watch puberty transform him.

[Buttercup67k]

Hi,
Sorry to add to this a little late, but your post could be about my son, who is also 10. He was getting very heavy this past year even though he is very active (football, soccer, running, etc.). This was a shock because he had always been thin and fast and it seemed almost over night he was getting slow and heavy. We helped him lose 10 lbs. by the following:

No drinks with sugar. This one was huge. My son could down 5 to 10 juice boxes in a day. At 150 calories each, thats a lot of sugar. Now it is just water, water everywhere and more than a drop to drink. Don't be fooled by Gatorade, it still has sugar in it.

Cutting out the junk. This has been good for everyone. My husband always had a coke with dinner and he likes a dessert or something sweet each night. I was able to convince him that having this junk, even in small amounts, was bad for our son because the inevitable attitude was, "Well, Daddy gets to eat it, so why can't I?" Even if you do not have any excess weight (like my husband)your son is looking at what you put in your mouth. And at this age Dads are very important role models. So think about what you put in your mouth or what is allowed in the house.

Being a nag. Sometimes I hate this part, but constantly reminding everyone, not just my son, that we need to eat well has an impact. Remember when you taught your son to say please and thank you or not to use his shirt as a tissue for runny noses? Well, those habits took a lot of reminding and, yes, nagging. The same goes for a healthy lifestyle. It sinks in sooner or later.

This next one sounds lame, but given that my children listen to every conversation my husband and I have (they only look like they are not listening until one of them pipes up with a comment on what we are talking about ) we discuss food and exercise a lot. This can be as simple as discussing what you ate that day, what your training was for the day and choices you made or items in the news about eating and exercising. They absorb everything. And yes, they are listening, probably more so than when you are nagging them. This also gives them an example to follow instead of just hearing "you shoulds."

We also try to get my son to look at the big picture. We don't want him so wrapped up around a number on the scale. My husband has been stressing that losing that extra weight makes him faster for football and soccer. This is a better motivator than just changing a number on the scale, I think.

Also, it was a slow process and we are still working on it. But, my son is in much better shape now than in July of last year I'm glad my husband and I did something about it.

I hope this helps.

[Troy810]

VERY VERY HELPFUL.
THANKS SO MUCH..
Will try now.
I know what you mean, he drinks that Orange Juice SUNNY DELIGHT, thinking he's doingwell, but LOTS OF SUGAR>.