How Do You Get Your Teen To Eat Right?

[cara]

Hi,

I'm new to the board. I have a son who turned 13 on Sunday and he has gluten intolderance and probably candida. I can't keep himgluten free all the time when he leaves the house and it's gotten to the point where his hands swell from eating gluten. Who can relate to me how to manage/cope with this????

[ravenwoodglass]

Hi,

I'm new to the board. I have a son who turned 13 on Sunday and he has gluten intolderance and probably candida. I can't keep himgluten free all the time when he leaves the house and it's gotten to the point where his hands swell from eating gluten. Who can relate to me how to manage/cope with this????

I can. All you can do is stress to him the importance of taking responsibility for his own well being. He is at an age where he is going to want to be 'adult' so try to encourage him to be so. It helped with my teens when I let, okay forced, them to do shopping for their lunches and snacks with me. If he makes his own bag lunch that will help him to control himself also. With some it helps to stress the acne link and the growth retardation, no kid wants that. I f his hands are swelling it is most likely effecting kidney function already, point this out to him. Make him see that this is not something to be taken lightly. Perhaps a look at the related disorders section of the board may help him and encourage him to talk to others on the board, it's not easy for any of us. Help him to see he can do it, but he has to be the one make the right choices when he is at school and other places.

[par18]

Hi,

I'm new to the board. I have a son who turned 13 on Sunday and he has gluten intolderance and probably candida. I can't keep himgluten free all the time when he leaves the house and it's gotten to the point where his hands swell from eating gluten. Who can relate to me how to manage/cope with this????

Hi Cara,

I may not be the best person to answer this as I have no children but I have often felt as though this is one of the hardest things to manage. I as an adult know what my options are and have to decide to do what is right. That said I have a few questions I would like to ask you. Is your son the only person in the house with celiac disease? If he is are special meals being prepared for him seperate from the others? Is there gluten around the house that he sees but cannot eat. I guess what I am getting to is that the more the other members of the household eat what he can eat the more he may feel normal. I keep hearing from parents at my support group comment on how they can't seem to get their kids to eat healthy. I wonder if only the celiac disease persons are asked to do this while everyone else still consumes whatever they want. I know when I visit one of my friends or relatives and a big fuss is made as to what I can or can't eat it just seems to make the situation worse. When my wife and I visit my mother and she prepares the meal the whole thing is gluten free so that no one will feel singled out. Most of the time the meal is just naturally gluten free anyway less the bread. Like anything else in life we learn and teach by example. I was fortunate to have gotten this illness later in life and have had no problem with having to watch other people still eat gluten. In closing I can only guess that the more understanding people without this illness can be around us the better we will feel. Good luck.

Tom

[Guest Robbin]

Hi Cara-my son just turned 13 a couple of months ago and it is a huge battle to get him healthy. I think the age is a huge factor. Everything is a battle. Life is hard enough I guess when you are 13. Middle school, braces, acne, girls, school, now gluten. I understand his point of view, but as a mom it is so scary to see him sick. I really relate to this thread. The best thing I found to do is just not make an issue of his eating. I just make meals that are naturally gluten-free and slip in rice pasta and make a lot of homemade goodies. He never did eat pizza, ice cream or cake very much so when he goes to a friends house he usually takes fritos, chips and drinks to snack on and share. No one really makes much of a deal since he is so sensitive about EVERYTHING!!! I am learning to deal with this not one day at a time, but one HOUR at a time since he is so moody. See, you are not alone and when things get crazy and you feel at your wits' end, you can come here and vent with the rest of us! I hope things get better with him soon. We are all in this together Take care, Robbin

ps--Tom-great insight and helpful post:)