Getting Your Child Off A Certain Favorite Food?

[Mjohnson73]

Hi All,

Little background: My now almost 6 (he turns 6 in a month) year old little boy who is 3 feet 3 inches tall and weighs in at 34.5 pounds is way below the growth charts... well recently we have had him tested for a bunch of stuff (bone age scan...and such)...well we were at the Endocrinologists Appt. for him the other day and I mentioned that I was being tested for celiac and she said that she would like to know my results cause it might be that he might be celiac even tho it would be a silent form of celiac... so..even if my tests come back negative (i had 2 blood tests done), my rheumatologist said I should stay on gluten-free for the rest of my life since it seems to be helping a number of issues I have had...

anyways,

IF he is celiac, how do I get him to understand that he can't eat certain foods that he is very attached to.... the things like "Pop-Tarts", McDonald's Chicken Nuggets, Kraft Mac and Cheese, Waffles (these I know i could get gluten-free)... but I am really not sure how to get him off of pop-tarts and Chicken Nuggets??

HELLP!!!

Any info would be most appreciated!

--Maya

[KaitiUSA]

You can tell him that it will make his intestines sick and he can't have that stuff anymore but present him with yummy tasting things he can have.

Also, while he gets adjusted you may not want to eat that stuff in front of him because that may make it hard for someone so young who has ate that stuff but now can't have it.

Also, get some really good tasting things for him. Wellshire Farms has Chicken Bites that are so good. They are fully breaded and in dinosaur shapes so it might be something for him to try.

Good luck

[Kasey'sMom]

Maya,

When we first starting replacing foods it was tough. Some days seemed to last forever. My dd would cry for her favoriate foods and she was going through so many changes, both physically & emotionally. Finding foods to replace her old foods helped so much.

My dd is 3 and we started about 6 months ago. Now she can make the connection between food and how she feels. Most of the time after quick reminder, she doesn't ask for the gluten foods she used to eat. For example, we went to a birthday party and she asked for birthday cake. We reminded her of how she feels when she eats gluten. I then made a big deal out of the "special cupcakes and ice cream," that I made. She was happy and enjoyed her treat as well.

Tinkyada has really tastey rice pasta and they have elbow shapes. You could use these to make homemade mac & cheese. Amy's has a rice mac & cheese that is frozen. You can get these in individual servings that you can put in the microwave or oven. This would be something that you could fix fast.

[Mjohnson73]

Thanks for the quick answers!

I am waiting to see what his Dr. says too... cause I want to see if he has celiac...altho from everything I have learned about this, it is very possible and i might just change him over....but we will see!

--Maya

[Jnkmnky]

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Kinnikinnick has great donuts. We top with chocolate frosting. I make chicken nuggets with a mix of gluten free flours. I don't have a recipe to give you, but I add things like parsley, garlic salt, onion powder, parmesan cheese, whatever.... Make a lg baggie full of the mix and keep in fridge. It lasts a long time and can be brought out and used anytime nuggets are in order.

[pixiegirl]

I'm a bad mom I guess.... I'd just toss out the stuff that makes him sick and replace with gluten-free. No its not always the same but some of it is really good. It gives you a chance to try new stuff and you can buy some of the baking mixes (brownies, banana bread) and bake them together.

At 6 my daughter could bake cookies by herself (ok I'd do the oven part) so he's certainly not too young for this. Often times if they help bake it they will eat it.

I think my daughter isn't a whiner or crier because I don't put up with that cr*p. I'd certainly explain that they have Celiac (in 6 year old terms) and what that means and tell them if you continue to eat this this and this you are going to get really sick. Kids don't want to be sick...

This list should help a lot because a lot of people here know whats good and what isn't. There are at least a couple of gluten-free mac and cheese (mix and frozen) you can buy or if he likes kraft (like my daughter does) use their mix with gluten-free elbows.

Susan

[Kasey'sMom]

It's funny....even at age 3 my daughter wants to know what's in the food that she's eating. Here recently she looked at the muffins we made, and said, "what kind of muffin?" I responded by saying, "a blueberry muffin." She quickly jumped in and said, "it's a gorganic (organic), gluten free muffin."

Susan, I think that's being a wonderful mom! It's amazing how children can reason at such a young age. For many months my dd Dr.'s didn't know what was wrong with her but was we're tenatious and I followed my gut. I can't tell you what a difference her diet has made with the whining factor. My dh and I went gluten-free also and we both feel better than ever!! Actually, the expierence has been a blessing in disguise.

[KaitiUSA]

I'm a bad mom I guess.... I'd just toss out the stuff that makes him sick and replace with gluten-free.

No, I think that is being a great mom I would do the same.

[Mjohnson73]

No, I think that is being a great mom I would do the same.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think I probably will do the same...

Just toss everything that is Not gluten-free and just replace it with stuff he can eat

(again,...it depends on what the Dr. Says...)

--Maya

[Guest nini]

Maya... you said "depends on what the Dr. says"... I personally would ask the Dr.'s opinion, but still do my own research and decide for myself if I was going to try the diet anyway. If you are having symptoms and your son is having symptoms the possibility that you both at the very least have a gluten intolerance is pretty high. Dr.s unfortunately are not as educated about celiac as they need to be. If you find one that REALLY knows a lot about it consider yourself lucky.

My daughter is 5, she was 3 at dx... Ian's makes gluten-free chicken nuggets AND fish sticks, pop tarts aren't healthy anyway, so I'm sure you could find suitable replacements for them or try making a toaster type pastry with a gluten-free pie crust mix and jelly... I haven't tried that one yet but it might work.

[Jnkmnky]

I haven't tried this, but I hear you can put cream cheese and jelly in chebe bread and bake. That may be like a toaster strudel pastry? I would also recommend the book, Dangerous Grains. It presents the whole gluten sensitivity through Celiac Disease spectrum in a very readable format. It's written very simply for the non-medical person to grasp what is going on with the gluten grains in the human body. There are other books about coping specifically with Celiac disease, this is not that kind of book. Tinkyada pastas are the perfect replacement to gluten full pastas.