Talk to me about paleo kids

momof2osaurus · May 2013

I'm the only one in my house who eats paleo. My son (4.5) is already mostly dairy free due to chronic constipation - yay for no more daily Miralax! I've suspected he has a gluten problem as well for a while.

A couple weeks ago, he started to have behavior issues. I don't know the cause, but I know if I feed him, he calms down some. It could just be normal behavior progression. Or it could be diet related. His diet sucks. I freely admit it. I'm thinking about switching my kids to eat paleo, but honestly the thought terrifies me. My son is EXTREMELY picky (which I know is at least partially my fault).

Has anyone switched their kids over? How did you do it? How did it go?

hdlb · May 2013

Our kids are maybe 75-80%? I've never really stopped to figure it out. They are gluten and corn free, and my little two are 100% dairy free. My oldest eats cheese and yogurt though. And they all eat rice - crackers, cereal and plain rice. None of them eat peanuts or beans, and we very rarely cook with soy sauce - we don't use any other soy products. They drink coconut milk, and their snacks and meals are generally fruit, veggies and proteins. We limit their sugar, but could do a better job. Gummy bears are a pretty normal thing around here....

We made the change gradually, and out of necessity. First it was dairy when my middle child reacted, then my son. Then we made a switch to only whole wheat crackers etc. Soy went when he reacted to that, then gluten after I was diagnosed with Celiacs and we realized the kids probably had issues too. (2 of them do, one doesn't) My youngest has some digestive issues that limits what he can eat, like corn (theres a good change he has Crohn's, like me and his grandma do, he's waiting on testing though) and my oldest reacts horrible to a bad diet. She has fits and attitude and its just not good. She has to be fed a proper diet at the same time every day to really have her stay happy and cheerful. All in all, we have about 1001 food issues around here.

Anyway, I refuse to cook 5 different meals to add in/take out what everyone can and cannot eat, so we all eat the same as much as possible. I buy the food. I make the food, they really don't have much say. I'm sure they'd love to eat nothing but hotdogs and fruit snacks, but that just isn't going to happen.

dsak · May 2013

I'm just starting out Paleo for myself right now, and I plan to bring it more "into the family" as I get more into it. My kids are 4 and 8. My 8 year old is more open to trying new foods, but my 4 year old could live off of mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets every day of the week if you let her. She will be a challenge because if it's not junk, dairy or carbs, she's not a fan!!! But... I'm cutting out a lot of carbs for the rest of the family, and we try to eat mostly protein, fruits and veggies. Ours will be a very gradual thing.... as I start to make more and more Paleo dinners. Sigh... my husband will also be a challenge! :-)

I think that unless your kids have allergies or something it can be a difficult road to get them Paleo.... but... every little bit we can do as parents is helpful. That's what I think, anyway.

livlovra · May 2013

I have gone primal for the whole family including our au pair after a strictvwholev30 which we all did together too. I have a 2 year old and a 3 year old and no three arrives in October! I cook every night and we all always eat as a family so they get what we get **** bust. If they eat it great if not no pudding (fruit) and no alternative. The 2 year old is seriously picky and just adores pasta. I think the whole family would live off pasta if it could but nasty mumma has just stopped buying it. So rather than going through the cupboards and ditching everything non primal I put it all in a box in the utility room - so it's harder to get too. And only bought primal stuff so gradually we are getting there but still I would say we are 80-90% primal. Rice some times. But apart from me having pcos we have no known intolerances in the family so it's hard to justify but I know we are all healthier so I am persisting.

If the kids have sugar now it is soooooo noticeable and they make our lives hell. But I also believe they won't starve themselves and I just keep offering healthy real food so when they eat 5 eggs for breakfast and don't want lunch, well ok they prob really aren't hungry. I trust them to know their bodies.

TS65 · May 2013

I haven't yet switched over the family. If it helps, my son becomes an absolute BEAR (and I mean the growling snarling kind) when he's hungry or over-tired. I can pretty much, based on his disposition, tell if he's tired or hungry. His personality does a 180!

I'm slowly incorporating primal into their eating - but until I can get hubby on board, I'll be fighting baked goods in the house. :grumble:

mkakids · May 2013

I have 3 kids (5,3,2) who are all mainly paleo. We do allow raw milk on occasion (they drink about 1\2 a gallon a week combined). They don't even notice anymore, honestly. They eat more fruit than veggies, but get some veggies in each day...and lots of protein. We do allow them to have whatever they want when at grandmas (1x a week) and special occasions.

caribougal · May 2013

I have 2 boys, 5 1/2 and almost 4. I don't force primal on them, but...

- You can easily swap out gluten-free versions if you decided to continue to offer things like breads or pasta.
- Engage them in cooking, especially picking what they want to eat. I bought the "Eat Like a Dinosaur" book. There are other Paleo kid books out there.
- Talk about why some foods are healthier than others. Even if they eat the unhealthy stuff, at least they become aware of it.
- Talk out how special "HOMEMADE" food is. My boys have started to recognize the effort that goes into cooking. "Boys, let's thank Daddy for this DELICIOUS and HEALTHY dinner he made".
- Talk about why you choose NOT to eat something, even though they might enjoy it as a treat. "Do cavemen eat cookies??? Nooooo. Ha ha."
- Add lots of yummy fat (butter, ghee, bacon grease), and even a little salt, to veggies.
- Make the food look cool. Use cookie cutters to make it into fun shapes.
- Give it fun names. My boys won't eat zucchini noodles, but they love to watch me eat "zoodles". I know someday, they will break down and try it.

Good luck.

shaywallis · May 2013

My 9mo old is mainly paleo (a little primal as I give her cottage cheese in her scrambled eggs about twice a week) and she will eat ANYTHING you put in front of her. Quail, steak, pork, fish, lamb, kale, all fruits, sweet potatoes, etc. The kid eats it all. My 3 yr old son on the other hand, is another story. He is soooooo picky!! He will eat any and every fruit, artichoke with grassfed butter, cucumbers, noodles, pb&j, grilled cheese, pancakes and bacon. I try to buy gluten free as often as possible. Im really hoping he will grow out of it. I feel your pain though momma. I'm pretty much the only paleo in the house.

feisma · May 2013

bump...

Marll · May 2013

Here's the question I'd pose, because I've posed it to others I know, as well as to myself a while back.

If the diet is healthy enough for YOU, why wouldn't you want to do the same for your kids?

Secondly, they are kids, you don't give them the choice. You put what is for dinner on the table and they either eat it or they don't. The idea that kids food has to be fast, fun and come in a colorful box is a bunch of BS created by marketing gurus at big food companies.

We've found that since feeding our 3.5 year old a more natural, low carb/paleo style diet (he gets more sugar than we do, but not a ton more) the following has changed

- no more chronic ear infections (had 1 a month for the first year of his life, then we took him off gluten and they've NEVER come back)
- no more rashes or eczema
- he never gets sick (maybe a couple of times a year, our friends' kids are ALWAYS sick)
- WAY more energy than other kids (take that as good or bad depending on your view

)

athenalove46 · May 2013

My kids are Paleo kids. It wasn't that difficult of a transition for us as I always did the "you eat what's in front of you bit" since they were very little. For other things like certain snacks or whatnot I obviously found Paleo alternatives for. My oldest is so awesome. She eats anything and EVERYTHING. I can't say what it was other than perseverance on my part and a willingness on hers. My middle dd is also good, but she has some aversions. I know we'll work through them quickly enough. My son, well, he's 3 and he is having one of those stages where he will not eat anything. I'm okay with that. I know he won't starve himself and if he's hungry he'll eat what's in front of him.

From a behavioral standpoint, when they get gluten I can tell. Absolutely especially my son. He becomes almost possessed. No joke, the boy will be the sweetest bouncy boy who even through his craziness will still listen. Get anything with gluten in his system and he starts throwing tantrums, screams, DOES NOT STOP moving, and is just like the tazmanian devil. We have had enough encounters for me to notice this difference. It is the weirdest thing too, I notice that my girls eyes get crazy dilated when they get gluten too....like when you go to the eye doctor and he dilates your eyes. Just like that. Can't be good for you! I'll deal with the fits and crying now about not having a piece of cake to save my sanity and have them behave. Also, if we are in situations like that I always prepare with back up. Lollipops from the post office? No worries, I got a purse full of those organic lolly pops with no dyes. Birthday party at school? She gets a cupcake from me.

Twibbly · May 2013

We only have our kids parttime (they're my stepkids), so they just kind of go with the flow. They know I can't eat wheat (and will ask if the bread is special every time we go out to eat some place nice) and just kind of assume that that's why we don't have noodles very often anymore or PBJ. We're primal, so we do still eat dairy. They generally have cereal for breakfast on school days, but otherwise eat what we eat when we're home.

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Talk to me about paleo kids

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