MFP for kids?

Taylenne
Taylenne Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
I have a daughter who has a medical condition that causes her to gain weight unless we closely monitor and regulate her diet. The condition also results in an inactive lifestyle. We see a nutritionist every 4 months for a weigh-in and general update on her diet and lifestyle. She's still quite young and I know the dangers of putting children on "reducing diets". Ultimately, my goal is not to have her "reduce" though dropping a couple of pounds wouldn't be terrible - it is to help her develop a healthy attitude towards nutrition (because being overweight may not be something avoidable for her), secondly, it is to help her gain weight at a slow and steady pace appropriate to her age/height. And thirdly, it is to teach her appropriate food choices and serving sizes, and how in her specific case, to eat by the clock because she is always hungry and can't trust her body to tell her when to eat. She is turning 8 yrs old in July. She is not currently overweight but is at the top of the percentiles for weight. Her BMI is around 18, which is the high end for a child her age. Is there a more appropriate place to track her intake that is better suited to managing childhood weight/nutrition issues?

Replies

  • LexiAtel
    LexiAtel Posts: 228 Member
    I think if you know what your kid needs, this site is good for you. Just to keep track what she eats, and then you also have an idea where the sugar,salt,calcium, etc etc is coming from.

    So yeah, I would use MFP if I were you.
  • KaciJO8
    KaciJO8 Posts: 5 Member
    my little sister is 11. i made her an account even though the age is 18. i monitor what she is saying and who she has contact with but she does her logging. even if it isn't perfect she gets in the habit and in the learns how to keep track of her food. i often help her log more accurately so she gets better at it she is about 5 pound away from being 200 so we are very worried for her health. my brother,12, is also on the site. he absolutely loves it! he isn't quite as unhealthy as his sister but defiantly could benefit from working with the site. he originally started working on her to help encourage his sister so she wasn't the only child doing this but now he is intrigued with seeing what foods contain giant amounts of calories or sugars and sodium. you can see the choices he is making change because he now can see which food are going to be detrimental to his calorie intake. opting for things like an apple as a snack rather than a microwave corn dog. i would suggest allowing your daughter to be a part of her logging. if you allow your daughter to use the site maybe the kids could friend each other and encourage each other. it might help if they can interact with someone other than an adult on here.
  • calibriintx
    calibriintx Posts: 1,741 Member
    I'm not going to weigh in on logging calories for young kids b/c that's between parents and pediatricians to decide. But don't use MFP. Check out Spark Kids. MFP is not for kids.

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