Need help with 5 yr old daughter

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  • AccioFitness
    AccioFitness Posts: 244 Member
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    I would do 3 things immediately as suggested above:

    1. Get her counseling and see if someone specializes in this condition.
    2, Get to know the aides who are in the cafeteria. Seriously, bake them some brownies from time to time or drop off coffee or whatever will keep them happy. If you do that, they will watch your child and ensure she eats. My wife is an elementary school teacher and says they will pander to whomever is nicest to them (the aides, not the teachers)...Although the teacher will help if asked.
    3. Get rid of the scale and teach your daughter the difference between dieting (which you are doing) for health reasons and being healthy (which does not necessarily require a scale).

    You're doing great, keep going. your daughter needs you not to give up!

    QFT.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    Make sure to teach her about being nice and having manners and about bullying, too. The kids making her friend feel bad should be considered the 'bad' ones, very clearly, imho. I mean don't let her internalize bullying as meaning anything about anyone but the bully. At that age, I'd want my kids to be pretty righteous when someone is mean ;)

    I know they'll encounter it all the time, but it disturbs me that she'd try to avoid being like her friend for that reason instead of trying to avoid being mean like the bully (as the takeaway lesson). I'd make sure to let her know that her friend's weight is none of the bully kids' business, at all, and that they are being very bad when they make fun of her.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,676 Member
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    Have you considered homeschool?
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    I would not have th scale available to her if she is weighing herself daily. A 5 year old does not need to weigh herself and it doesn't matter if she "gets mad" about not having a scale. She's 5. I would get professional help.
  • Tessyloowhoo
    Tessyloowhoo Posts: 504
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    I was tubefed as a child... The only thing i can actually remember liking about food when i was little was feeding therapy (specialized occupational therapy)... You really should give it a shot with her, its like one big giant game to a little kid, and it helps make food a fun, positive experience.

    For the scale thing.... therapist
  • jkestens63
    jkestens63 Posts: 1,164 Member
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    It's learned behavior.
    Hide the scales, stop talking about weightloss in front of her. She gets upset about hiding the scales? She's a child, FFS, she probably gets upset when Scooby Doo is over.

    Like I have just said, kids do what they see they parents doing. Take some responsibility and help your daughter have a healthy relationship with food. At 5 she doesn't need to be on a scale.

    This.

    My 5 year old does not see me on the scale. She does not hear me talking about losing weight. She hears me talking about
    getting healthier. This was a deliberate decision on my part, because I don't want my kids obsessing over the scale.


    Agreed! But I would also see if there is a doctor nearby who specializes in your childs disorder to get advice.
  • marynmarty
    marynmarty Posts: 89 Member
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    What my daughter has is called " INFANTILE ANOREXIA" she would never wake up when she was a baby to eat. About twice a year she gets into these funks where she refuses to eat and ends up going in because shes so lathargic. The doctor has threatened her saying he will have to put a feeding tube in her which gets her to eat some but doesnt last long. I knew her teacher before she started school so that helped and we are in contact with the school nurse. She has pedisure on days she wont eat but thats a struggle because she doesnt like them. I sell Herbalife and they have a kids shake. So I tried that and shes not much of a shake girl. I am thinking of getting her back in to the doctor because its not getting better. At her yearly checks up she always has to go back for a weight check due to not being on the scale. Thankfully she takes vitamins so hopefully that is helping her some. I just dont know how to get her to eat grrr....thanks for all your advice. Never ending battle for sure!
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
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    Talk to a counselor -- don't try to go it alone. You're absolutely right to be worried, but you need advice from a professional instead of strangers on the internet.
    this. hope you can get help for her.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    I agree with talking to someone about it, as you don't want her developing an eating disorder.

    Speak to her about healthy eating, and maybe hide the scales away somewhere.

    My son has just started school - he's 4.5 (kids start school at 4 in England). He was a very poor eater until recently. He's about 110cm tall, maybe a bit more now, and weighs 39lbs. I've never heard him talk about weight though, either his or that of anyone else.

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