Food tracking app for kids
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My daughter is 10 and little frustrated with the weight that she's gained this winter. I know most of it is on me (not being as focused on what she's been eating) and now that she's starting soccer again, I'm hoping that some of the winter weight will come off easily. I'm going to sit down and go through some of the science behind CICO with her. She likes math and science a lot and I think it might be helpful for her to track her food intake and exercise for a little while to see how it all works and hopefully she can get a better understanding of how her food intake can impact her weight. Are there any apps out there that you all recommend for kids? I know I've seen some mentioned on the boards but I can't remember when or where. Thanks in advance!!!
The bolded is where it lies. With the parent. It starts with you. Honestly, the best thing you can do is to model the good behavior. Encourage her to cook healthy meals with you, play together as a family, and do fun activities together.
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I've read some pretty judgmental things on these boards so I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the responses I received and the fact that people jump on one thing without reading more.
I was an overweight kid and became an overweight adult without anyone telling me that I should be eating healthier or exercising more. I want to make sure that I do right by my daughter and was hoping that there were people out there who would respond with some guidance rather than judgment.
I love my daughter more than life itself and the only thing I have ever told her is that she is strong, smart and that I love her. My post was simply looking for some advice so as to avoid making a mistake. As I said I don't want her to count calories, and that is not my goal. I am pretty loose with CICO myself and there are no off-limits foods in my house and I try to teach all of my kids moderation, so my "junk" comment probably should have been more mindless eating, sorry.
Is it worrisome that she's 10 and is concerned about her weight? Of course, but she's her own person with her own opinions and no matter how much I tell her she's growing and I'm not concerned and she shouldn't be either, that's not going to change what she sees when she looks at her friends and what's on TV. She's my oldest and I'm in unchartered waters here and could have used a little less judgment.
I'm not seeing a whole lot of judgmental things in this thread. Everyone here (I hope) realizes that you love your daughter and that you have no intention on purposefully putting her at risk of anything. That said, I suspect a large chunk of people who have developed eating disorders that have been influenced, in part, by what their parents have communicated to them have had parents who think similarly to you. Parents who are just trying to help their child.
Honestly, I would seek the advice of her pediatrician as well as potentially her soccer coach. Recognizing, of course, that her coach might not be the best source of information. If her coach is anything like the rock climbing coach I had as a kid then they will potentially be able to provide appropriate guidance, but there are plenty of people who aren't able to do so.3 -
I have a 10 year old son who's very aware of his weight/not happy with it, but he's underweight due to his ADHD/meds, and he's very self-conscious about how he looks vs his friends (he won't take off his shirt to go swimming etc). We work closely with his pediatrician and it's been really helpful for both of us-I'd definitely start there, (and maybe discuss your concerns with the doctor while your child is in the waiting room). For us-we go in for weight checks every couple of months and it's been a good experience to do these, my son is a numbers kids and he likes to see where his weight is on the chart, and he'll talk to the pediatrician and tells him what he's eating, how he's feeling etc.
eta: my son knows what calories are, what foods are higher/lower calorie options etc. This all came from the pediatrician though. We don't do any kind of tracking at home, though I do ask him what he's eaten from time to time, (he tends to forget because he gets so distracted). Some times I have him eat something to get his calories up, but the pediatrician doesn't want us to do anything beyond that right now.3 -
I have an 8-year old daughter & I can't imagine trying to get her to track her calories. Girls don't need more pressure or influence in regards to issues with self-esteem, weight loss, body image, etc. I'd take her to the pediatrician and then have a 1-on-1 with the doc to see if he/she is concerned about her weight gain. If so, I still wouldn't tackle it by having her track her foods. I'd probably go about it like, OK so for this meal we're going to have one serving of protein, a serving a vegetables, etc...and would make a point of making meals I KNOW are healthy/nutritious in a kid-friendly format (baked chicken fingers with the "oven fry" crispy stuff on the outside of the baked chicken), homemade pizza nights, etc. You've got to model the behaviors you want to see in her though, so make sure it starts with you (and any other adult(s) in the household). When the weather is decent can you go on nature walks or bike rides etc together, maybe hit up a trampoline park when it's rainy or cold, etc etc...2
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another thought -
instead of actually trying to TRACK foods/calories/etc, how about a simple chart on the fridge? The same idea as a chore chart or whatever, eg a star/point/whatever for each day X food goals (and by that I mean, for example - 3 servings of fruit, 3 servings of vegetables, etc), and then once a certain number of points/stars is met, some sort of treat together? And by treat I don't necessarily mean food, but getting to pick a friend to go get mani/pedi's or going to a movie or tickets to a theme park she's been dying to go to, etc? But it could also involve food as long as food isn't the focus, like a slumber party (with PIZZA!) with her friends, or stopping for ice cream or milkshakes or something on the way to a museum?3 -
this is such a touchy subject for girls that age. I work in a k-8 school, and it becomes an obsession early on. I was also friends with the anorexic girls and bulimic girls growing up, ans my mom used to obsess with weight loss, but also never taught healthy eating habits, So i grew up constantly thinking I needed to lose weight, and looking back at me at that age, I was not big at all. my mom taught me how to diet, but at the same time, shes the cause of my binging on potato chips. every time my kids mention that I want to lose weight, I correct them that I I exercise and watch what I eat to be healthy. I want to keep my body healthy so when Im older I can still move around easy, and keep my heart and insides healthy so I can live to see my grandkids ect. Also because of what I learned mainly through my mom (who had good intentions) is why I teach my kids healthy eating habits, I still have almost no controle over my snacking urges, so my kids get 3 meals and 1-2 snacks a day, but only 1 that isnt exactly healthy. they can snack on fruit, veggies, cheese, ect, but limit chips and cookie type foods. They also only get water between meals. I would not teach her about counting calories at this age.4
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Nearly every commenter has stated that her pediatrician needs to be consulted. That's because we are taking into account the possibility that your daughter's weight may actually be a medical concern, as well as the possibility that she could just be growing at a perfectly normal rate. You need to ask her pediatrician whether her weight gain is a cause for concern or not. If her pediatrician says that it is a problem, then they should also provide you with guidance on how to address it.
If there is no medical reason to think that your child's weight is a cause for concern, then most folks here are not going to advocate emphasizing weight to a child. Your daughter will get a LOT of messages about women's bodies from a LOT of social influences. Many of those messages are not positive. However, as a parent, you can say and do things to counter the negative messages. Yes, she's her own person, but you are her parent and you have plenty of opportunities to be a positive influence. You can teach her how to think critically about the things she sees and hears on TV or from her friends. You can engage in healthy eating and activity as a family. While doing those things, you need to get advice from her pediatrician about what is healthy for your daughter's body.
A lot of us here, including me, have been both obese children and obese adults. People told me a lot of things about eating and exercise; many of those things were ultimately bad advice, from adults who likely meant well. No one is saying don't talk to your child about nutrition or activity at all, but folks are telling you to get professional medical guidance about it.6 -
You are on the cusp of a key and difficult time, body-image-wise, for young girls.
MANY MANY girls put on weight right before puberty. They get thick around the middle. And THEN they stretch and grow and all the rest.
On top of that, part of puberty for girls is adding the body fat percentage that women have above the average body fat for men. Prior to puberty, girls and boys have the same body fat percentage, but post-puberty they no longer do.
That's normal, and usual, and healthy. But its a big change in their body, and its part of the whole "Growing boobs that people LOOK at and make comments about even when they're not supposed to."
Now is not the time to suddenly have a big Science Crackdown on your daughters food and start her calorie counting and giving her the message that "Gaining weight is bad, gaining fat is bad." Right now, at her age, gaining weight is normal, and gaining fat is actually also normal.
(Between 10 and 14, my daughter grew at LEAST 10 inches. Seriously. There's a LOT that's about to be going on with your child).
(I won't violate my own kid's privacy, but for illustration: she needed a black dress for band in junior high. We bought her a women's medium, and it fit her at age 11. It STILL fits at age 15, but very differently (she grew about 8 inches in height and went through puberty between those ages).
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My daughter is the top end of the normal scale
She's aware of her weight as she has multiple disabilities and health conditions
On a holiday to grandparents she gained a stone in a week (appointments before and after) which upset her due to the nurse announcing it with a tone to her voice
( I'm aware a fair amount of gain was water retention from traveling and more food in gut, she wasn't as I've never discussed it with her)
We had a conversation about always foods (fruits, veggies, the carbs and vegetarian proteins we have at meals) and sometimes foods (cakes, biscuits, sweets, crisps, ice creams..... All the stuff the grandparents gave her telling her at thier house she would have as much as she wants)
She also does litter picking after school so she's walking more than if she was just at home2 -
Your only job is to model healthy choices for your daughter and to prepare nutritious meals and encourage her to stay active through fun activities she enjoys. It’s normal for kids that age to round out a bit right before puberty (before they shoot upward). Counting calories at that age is not appropriate and can set her up with an unhealthy relationship with food and her body.5
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I’m a mom with a 13 year old son and a 16 year old step daughter. They both filled out and got a little rounder before each growth spurt. It’s normal and needs to happen. I personally would make sure she knew how normal it is and maybe also check if her height has changed - because if it hasn’t it is probably about to.
Also, right before periods start and in early puberty girls gain weight. Again, a totally normal and expected part of development. It would be more concerning if it didn’t happen. I personally started at 10 so she is approaching the age where that can be a factor. She needs to know it’s a normal part of growing up and developing. She should probably also know that NOT gaining weight is more worrisome when someone is still growing.
I’m not trying to judge you here. I’m just giving some advice around what I would do. I developed an eating disorder around that age. There were a lot of factors that contributed but one was that my dad made comments about my weight. I went through puberty young and the changes were normal but I was made to feel like they weren’t. He would ask if I was “sure” any time I got a second serving of anything. It can be very dangerous to encourage or foster focus on these things at this age in my experience.
Unless she is medically overweight and her doctor has concerns about how she is growing I think the best thing would be to redirect her and discourage her focusing on her weight right now.6 -
Perhaps instead of calorie counting instead one thing to think about doing is teaching cooking. I know the kids in my life love foods that I have taught them to cook. So for example my neice loves loves veggie kabobs which she now makes for her family but I taught her how to make.
So perhaps she can be taught to cook or garden or fish all of which can connect her to healthy foods and will teach her a love of healthy foods.3 -
This may not be popular, but I do teach my kids (16 & 10) to read labels, not for calories, but for sugar. It’s not “evil”—we eat ice cream and bake brownies and all of that. But given how much extra sugar is in so many things, I think a little awareness is educational—so, for example, when it comes to yogurt or ice cream with a similar amount of sugar, I’ll go for the ice cream or find a healthier yogurt to eat instead. If they want a treat, I want them to choose a treat, not mindlessly consume whatever is around (school, convenience stores, etc)—and not even know they should be thinking of it as a treat.
I also encourage them to eat protein rich foods instead of all carbs, especially if I see them headed for yet another starchy fix. I know they can make a difference for satiety, and suggesting that they make a different choice and then see if they feel more full doesn’t seem like a terrible thing. They have never really been around much in the way of disordered eating, and we are active and body positive, so I’m not concerned. Both also carried a little extra weight pre-puberty (daughter is now 16, and very healthy about food & weight, and normal BMI etc, son, 10, has a belly at the moment, but it fluctuates a lot based on his exercise level) but all of the eating discussion above isn’t linked to their weight. I get that it’s a risky time developmentally for things like eating disorders, but I also think I’d be remiss in not teaching them what I know in a healthy and age appropriate way, including about calories if they were curious. I think supporting their self-worth overall, not linked to weight or appearance (or other things) is possible while teaching them more detailed information about nutrition and better choices.4
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