Children that are allowed to eat/graze constantly?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Yeah, I have to say that it's genius to tell a the parent of a type one diabetic that they should eat more carbohydrate.

And seriously, if they think a young man eating more than two weetabix is a binge, they're in for a shock - 2 weetabix is 134 calories. So eating six plus say, a pint of semi skimmed, is only about 402 + 250 = 652 calories, which, for a young man, is not a particularly significant part of total daily energy requirements of around 2500 - 3000 kcals.

Even before you get the issue of diabetes interfering with carbohydrate metabolism.



But thanks for the medical advice. I'm sure it'll help.

gingin_2

pigpen wrote: »

His diabetes team think he is doing extremely well and I am very proud of how he manages it all.. we don't need the opinion of unqualified experts.

I think you've had a hard time, too.

He deserves a medal for eating 6 weetabix, I'm assuming if he's diabetic he has no sugar on them either - they taste like cardboard to me, even worse without sugar. My-not-very-big son has had 3 in a sitting since he was 9.

pigpen

gingin.. none of them have sugar on cereal, they never have. Apparently according to my 86 y/o gran I am depriving them lol.

sooty&sweep

Hi

I certainly don't allow my two to graze on chocolate, biscuits crisps sweets etc because for me those are treats not meals and given the opportunity they would fill up on them and then not want their tea.
In terms of healthier options I'm a little more lenient. My daughter won't eat a large portion so she may get hungry before we''re going to eat tea so I will let her snack on fruit etc. She's more a five smaller meals rather than three square meals type of child.

Jen

Bluemeanie_2

I wouldn't worry about long term health effects of anything. My experience ispeople who are jolly and happy live longest! The ones who obsess over health, exercise regularly etc are the ones that peg it young!

Shepherd1

pigpen wrote: »

gingin.. none of them have sugar on cereal, they never have. Apparently according to my 86 y/o gran I am depriving them lol.

My gran was the same she put sugar on/in loads of things. Sliced apple and banana were covered in sugar and she even put it in lemonade. She was healthy, lived to 87 and went swimming everyday until she was in her 70's.

BillyB

I have to say, in our house the kids mainly have set meals with only a snack or 2, but the youngest has hollow legs.. She's always hungry, always asking for food + is really slim.

mumps

There are two ways to look at this, some people have said if they are allowed to eat al day they will end up overweight. My kids were always allowed to help themselves, if something was bought as a one each they would be told and respected that. They are all thin and I think that is because food was never an issue and they learned to eat what they needed at an early age whereas I know some of their friends whose mothers controlled what they were able to eat and as soon as they were old enough to buy what they wanted they went out of control.

One of mine never stopped eating, I can't imagine where it all went but at 15 his bmi was 17 and falling. Heaven alone knows what it would have been if I hadn't let him graze all day.

I know it must be difficult if you have a very tight budget but I found that grazing didn't have to cost a fortune although I did spend alot on fruit.

rosalie-lavender

pigpen wrote: »

gingin.. none of them have sugar on cereal, they never have. Apparently according to my 86 y/o gran I am depriving them lol.

We had to put our foot down with my mil over sugar on cereal. My three were all quite happy to have cereal without sugar until Grandma got hold of them. One day one of them was eating weetabix she had made him and we could hear the sugar crunching, she had put so much on.:eek:
When mine were younger the rule was they could help themselves at any time to fruit or veg but they had to ask for anything else.

I also had one who sometimes ate 5 or 6 weetabix for breakfast and could eat 5 slices of toast for breakfast. He didn't eat much else during the day though until teatime.

I am a grazer and can't eat big meals in one go so three meals a day doesn't work for me. I don't see much problem with several smaller meals/snacks as long as what they are eating is healthy. It is also dependent on how active they are. I would love to have half the energy of some of the children I work with, they never seem to stop.

thunderbird

pigpen wrote: »

gingin.. none of them have sugar on cereal, they never have. Apparently according to my 86 y/o gran I am depriving them lol.

They already have sugar in them don't they?