Protein powders...and kids?

C

clareMc

Cathlete
Hi:

do any of you feed protein powders to your children? Is it safe? Do they stomach them well? Which one appeals to kids?

The reason I ask is that my eldest daughter is practically giving up eating. She's 10, thin as a rail, and more bones are sticking out than before. She has no interest in eating, rarely ever asks for food, i.e., does not register the biological drive of hunger, and sees food as an interruption to the real business of life: play.

We are vegetarian, but she barely falls under this category. She's such a picky eater I can't actually get her to eat any fruit or vegetable that is recognisable as such. Even though I make my own "Spaghetti sauce" which is actually my deceit since it is lentil stew thick with leeks, carrots, peppers, tomatoes and lentils, all pureed in tomato sauce so she doesn't know what she's eating), I can't make her eat this every day, she refuses.

She has started not using the money I send in her lunch box to buy milk for actually buying milk, and I find it later in her pockets. So, she's really not getting any protein with her school, midday meal. Sometimes her lunchbox comes home full, and I realize she has gone all day with no food at all. This is not normal, surely. I don't think she's getting enough protein at all, and I am getting so worried about her. If left to her own devices, her every meal would be "cereal" or "bread with nothing on it" or "spaghetti with shop-bought sauce". Why is she so carbs dominant?

Aaaaaaaaaaargh! It's enough to make a mother scream.

In the calmer parts of my mind (!!), I wondered if I might start making her chocolate smoothies with protein powders in them to give her diet a boost.

What do you think? Which protein powders are least detectable in smoothies? Do any of you have any fab choc smoothie receipes to share?

Do your kids like them?

Any advice on this situation at all, of any kind, will be so gratefully received. I really don't want to take her to the shrink.

Thanks,

Clare, (anxious and desperate mother, sob, sniff, ;()
 
Clare, I'm not a mother, but what you have described is profoundly disturbing.

I'll suggest this as gently as possible, and out of a spirit of deep concern: I think your daughter, as young as she is, may be profoundly anorexic. I know you do not want to take her to a "shrink", but if she is routinely rejecting most food intake, coming home with leftover food money, and is thin as a rail, her problem IMHO will not be fixed by finding a protein powder to sneak into her food.

I think your daughter needs to be evaluated by her pediatrician, for a full physical body work-up AND an evaluation of her emotional attitudes toward food and her body.

Sorry if this causes offense, but again, it's out of concern.

A-Jock
 
Annette:

absolutely no offence taken because.....this thought and fear has already occurred to me and I have been discussing this very possibility with my husband for a week now. In a way, this is every mother's worse nightmare, especially, because I recognize in her all the signs of the behaviours I too engaged in, which lead to 15 years playing with eating disorders. My hope has always been that my girls would not fall into this pattern of behaviour, and I know my little one will not. She's another whole genetic ball game. She's my happy child. I have been on the lookout for signs that my eldest daughter has inherited my psychological disorders...and it is disturbing to see it beginning in one so young. Aged 10 I could never get enough to eat.

So, no offence taken, and in fact, it is interesting to have this conclusion be reached by a third party, based on objective review of the symptoms. Thanks for your honesty.

Clare
 
Hi Clare, I am in the same situation as you with my 8 year old son that yesterday I took him to the Dr because just seeing him so bony and skinny scared me. What my Ped. suggest his to buy the Carnation mix and give it to him in the morning with his cearel because he will eat his cereal. You just mix it with milk and supposenly the Dr said it is healty. Also she said the pedicare shakes are good but it is pricey that is why she suggest the Carnation drinks because it is just the same. My son loss weight because he is on medication for ADD which makes you lose your apetite. Another suggestion is how about making her a Icecream shake? That was another suggestion from my Dr but for me I just like giving him the carnation. I know what your going through so we both have to hang in there and try different things to see what helps. I have to go back in 3 monthes to check his weight to see how he is doing. Good luck;-)
 
Barbara:

thanks for the suggestions and the shared anxiety!

Just exactly what is this Carnation mix stuff and where do you buy it?

I'll try anything.

Clare
 
I'm pretty sure you can buy it in the cereal aisle - it's called Carnation breakfast drink or something along those lines. It comes in individual packets (like hot chocolate) and you are supposed to mix it with milk.
Tracy
 
As a rule, I hide all protein supplements from my 3-year-old. He had a bite of a Zone bar once (chocolate peanut) and he now thinks those are treats. When he catches me with a protein shake, I don't let him sip any. Instead I make him his own with low-fat milk and a scoop of Healthy Choice ice cream. I tell him that my shake has "medicine" in it. These supplements have added vitamins and minerals that may be too much for kids.

The Carnation mix is a great suggestion. I also mix some cottage cheese into my son's lite fruit cocktail for added protein. I also make grilled cheese sandwiches using low-fat cheese and whole wheat bread (about 12 grams of protein per sandwich; make sure the first ingredient of the whole wheat bread is STONE GROUND whole wheat). Good luck.

Pinky
 
Hi Clare your very welcome:) We are here for each other. Tracey is right but in my A&P it is where the coffee and the hot coco is. Let us know how your daughter does.
 
Clare, have you spoken to your pediatrician about this? I don't mean to be offensive or anything, but I wouldn't just start playing around with supplments and such without a physician's guidance. If your daughter won't eat, it could be something more serious. I think her doctor should be involved in anything you decide to do. Just the nurse in me here speaking, okay? :)

Carol
:)
 
I have a son that is 12 almost 13 and weighs only 68 pounds and there is always plenty of food in the house but he is the most picky eater I have ever seen, what my son's pediatrician has said to feed him is high calorie foods, I feed him Ensure because it is a tad bit better than carnation breakfasts but I also feed him that in a shake concoction I make, I use ice cream whole milk and what ever flavor they like and I also add the carnation instant breakfast to that mixture.
Also I have been beaten up for this, but I was told by nutritionists at a childrens hospital to butter everything!! well at least all the veggies you can. Also you can ask your pediatrician for a good nutritionist to help.
I feel for you there I know where you are coming from.
I am not an expert and I also struggle to get my son to gain weight, also here is a shed of light, my daughter that is now 14 was also very thin and now she eats real well and is not as big as the other girls her age but she is definatly gaining weight now, and was told it has alot to do with puberty. I hope that is the case!! LOL if so then I have hope for my son.
 
I should have mentioned that the butter thing was adviced to me by nutritionists at WIC ( WOmen Infants and children) and also a nutritionist at a childrens hospital.
I aslo take him in for weigh ins at the doctors office at about every two weeks to once a month but I do weigh ins at home and keep record of his weight gain and he gets sooooooooo excited when he gaines a pound, even an ounce he is in 7'th heaven!!
 
Leslie you are so right, that is what my peditrian said is to add butter to everything. Also I went from 1% milk to whole milk. So hopefully in his 3 month recheck he will put on some weight. He does seem to like the coffee flavor carnation the best.
 
I am so glad, my peditrician also said to give ice cream over yogurt it is better for the smaller kids that need to gain weight.
I was also wondering if I got him into strength training to help him build muscles if that would help on his stature also. he will be 13 in just two months. I have not run that by the pediatrician yet. I was going to ask him on his next weigh in.
 
Carol:

thanks for your concern and I appreciate it. And as you know, every mother has an in-built nurse (cleaner, taxi-driver, teacher, school counsellor, etc!!!!) inside of her and so I have already booked my daughter in to see the doctor tomorrow afternoon for a complete physical and to discuss these issues.

Personally, I always err on the side of the over-cautious, and I research everything to death before I take the slightest step where health is concerned, which is why I always post here with concerns to pick the brains of all of you with your wealth of life experiences. I would always prefer to plump up my daughter and her diet with real foods before resorting to artificial supplements. I guess I was sending out feelers to the Mums of other picky eaters out there!

See you!

Clare
 
Leslie:


I hear you! Being the mother of picky eaters is not an easy life!

Tell me, what brand of ice cream made with whole milk do you use?

I already feed my daughter strictly whole milk and yoghurt made with whole milk too. She loves ice cream and has this for dessert most days.

The butter thing is an idea that I will try, so thanks. And I am going to check out the carnation thing too.

Thanks for giving me hope, via your daughter's experience, that my Martha may yet, in time, develop hips and arms I cannot get my hands around!

Thanks to all you ladies for your help and suggestions. Keep them coming!

Clare
 
Barbara

Thanks for the link, this stuff looks like exactly what I was looking for! I am so glad. Now I hope she will actually like it. I might even start using it myself. The list of minerals and vitamins in it is quite impressive.

Clare
 
Clare, it is really yummy because I took a sip of his. His favorite flavor so far is the coffee, can you believe it. I really don't think their is anything wrong giving this to her. Let me know how she likes it. I hope she does. You can even make it hot, like hot coco, yummy:).
 
To all who showed concern and gave advice:


an update:

I took my daughter to the doctors where she was pronounced completely healthy. Seems I had underestimated her weight and she has actually put on 7 pounds in the last year, now weighing 70 pounds, just under the fiftieth percentile for her age.

Also they measured her blood iron count and I am pleased to say it was very high, much better than mine has ever been, so even though she looks to me like a stick and hardly eats anything, she is obviously eating enough to be healthy.

The first thing the doctor said to me was," well, for heaven's sake, just look at you! Her mother is a tall, thin woman so why should we be surprised that the daughter is too!!" We,, put like that, it seems to make sense. But you know how it is: firstly, we do not see ourselves as others see us, and secondly, it's part of a mother's make-up to be on the look-out for her children and encourage them to EAT MORE!!! Good job I'm not an Italian MAMMA, or my kids would never hear the end of it.

But Martha and I had a heart to heart the other night and it came out that she's been a bit upset recently becuase the girl who asked whether they could be best friends a couple of weeks ago then got angry with her in science class and said she didn't want to be best friends anymore and just dropped Martha. Martha is a shy, gawky, brainy kid whom her peers admire for her intelligence, but it's so hard for her to make friends because of her timidity. So this girl's bitchiness really got her down, and well, she lost her appetite for a while.

It's kind of sad, girls are so bitchy to eachother. I remember all that #### happening at school when I was little. If only they knew, that it's their female friends who will see them through life.......
My heart goes out to shy girls evrywhere, and to their mothers....

Clare
 
My 14 year old daughter is the same way, she is shy and quiet and hard to make friends, well one day she came home from school in tears and says all her friends only talk to her when they want to get a good grade on an assignment and then ignore her the rest of the day, and talk about how kids can be mean, she also said some jack assed boy came up to her and spit in her face!!! you can say I wanted to knock his lights out LOL. And then when she had her cast on after her biopsy and bone graft some kids would walk up to her and kick her leg to see what would happen.
Yes some kids today are so cruel!! but how can you get her through these trying times in her life?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top