Sarah Thompson

I've asked about food before, and eagerly read food posts and food discussions, and I'm looking for some feedback.

My younger son can't find anything he likes except sweets and sometimes chips. Even foods he has liked at times, like hotdogs, pizza, chicken legs, sushi, and ham sandwiches, are left uneaten. I buy everything he asks for, and make huge selections for him to try (I never found a buffet restaurant but he never selects anything from a buffet of any kind, in a store or at a gathering), and he seems just miserable about it. He *wants* to like things, even thinks he does at first bite, but can't eat. He will eat candy and popsicles and waffles drowned in syrup-anything that is straight-up sugar.

He's hungry all the time, and exhausted by exercise, because he isn't getting enough fuel. He's very small for his age. This started when he was one, after he had to stop nursing in a traumatic way.

Does anyone out there have a child who was like this for years and then got past it?

Sarah

Bernadette Lynn

My son struggled to eat like that when he suffered from GERD (gastro-oesophegal reflux disorder). He was diagnosed at a few months old but suffered for years: it gave him heartburn when he swallowed anything. When it was bad, unless we gave him medication, he would only want icy, creamy, sweet stuff. He didn't know, for a long time, that it wasn't normal to feel uncomfortable when you ate anything.

My daughter, who was very small for her age, was exhausted by exercise and ate very little and mostly high-sugar chocolate-based things turned out to have a heart problem: easily fixed in the end, but it had a huge and lasting physical effect on her.

Don't assume that he's exhausted because he isn't eating enough, or that he can't eat because he doesn't like things. There could be something serious going on underneath. It might not be his fault, because of how he eats.



Bernadette.

-----

He's hungry all the time, and exhausted by exercise, because he isn't getting enough fuel. He's very small for his age. This started when he was one, after he had to stop nursing in a traumatic way.


Sarah Thompson

Good points. I took him to the doctor last year to check in, and she didn't find anything to worry about, but there could be an issue we haven't identified.

Sarah

Jo Isaac

Hi Sarah,

==Does anyone out there have a child who was like this for years and then got past it?==

I don't have a child who is like it, but I have a me who was a lot like that as a kid! I didn't eat much at all. My Mum says she chased me around putting chocolate in my mouth, and chocolate was one of the few things I ate. I was very small and skinny, and the doctor sent me to a medical place called a Sun Ray Centre in the 1970's (apparently really a bad thing, they've since found out!) - it was supposed to be for 'delicate children' and make you gain weight (it didn't work!).

I can't remember why I didn't like most foods. I don't remember it being a texture thing, or having any kind of pain or anything. I just didn't like the taste, as far as I recall. Over the years I just started eating more things though. Probably by the time I was a teenager I was eating pretty much what other kids were eating, although I always ate way more chocolate than other kids until I was in my 20's.

I wouldn't rule out something medical, as Bernadette said, but it *could* also just be a limited taste thing. I don't really remember being exhausted, even though I didn't eat a lot - so maybe that is something different to look in to? 

Ideas - Are there specific textures he tends to like more? Soft things? Or crunchy? 

Or is it that he just really prefers sweet things? Will he drink smoothies with ice cream and sweet fruits like berries in them, and a bit of honey? Do you make your own waffle batter - because that has plenty of protein from the eggs, and carbs from the flour. Will he pick at a monkey platter if it's left out? Does he like nuts? Can you put nuts in a smoothie, if he's more likely to drink stuff than eat it? 

Jo




Jo Isaac, PhD

Post-Doctoral Research Assistant, 
Centre of Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, 
James Cook University, Townsville.

Scientific Writer and Researcher: http://joisaac.wordpress.com


From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Sarah Thompson thompsonisland@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]>
Sent: 07 April 2016 01:18
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Another food question
 
 

I've asked about food before, and eagerly read food posts and food discussions, and I'm looking for some feedback.

My younger son can't find anything he likes except sweets and sometimes chips. Even foods he has liked at times, like hotdogs, pizza, chicken legs, sushi, and ham sandwiches, are left uneaten. I buy everything he asks for, and make huge selections for him to try (I never found a buffet restaurant but he never selects anything from a buffet of any kind, in a store or at a gathering), and he seems just miserable about it. He *wants* to like things, even thinks he does at first bite, but can't eat. He will eat candy and popsicles and waffles drowned in syrup-anything that is straight-up sugar.

He's hungry all the time, and exhausted by exercise, because he isn't getting enough fuel. He's very small for his age. This started when he was one, after he had to stop nursing in a traumatic way.

Does anyone out there have a child who was like this for years and then got past it?

Sarah

Alex & Brian Polikowsky

Ruling out medical issues maybe good.

Having said that it may be just his taste for now. 

You say he is small but how about your family? Is it genetic?
 My BIL was the tiny kid in the family and he grew up to be the tallest at 6'2"

My nephew was a preemie and always small and very skinny. He is a polevoulter for his university and is 5'10" and pure lean muscle very athletic now at 21.

There are so many things he can eat that are so delicious and good for him! Plus calories! Sweets have more calories in less bulk! Good if you want him to loose weight! 

My local Cotsco has this amazing pancake mix called Kodiak Flapjacks! That thing is packed with protein and my kids love it! Something like 18 grams of protein per serving!
You can make waffles with them and with lots of syrup sounds like a wonderful meal to me.

You don't really want him to be eating broccoli right! 😉

Smoothies, icecream, some wonderful cookies , muffins and such packed with goodies! 

Really! If you are worried he is not getting enough calories you should be happy he is going to sweets! 

Sweets with some good fats and a tad of protein look pretty good for a kid needing energy.

Maybe he gets a bit of anxiety around food because of you? 
Do you talk too much about him eating or not eating? Or not eating the right thing?Stop!

Food needs to be enjoyable  and guilt free. 

Alex P


Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 6, 2016, at 8:05 PM, Jo Isaac joanneisaac@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

 

Hi Sarah,

==Does anyone out there have a child who was like this for years and then got past it?==

I don't have a child who is like it, but I have a me who was a lot like that as a kid! I didn't eat much at all. My Mum says she chased me around putting chocolate in my mouth, and chocolate was one of the few things I ate. I was very small and skinny, and the doctor sent me to a medical place called a Sun Ray Centre in the 1970's (apparently really a bad thing, they've since found out!) - it was supposed to be for 'delicate children' and make you gain weight (it didn't work!).

I can't remember why I didn't like most foods. I don't remember it being a texture thing, or having any kind of pain or anything. I just didn't like the taste, as far as I recall. Over the years I just started eating more things though. Probably by the time I was a teenager I was eating pretty much what other kids were eating, although I always ate way more chocolate than other kids until I was in my 20's.

I wouldn't rule out something medical, as Bernadette said, but it *could* also just be a limited taste thing. I don't really remember being exhausted, even though I didn't eat a lot - so maybe that is something different to look in to? 

Ideas - Are there specific textures he tends to like more? Soft things? Or crunchy? 

Or is it that he just really prefers sweet things? Will he drink smoothies with ice cream and sweet fruits like berries in them, and a bit of honey? Do you make your own waffle batter - because that has plenty of protein from the eggs, and carbs from the flour. Will he pick at a monkey platter if it's left out? Does he like nuts? Can you put nuts in a smoothie, if he's more likely to drink stuff than eat it? 

Jo




Jo Isaac, PhD

Post-Doctoral Research Assistant, 
Centre of Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, 
James Cook University, Townsville.

Scientific Writer and Researcher: http://joisaac.wordpress.com


From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Sarah Thompson thompsonisland@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]>
Sent: 07 April 2016 01:18
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Another food question
 
 

I've asked about food before, and eagerly read food posts and food discussions, and I'm looking for some feedback.

My younger son can't find anything he likes except sweets and sometimes chips. Even foods he has liked at times, like hotdogs, pizza, chicken legs, sushi, and ham sandwiches, are left uneaten. I buy everything he asks for, and make huge selections for him to try (I never found a buffet restaurant but he never selects anything from a buffet of any kind, in a store or at a gathering), and he seems just miserable about it. He *wants* to like things, even thinks he does at first bite, but can't eat. He will eat candy and popsicles and waffles drowned in syrup-anything that is straight-up sugar.

He's hungry all the time, and exhausted by exercise, because he isn't getting enough fuel. He's very small for his age. This started when he was one, after he had to stop nursing in a traumatic way.

Does anyone out there have a child who was like this for years and then got past it?

Sarah

Sandra Dodd

Just in case you haven’t tried monkey platters, consider that. But SMALL ones. Saucer-sized. Maybe even the size of a whole hot dog is overwhelming to him.

-=-My younger son -=-

You didn’t say how old he is now, just that it had gone on since he was one.

-=-This started when he was one, after he had to stop nursing in a traumatic way.-=-

Breastmilk is very sweet and young children need that, so his preference for sweets isn’t surprising. Maybe you could think of sweeter foods that are also protein. Smoothies (but not a huge glass, just a small one). Protein drinks, protein bars?

If he’s still pretty young and you think it might be the trauma of whatever was happening when he stopped nursing, might sweet something in a baby bottle help? We used baby bottles when my kids were sick in the bed, for juice or milk.

Chocolate milk can seem substantial to a stomach, for a while (to stave off the hunger).

http://sandradodd.com/eating/monkeyplatter

Once when I asked for photos, people sent monkeyplatter photos, some of which seemed WAY too full of sweets for me. But in this case, those photos might be good to consider.
http://sandradodd.com/monkeyplatters/

if he likes cheese and maybe a little sausage (way disguised, probably) you could make some of these, with honey, and apple or raisins or something sweet:

http://sandradodd.com/sausageballs
(Someone brought some to the memorial service at my house yesterday, for my friend Helene.)

Sandra

Jo Isaac

Sandra said: 
==Chocolate milk can seem substantial to a stomach, for a while (to stave off the hunger).==

I was thinking chocolate milk too, as well as my ideas for sweet fruit smoothies. I make chocolate milk with Nutella (or any hazelnut/choc spread) - chuck it in the blender with some milk. Tastes awesome and a bit more protein to fill them up from the nuts.

Does he like cookies? Oatmeal choc chip cookies are great - lots of protein and fiber - we just followed the recipe on the Quaker Oats lid, but put in choc chips instead of raisins! http://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipe/vanishing-oatmeal-raisin-cookies.aspx




Jo Isaac, PhD

Post-Doctoral Research Assistant, 
Centre of Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, 
James Cook University, Townsville.

Scientific Writer and Researcher: http://joisaac.wordpress.com


From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]>
Sent: 07 April 2016 04:13
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] Another food question
 
 

Just in case you haven’t tried monkey platters, consider that. But SMALL ones. Saucer-sized. Maybe even the size of a whole hot dog is overwhelming to him.

-=-My younger son -=-

You didn’t say how old he is now, just that it had gone on since he was one.

-=-This started when he was one, after he had to stop nursing in a traumatic way.-=-

Breastmilk is very sweet and young children need that, so his preference for sweets isn’t surprising. Maybe you could think of sweeter foods that are also protein. Smoothies (but not a huge glass, just a small one). Protein drinks, protein bars?

If he’s still pretty young and you think it might be the trauma of whatever was happening when he stopped nursing, might sweet something in a baby bottle help? We used baby bottles when my kids were sick in the bed, for juice or milk.

Chocolate milk can seem substantial to a stomach, for a while (to stave off the hunger).

http://sandradodd.com/eating/monkeyplatter

Once when I asked for photos, people sent monkeyplatter photos, some of which seemed WAY too full of sweets for me. But in this case, those photos might be good to consider.
http://sandradodd.com/monkeyplatters/

if he likes cheese and maybe a little sausage (way disguised, probably) you could make some of these, with honey, and apple or raisins or something sweet:

http://sandradodd.com/sausageballs
(Someone brought some to the memorial service at my house yesterday, for my friend Helene.)

Sandra

Alex & Brian Polikowsky

My son is tall and lean and sometimes he seems to live on chocolate milk!

Not long ago I was worrying about him not eating much. Any little pressure he perceived made things worse.

Finally I relaxed and realize that I could be making things worse by creating some damage to his relationship with food so I stopped and relaxed.


He is fine! And eating pretty well , still talk and slender just like his dad was at that age!


Alex P

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 6, 2016, at 10:22 PM, Jo Isaac joanneisaac@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

 

Sandra said: 
==Chocolate milk can seem substantial to a stomach, for a while (to stave off the hunger).==

I was thinking chocolate milk too, as well as my ideas for sweet fruit smoothies. I make chocolate milk with Nutella (or any hazelnut/choc spread) - chuck it in the blender with some milk. Tastes awesome and a bit more protein to fill them up from the nuts.

Does he like cookies? Oatmeal choc chip cookies are great - lots of protein and fiber - we just followed the recipe on the Quaker Oats lid, but put in choc chips instead of raisins! http://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipe/vanishing-oatmeal-raisin-cookies.aspx




Jo Isaac, PhD

Post-Doctoral Research Assistant, 
Centre of Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, 
James Cook University, Townsville.

Scientific Writer and Researcher: http://joisaac.wordpress.com


From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]>
Sent: 07 April 2016 04:13
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] Another food question
 
 

Just in case you haven’t tried monkey platters, consider that. But SMALL ones. Saucer-sized. Maybe even the size of a whole hot dog is overwhelming to him.

-=-My younger son -=-

You didn’t say how old he is now, just that it had gone on since he was one.

-=-This started when he was one, after he had to stop nursing in a traumatic way.-=-

Breastmilk is very sweet and young children need that, so his preference for sweets isn’t surprising. Maybe you could think of sweeter foods that are also protein. Smoothies (but not a huge glass, just a small one). Protein drinks, protein bars?

If he’s still pretty young and you think it might be the trauma of whatever was happening when he stopped nursing, might sweet something in a baby bottle help? We used baby bottles when my kids were sick in the bed, for juice or milk.

Chocolate milk can seem substantial to a stomach, for a while (to stave off the hunger).

http://sandradodd.com/eating/monkeyplatter

Once when I asked for photos, people sent monkeyplatter photos, some of which seemed WAY too full of sweets for me. But in this case, those photos might be good to consider.
http://sandradodd.com/monkeyplatters/

if he likes cheese and maybe a little sausage (way disguised, probably) you could make some of these, with honey, and apple or raisins or something sweet:

http://sandradodd.com/sausageballs
(Someone brought some to the memorial service at my house yesterday, for my friend Helene.)

Sandra

Alex & Brian Polikowsky

<<>>>If he’s still pretty young and you think it might be the trauma of whatever was happening when he stopped nursing, might sweet something in a baby bottle help? We used baby bottles when my kids were sick in the bed, for juice or milk.>>>>


He does not have to be young!! I have no shame in saying that I not only drank, ask my mother to make it for me and made myself a bottle with milk and baby cereal ( farinha lactea- sold in Brazil and very very sweet) pretty much every morning until I was like 13!!

Heck I would drink it today! And I wanted it in a bottle! It gave me a warm feeling to wake up sucking that bottle. It made me feel wonderful!

I can still remember the feeling! Yep I am 50!

Alex P -who know wants to buy a baby bottle and some of that Brazilian cereal.....

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 6, 2016, at 10:13 PM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> If he’s still pretty young and you think it might be the trauma of whatever was happening when he stopped nursing, might sweet something in a baby bottle help? We used baby bottles when my kids were sick in the bed, for juice or milk.

Sandra Dodd

-=-Heck I would drink it today! And I wanted it in a bottle! It gave me a warm feeling to wake up sucking that bottle. It made me feel wonderful!-=-

And the small amounts taken in that way, gradually, might be helpful if it is digestive problems. Sometimes people’s digestive systems aren’t finished developing when they’re born and it can take a few years. It might be something that requires surgery, of course, for sure—but there are also systems that are still maturing, through childhood.

Sandra

Sarah Thompson

He's six. He doesn't like cookies or smoothies or homemade waffles, but I just remembered he sometimes likes cakes and cupcakes. I don't eat wheat (but I can touch it so I can cook with it) so I forgot all about that-I'll make some of those. Thanks for that memory jog.

He's little for our family, but we are average, not big. Doc said he's always tracked the low end of the chart (although he never saw a doctor as a nursing infant to compare that period), so I try to remind myself that it's not a symptom of anything. His color and hair are good and he *can* play without burning out-maybe he doesn't need as many calories as I think.

Sarah

<kelly@...>

My daughter, now 9.5, has a very limited palate. She eats a lot of
sweets, and sweet is her preferred flavor :-)

While researching what might be causing her palate to be so specific
(sweets, ham, bacon, a particular gluten free bread, rice), I found a
link between iron deficiency and a shrinking palate. She used to eat a
wider variety of foods, including carrots, watermelon, grapes,
cauliflower, and sometimes bits of broccoli, so getting down to just the
sweets, ham, and limited other white foods was a bit alarming.

My pediatrician confirmed that an iron deficiency can cause the taste
buds to accept fewer and fewer things. I have not had her tested,
because right now, she is terrified of the idea. Thankfully, my
pediatrician is very supportive of our unschooling life approach, and is
fine with not doing the blood test for iron deficiency.

If your child is willing, you might consider testing for this, and
having your child tested for food allergies. Food allergies can account
for a lot of food aversions in children.

Kelly

cheri.tilford@...

>>digestive systems aren’t finished developing when they’re born and it can take a few years<<

my daughter visited a cranial sacral/physical therapist once for a spinal adjustment (it was an attempt to fix an eye turn, which didn't work, but we learned a ton about proper alignment) and this woman was a veritable fount of knowledge about the interconnectedness of all bodily systems, and how they're all tied to the spine and the nerves coming out of the central nervous system. 
even a minor misalignment can cause pain and malfunction, as nerves and muscles are tweaked off-balance and pulled the wrong way. there are lots of parts to the digestive system, and a teensy bit of pulling on a nerve in any part will disrupt smooth functioning. not to mention the digestive system in a perfectly healthy person may not be fully developed until age 6 or 7.

questions I was asked to ascertain if there could be an alignment issue: 
how fast was the birth? quick passage through the birth canal can squish the skull bones out of alignment, affecting the whole spine, and therefore everything else. this can be fixed by a cranial sacral therapist. 
has there ever been a fall on the head or butt (tail bone)? ever tumbled down the stairs or fallen off a playground? ever been in a car accident? bike accident? anything that gives the body a good jostling can knock things out of whack. 

not sure what the alternative medical community is like in your area, but it might be worth seeking out a practitioner who treats the WHOLE person, not just specific parts at a time. cranial sacral therapy and acupuncture/acupressure come to mind for me. 


cheers,
cheri

Sandra Dodd

-=-My pediatrician confirmed that an iron deficiency can cause the taste
buds to accept fewer and fewer things. I have not had her tested,
because right now, she is terrified of the idea.-=-

Why test?
If it might be an iron deficiency, give her iron supplements for a while.

If the child in the original question is strong enough and healthy enough, and young, and there ARE many foods available, let’s not scare the mom into thinking there’s something terribly wrong with him.

And suggestions of medical intervention (alternative or otherwise) are probably premature, and are not about unschooling. People come here to discuss how unschooling can be affected, or can affect, the situations they bring, so please don’t treat this discussion as though the questions are “What in all the earth should I be considering?” They can go elsewhere in all the earth to look for those ideas.

Here, the topic should be what can be done normally, in terms of learning and relationships, acceptance, assistance, a positive and peaceful environment.

If the mom hasn’t had bread around, that might be another thing a six year old would eat. Anytime a parent’s special diet is applied to a young child, that can be a problem. Children NEED sweet foods to grow. If he would like anything in the form of nutella, peanut butter, jam, on bread and that has NOT been an option, the mother is unnaturally limting his options, and his learning, and perhaps his health.

Deb Lewis brought this do a discussion years ago. The title the editors put on says “might,” but the details in the article are not “might be.”

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2011/09/26/140753048/kids-sugar-cravings-might-be-biological

Here is more, on my site

http://sandradodd.com/sugar

For any parent reading here who thinks children are harmed by sugar, or that most people are harmed by gluten, there is a condition parents are succumbing to lately, in the hundreds of thousands of people, or millions. It’s a disorder like anorexia, or bulimia, but it can affect the whole family directly—it can cause divorces, and cause the children not to trust the parents (for good reason): orthorexia. It is the belief (false) that there are foods that will immediately do severe damage, and that even touching them can harm you, and that IF someone can control the (imagined) purity of foods they ingest, that they will have near-magical results)—intelligence, creativity, long life. The belief is contagious, especially to people who are fearful or gullible. It harms unschooling, because it’s illogical and extreme and ends up involving shame and control (if it hasn’t already started there).

If a parent focusses on food as dangerous, dirty, alarming, deadly—that can be passed on to children, even vaguely, in the mood of the kitchen.

http://www.orthorexia.com/what-is-orthorexia/
If you don’t like that page, google orthorexia and read about it, if you don’t already know.

Sandra

Cass Kotrba

-- My younger son can't find anything he likes except sweets and sometimes chips. -/

My son went through a period where he had a really hard time finding anything he liked and he survived mostly on ice cream. I remembered reading an article that said vanilla ice cream is the closest food to mother's milk and that makes sense to me. Sweet, creamy, lots of good fats & protein. And for my daughter, if she could only have one food for the rest of her life I think it would be chocolate pudding or choc milk. 

My daughter has always been small and a petite eater. She has always gravitated to sweets & starches. I have noticed that with both of my kids, when they have a growth spurt they will crave foods with higher protein & fat content. It is especially noticeable in my daughter. Since she started going through puberty she has started craving lots of chicken (nuggets, legs & sandwiches). Lately she likes lg pieces of pepperoni wrapped around thin pieces of cheese sticks and broiled until the cheese is all melty.  I remember that when I would feed myself as a teen it would be melted cheese and ice cream! 

Something that has helped recently (this may be more useful for an older child, mine are 13 & 11) is watching cooking shows. We just watched two seasons of "Worst Cooks In America" followed by a bunch of "Good Eats" on Netflix and all 3 of us felt inspired! Jade decided she wanted to make Asian Dumplings when she saw that because her Sims sometimes love that food. (They call it Dim Sum on Sims, I think, and I'm not sure what the difference is.) I've never been into Asian food and had never made a dumpling but we found a recipe and we did it! Now we're both in love with them! 

My son made himself a hamburger a couple of times last week and it was so good - because he made it himself! We made a pizza, too, but that was kind of a disaster and he doesn't want to try again yet. I'll suggest it again down the road because he does like pizza but gets burnt out from eating the same two kinds too often. 

Over time we are gradually finding more and more things they each like and I try to get a rotation going so they don't burn out on each thing. They'll like something for awhile and then get sick of it so I try not to suggest that thing for about a month or so. I am always searching for things they will like and it's not easy but as they grow they are beginning to find more and more things. 

I have a recipe for spaghetti and meatballs that they go nuts over. They'll eat 8 meatballs each! They'll eat it once or twice a day for about a week and then they burn out. It takes at least 2 months for them to get excited about it again. 

Sent from my iPhone

Cass Kotrba

-- He will eat candy and popsicles--

I used to make Popsicles a lot. When we lived in the city we had a milkman and they had this berry flavored juice that was SO good. I'd mix in some frozen berries and I loved them as much as the kids. Tasted like summer. You could dissolve some plain gelatin in the juice first for some flavorless protein. I took the addition of other foods too far with the Popsicles and I don't recommend that! That's been a long time ago now, though. I have inspired myself - think I'm going to go look for our Popsicle mold and try to find some really tasty juice! Or - pudding pops? Chocolate milk frozen is good, too.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 6, 2016, at 6:19 PM, Sarah Thompson thompsonisland@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> he does at first bite, but can't eat. He will eat candy and popsicles

semajrak@...

<<His color and hair are good and he *can* play without burning out-maybe he doesn't need as many calories as I think.>>

Ethan (now 13) said to me just yesterday, "I've noticed that I don't have a lot of endurance when it comes to physical activities."  This was after nearly three hours of hammering metal in a hot blacksmith shop!  I pointed that out to him, and he smiled and said, "Oh yeah!"  He went on to tell me that he finds he tires of running after about a minute and a half.  I'm not sure why he was thinking about that.  He must have been reflecting on something, but I didn't ask what. I suggested to him that things like running for long periods of time usually take time and practice to build up stamina, and if he was interested in running, I have no doubt he could build up great stamina for it in no time.  I reminded him that he was quickly building up stamina for swimming laps in our community pool when he was interested in doing that.  He thought about that for a minute.  Then he said something like "I think I don't really have any interest in running long distances," which, of course, is perfectly fine.  I don't have any interest in doing laps in a pool.  :-) 

I loved running long distances as a kid.  I loved walking for hours too.  I still could walk for hours, especially in new and interesting places.  I get bored walking on a treadmill.  I've been trying different things to keep me going, but I notice I tire a lot quicker on a treadmill than I ever would outdoors.  I just love wandering, while looking at things.  But, unlike myself (as a child), Ethan prefers to run in short bursts, and he gets bored of walking great lengths.  He'll walk a while, then want to stop and explore, unless there is a big hill near by--then he's at the top before I've climbed twenty feet. :-)  Although he likes running in short bursts, he'll quickly tire of tag.  He doesn't prefer that game, or games like it.  While he loves climbing on rocks outdoors, he'll tire on indoor climbing structures unless they're new and have challenges he hasn't experienced before. 

I think sometimes physically burning out can just be lack of interest in pursuing an activity further.  If Ethan wanted to climb a big hill, and couldn't physically do it, I think I'd be concerned and have him checked out to make sure there wasn't a health issue we need to address.  But, in his case, I notice when he wants to do something physical, he's very capable.  When he's not so interested, he seems to tire more easily.  That seems perfectly normal to me.  

Karen James

Sandra Dodd

-=-I notice when he wants to do something physical, he's very capable. When he's not so interested, he seems to tire more easily. That seems perfectly normal to me. -=-

Like ADD for kinesthetic activities. :-)

School’s definition of ADD is about passive listening to a teacher droning on. The real disorder would be someone who COULD listen attentively to something boring (or at least fake doing so) for twelve years. [I suppose worksheets and read-the-chapter-and-answer-the-questions are included in ADD complaints by schools.]

Perhaps people who can and do run if they don’t want to, or swim if they don’t want to, without getting tired, can make good marines. People who can listen to things they don’t want to listen to…. I don’t know what job would be good for them.

People who can eat what doesn’t seem good to them, that doesn’t appeal to them—that doesn’t seem healthy, either. if someone eats just enough and stops, but there is still food available, that could be good judgement and we shouldn’t be measuring—just making an assortment of food easily available, I think.

Sandra

Cass Kotrba


-- People who can listen to things they don’t want to listen to…. I don’t know what job would be good for them.--

Customer service. :)

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Cass Kotrba

-- that IF someone can control the (imagined) purity of foods they ingest, that they will have near-magical results)—intelligence, creativity, long life. --

My daughter has always preferred sweet and starchy foods. She also has asthma & allergies. I went through a period for a few years where I tightly controlled our food in hopes that doing so would improve my daughter's health. Well guess what- controlling her diet never did resolve her health issues but controlling her food definitely created conflict in our relationship.

When we started unschooling I stopped my controlling and she started exploring all of the foods that had been previously forbidden. For over a year she ate those previously forbidden foods almost exclusively and had no interest in the foods that she ate during the controlled period. We would search the aisles of the grocery store looking for foods that appealed to her. We bought variety packs so she & her brother could try lots of different things.

I would promise her that I was never going to go back to controlling her food and she would look me dead in the eye and say "I don't believe you."

It took a long time and a pattern of being trustworthy to earn her trust back. Eventually she returned to choosing foods because they felt and tasted good, not because they had been previously forbidden. Once her emotions around food finally settled back down I realized that she was choosing basically the same foods that she'd chosen during her pre-controlled years.

She has always known what her body needs more than I have. That makes sense since she's the one living in it!

Here's the biggest thing I've noticed with this experience - when I stopped controlling her food and started implementing unschooling principles HER HEALTH GOT BETTER. Asthma symptoms decreased and became less intense. Her skin used to be dry & have little bumps on it and it gradually became soft and smooth. *** As her life became easier and happier her health improved. ***

Emotions have a huge effect on health. Instead of focusing energy on controlling and bringing balance it is more effective to focus on bringing joy, acceptance and laughter.


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Sarah Thompson

I just want to clarify that there is lots of bread in the house (and plenty of other stuff). I'm trying to manage Hashimoto's Disease, but no one else in the house is on any kind of special diet.

Sarah