Heidi Crane

Hi Jenny

From what you've described, it sounds like they're grazing, which is good.
If they aren't sitting down to a stack of pancakes and two scrambled eggs,
and a glass of juice, at breakfast time, then their tummies probably do feel
hungry, and so they nibble through the day. Overeating means eating past the
point of feeling full. I'd observe them without comment. Just watch. Are
they really eating to excess? Don't fret about it. No comments. Just
observe. And make sure their days have other interesting things in them.
Sandbox play, walking the dogs, coloring, park time. Children's museum? You
know, provide lots of variety of activities, so they aren't always hanging
out in the house. That's MY big downfall in the eating arena. Hang out at
home, get bored, open the fridge. bleh. Not good.

Our two mid-kids eat when and what they want, mostly. We like having a
family Dinner At the Table once in awhile, and I'll ask them on those days
not to snack after such and such a time, because we're having a sit down
dinner. Also, they know if they eat it all, and the food budget is
stretched, they'll have to wait for their favorites until the next paycheck.
They're bigger, though. 12 and 10. Capable of consuming a gallon of milk in
an afternoon. ;) Maybe if they'd always had this food freedom, they'd be
less likely to munch it all down, as mid-kids. who knows?

Oh. The sugar thing. My 12 yob has had cavities at every dentist visit. He
brushes every night (we recently got him an electric toothbrush at the
dentist's recommendation)...anyway, the dentist told me, it's the sweets he
eats. If he's going to eat sugary stuff, then brushing very thoroughly, and
frequently, is in order. So, the Froot Loops? Just make sure they brush, is
my advice. Or give them water to drink through the day. That'll rinse the
teeth. I'm all for kids making choices, but when I have to foot the bill for
the dental caries...then I get to tell them what to do. LOL

blessings, HeidiC

>Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 12:54:42 -0000
> From: "beanmommy2" <beanmommy2@...>
>Subject: Intro and food concerns
>
>Hello, my name is Jenny and this is my first post to this group. I
>have two girls, ages four and two, and have been reading about
>unschooling for about three years now. A couple of you may know me
>from one of the Christian lists.
>Anyway! I'm wondering if, in my quest for them making choices, I'm
>being too passive. The concerns I have are mostly with my four year
>old, although my two year does similar things to a lesser extent.
>
>She/they seem to want to eat all day long! For the four year old,
>breakfast might be two bowls of oatmeal, or maybe something like
>rice chex, and/or a couple eggs. They both often help themselves
>to "stick cheese" sometimes several times a day. They also both like
>to have "snack bowls" of dry cereal throughout the day, usually
>Froot Loops or maybe Chex or Cheerios.
>
>My oldest does not like fruit much; she might eat some once or twice
>a week. If I serve peas, corn, or potatoes at dinner, she'll usually
>have some.
>
>I guess now that I'm typing it doesn't sound too bad. My main
>concerns are that they are just eating too much or having "bad
>habits." They like to eat snack bowls while they watch TV or when I
>read to them, or even during short car rides, isn't that something
>pediatricians say not to allow? They eat *several* times a day;
>maybe like eight, but I couldn't even know. It seems like all day I
>hear "I'm hungry" or "I want a snack" or see them reaching for more
>cheese. I'm just afraid that kind of Eating Continually will lead to
>overeating.
>
>My other concern is them eating things like Froot Loops and candy.
>The obvious answer would be, Don't buy those things ... but I don't
>want any one food, really, to be "forbidden" or something "we don't
>keep in our house," so when they're in the store with me and ask for
>those chewy, sugary fruit snacks, or whatever, I let them get it.
>
>I've talked with my four year old about things like listening to
>your tummy, when it says it's empty or filled up. We've also talked
>about eating a variety of different foods, which I guess she does to
>some extent. I have noticed that she *will* announce, "I'm done"
>herself and leave even things like ice cream or cake and walk away
>from them. On one hand, I'm glad *she* is the one making that
>decision, instead of me telling her when she's had enough. But I'm
>wondering if she's eating too much before she stops.
>
>So I can't tell, even as I'm writing this, if I'm "worrying about
>nothing" or if I need to guide her a little more in her choices, or
>something else.
>
>Thanks
>Jenny

soggyboysmom

--- In [email protected], "Heidi Crane"
<bunsofaluminum60@h...> wrote:
>>
> Oh. The sugar thing. My 12 yob has had cavities at every dentist
>visit. He
> brushes every night (we recently got him an electric toothbrush at
the
> dentist's recommendation)...anyway, the dentist told me, it's the
>sweets he
> eats. If he's going to eat sugary stuff, then brushing very
>thoroughly, and
> frequently, is in order. So, the Froot Loops? Just make sure they
>brush, is
> my advice. Or give them water to drink through the day. That'll
>rinse the
> teeth. I'm all for kids making choices, but when I have to foot
>the bill for
> the dental caries...then I get to tell them what to do. LOL
>
> blessings, HeidiC
Actually, there are so many things that go into dental caries that
it isn't simply eat sweets/brush teeth. There is a viral aspect to
it. There's heredity. There's what you eat and when. There's
brushing/flossing. There's individual variations in mouth chemistry
(pH). There's things like allergies/nasal congestion/post nasal drip
that lead to open-mouth breathing and bacteria in the mouth/throat.
Lots of stuff. To make it "brush after sweets" is to oversimplify.
Eating aged cheeses like cheddar is said to be good if you can't get
to a toothbrush because it changes the pH in the mouth. Eating
raisins is worse than eating a Hershey bar - the sticky sugars and
sugars that stay in the mouth (regular chewing gum, lifesavers, soda
pop, etc) are more of a problem than a pack of chocolate candies.

[email protected]

In a message dated 5/27/2005 8:08:55 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
debra.rossing@... writes:

there are so many things that go into dental caries that
it isn't simply eat sweets/brush teeth. There is a viral aspect to
it. There's heredity. There's what you eat and when. There's
brushing/flossing. There's individual variations in mouth chemistry
(pH). There's things like allergies/nasal congestion/post nasal drip
that lead to open-mouth breathing and bacteria in the mouth/throat.
Lots of stuff. To make it "brush after sweets" is to oversimplify.
Eating aged cheeses like cheddar is said to be good if you can't get
to a toothbrush because it changes the pH in the mouth. Eating
raisins is worse than eating a Hershey bar - the sticky sugars and
sugars that stay in the mouth (regular chewing gum, lifesavers, soda
pop, etc) are more of a problem than a pack of chocolate candies.




And then there's all the "What we Just Don't Know Yet" aspect.
I've never known a dentist yet who was interested in the future of the
profession, or in cutting edge research. They just do what they learned in dental
school ten or thirty or forty years ago. And they tell those simplified
lies like if you brush your teeth you won't have cavities.

I was getting an infection around a tooth once, and asked the assistant
what I could do dietarily to help, like what foods or vitamins might be good.
She looked at me that still look, with hard blinks, like people do when you've
just said something that *might * be important but that they never expected
to hear in a million years and had never once EVER connected with the subject
at hand. Then she came back to herself, thought (the faraway
into-the-mists-of-time look) and said something about vitamin C, and maybe E, and trailed
off. But it shook her a bit to think to maybe possibly recommend diet and
other health factors about something like... in*fec*tion.............

Her best recommendation before that had been to tie a knot in the dental
floss and really make the gums bleed there.

I've had infections on the outside of me before, and nobody's said "really
make it bleed there."

Because I try to be as honest with my kids as I can be, I've avoided pat
answers to "Why?" and the most I'll say is "A lot of dentists say..." and never
"this *IS* caused by that," because much medical this-to-that is found false
twice in a lifetime anymore. They'll change their minds again before my
kids are parents about what they just changed their minds about recently, so I
don't press or swear to anything. I say "Might," "seems" and "they say."

Sandra


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Elizabeth Hill

**

But it shook her a bit to think to maybe possibly recommend diet and
other health factors about something like... in*fec*tion.............**

Garlic? Salt water or listerine? (Ow!)

I've been wondering why if cavities are caused by bacteria dentists don't prescribe antibiotics? (But I haven't wondered hard enough to ask either my dentist or "Jeeves".)

Being told "the right answers" in school sure seems to limit future thought.

Betsy

**
and the most I'll say is "A lot of dentists say...**

Or the classic -- "four out of five dentists surveyed recommend..." <g>

Robyn Coburn

<<<< I'm all for kids making choices, but when I have to foot
the bill for the dental caries...then I get to tell them what to do. LOL
>>>>>

I see that you are laughing, but this idea is one step away from a bunch of
really horrible parenting ideas:

"while you are under my roof, you'll do as I say/follow my rules"

"I paid for that class, so you have to finish the whole course"

"I paid for the computer/game system/tv/videos so I can take them away"

"Food costs money, clean your plate"

Etc.

Did any of us think bringing up children would be financially unimposing?

Sometimes kids with the best dental hygiene in the world still need
orthodontics.
Sometimes kids accidentally get hit in the teeth with a baseball.

"I pay for your clothes. I'll choose what you may wear."

It's right up there with having an expectation of gratitude as being "owed"
obedience.

It reminds me of the scene in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" when Sidney
Poitier's character says to his father, "You did what you were *supposed* to
do".

Robyn L. Coburn

--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.17 - Release Date: 5/25/2005