# My 9 year old



## Emjsmith27 (Aug 6, 2013)

Hi, I've joined on here to ask for some help. 
My 9 year old daughter is type 1 and has been since she was 5. 
Her HBA1c is pretty much perfect and she can carb count. She does all her BMs and jabs herself. We keep a close eye on her sugars but try and give her responsibility. 
My problem is that food is always on her mind. At breakfast time she's panning her lunch. 3 hours after a hearty lunch she wants a snack. She would eat and eat if I let her. Honestly she isn't very active and a little over weight. So I know it's not a growth spurt or she needs the food for energy. Im pretty sure she's just greedy.
My 6 year old son and 1 year of daughter are healthy and eat when it's meal times. 
My husband and I are exhausted with the constant asking for food, and need for information about when and where we will be eating next. 
Please give me ideas of what to do.


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## Northerner (Aug 6, 2013)

Hi, welcome to the forum  I'm not a parent, so can't offer any advice on how you might curb her eating desires, but hopefully someone will be along with some good suggestions soon.

Has she been considered for an insulin pump? This might make things a little easier as you could perhaps spread the food more evenly across the day, since she would not have to do extra injections each time. Also, perhaps the type of food is the problem? Some food, particularly high GI carbs, can make a person feel hungry very soon after a meal is finished - more vegetables and protein might curb this.


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## LeeLee (Aug 6, 2013)

Hi Emma, your daughter sounds scarily like me!   As a non-diabetic but overweight child, I would eat anything and felt desperately excluded when, on occasion, I was the only one in the family to be 'on a diet' and not allowed puddings.  

These days I'm obsessive about food because I need to watch what I eat very carefully, and I plan everything that I'm going to eat at least a day in advance.  Perhaps a daily plan might help?

I haven't had any experience of dealing with this trait in a child, so if my suggestion is useless I'll leave helpful input to others.


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## Hanmillmum (Aug 6, 2013)

Hi, welcome from me 

 I would be inclined to go along with Leelees suggestion of planning a day (or even more ahead) for her meals, she will then know exactly what to expect and when and she can help create the plan and so be encouraged to make better/more balanced choices around food. It may help her to feel less anxious if that is the issue? Hopefully she will be less inclined to mither you about it as you can keep referring her back to her plan rather than keep discussing and repeating yourself.
If you feel she is wanting to snack after big meals perhaps reduce the portion size of her meals to compensate so she is not over-indulging.

Good luck let us know how you get on.


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## fencesitter (Aug 7, 2013)

Hello, welcome from me too. My daughter went through a phase of eating too many snacks and then being unhappy about her shape (she is still a bit like this, although it has improved - it started when she was about 10 and she's now 13). I found keeping her busy, not having snacks in the house, portion control (for everyone in the family) were all helpful, but mostly boosting her confidence by focusing on other things that she is good at. Lack of confidence/low self esteem is behind my daughter's issues I'm sure, and slowly things have got better as she's started to find things that she enjoys and is good at. 
Your daughter's issues may have other roots though, especially as she is younger, so I would recommend asking a child mental health professional for advice. You need a strategy that you're confident about implementing and sticking with. There is a very good service run by Young Minds that enables you to chat through your concerns about a child with a professional such as a child psychologist. I've used it myself and they are excellent. They help you come up with a strategy based on their professional experience and your understanding of your own child, and then you can follow up with them later:
http://www.youngminds.org.uk/for_parents/parent_helpline


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## fencesitter (Aug 7, 2013)

Willsmum said:


> Hello, welcome from me too. My daughter went through a phase of eating too many snacks and then being unhappy about her shape (she is still a bit like this, although it has improved - it started when she was about 10 and she's now 13). I found keeping her busy, not having snacks in the house, portion control (for everyone in the family) were all helpful, but mostly boosting her confidence by focusing on other things that she is good at. Lack of confidence/low self esteem is behind my daughter's issues I'm sure, and slowly things have got better as she's started to find things that she enjoys and is good at.
> Your daughter's issues may have other roots though, especially as she is younger, so I would recommend asking a child mental health professional for advice. You need a strategy that you're confident about implementing and sticking with. There is a very good service run by Young Minds that enables you to chat through your concerns about a child with a professional such as a child psychologist. I've used it myself and they are excellent. They help you come up with a strategy based on their professional experience and your understanding of your own child, and then you can follow up with them later:
> http://www.youngminds.org.uk/for_parents/parent_helpline



I should add that my daughter is not the diabetic in our family (I have an older son who is).


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## Caroline (Aug 7, 2013)

I have a special needs child who is almost 9. Since we adopted him I have never known him to sit and eat a full meal and would snack all day if we allowed him to.

I try to keep in plenty of healthy snacks like fruit and certain raw vegetales (celery with peanut butter works well) and we will give a sweet treat after a meal.

Little feller is not diabetic but likes to eat little and often and the whole food issue attimes can seem like a war zone


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## HOBIE (Aug 8, 2013)

Smoked salmon,tins of fish, & as caroline said raw veggies. No carbs  Good luck


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## Redkite (Aug 9, 2013)

Hi and welcome to the forum 

What insulin regime is your daughter on?  Does she inject insulin with her snacks or are the snacks needed to prevent a hypo before the next meal?  If the former, why not just have the same snack rules for all 3 children?  If anyone's hungry between meals they could have a predetermined snack, not just whatever they fancy .  My son has a variety of snacks from about 8-12g carb, including strawberries, half bananas, small packets of raisins, a Jaffa cake, a ginger biscuit, a small flapjack square, a small packet of crisps.  If he's doing something sporty or swimming, he gets to have more, e.g. treat-sized mars bar.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Aug 12, 2013)

I find my own snacking is largely habitual - if I start having snacks with any regularity I will get very (almost painfully) hungry at those times. If I can avoid having those regular snacks, by keeping myself busy/occupied/not in aplace where the snacks are... I dont get the hunger pangs.

I also remember that on one of those documentaries (The Men Who Made Us Fat?) there is research that shows that snacking does not reduce your consumption at subsequent meals at all - you just generally end up eating more.

D is a nightmare because you *are* very often thinking about/planning food, which can make you hungry in itself. Hope you manage to find a strategy that works for you and your daughter.


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