Nutrition and Learning

I'm very concerned with my 7yr. old step-daughter.  When with us, 2 weekends a month, I try to provide very balanced healthy meals, limiting the sugar and processed foods, and give her a multi-vitamin.  The problem is the other 26 days of the month at her mother's where she eats mostly fastfood, candy, chips, soda and sugary juice paks, no vitamins to supplement, not made to eat any vegetables, fruits or meat if she doesn't want it.  She has always been given whatever she asks for, and children don't ask for the healthy stuff.  Only eating bread, toast, poptarts and loading up the salt on everything.  She is hyper but tired at the same time, has dark circles under her eyes, constantly scratching at her crotch (told me it always itches, (yeast infection?)), constantly sick, trouble with concentration not just at school, anywhere.  Some of it I think is just a training issue, teaching a child to sit still during a movie, etc. which her mother won't even take her to a restaurant, movie or to her older sister's choir performances because she doesn't want to "deal" with her.  (I already have two grown children and have been through this, my husband only has the 7 yr. old and is doing his best when he has her).  Dealing with homework is an ordeal, she whines and tries to get you to give her the answer before she has even tried.  Again some of which I believe is mom's lack of wanting to deal with her.  She is struggling in school, reading poorly, math skills (counting money, switching gears from addition to subtraction, etc) very difficult for her.  She is in second grade.  How much of a role is nutrition playing in all of this and how much is just poor parenting skills?  I personally feel that she is malnurished by looking at her.  She is tall for her age be very much under weight, size 5 toddlers still fit around her waist.  Also, all her molars have cavities.  What, if anything, can we do to turn this around?

[Renee Radenberg]

Her weight, from what you wrote, is just below the 90th percentile and her height is between the 90th – 75th percentiles for her age which is normal. If she is not eating proper balanced meals or not getting daily children's multi-vitamins then she may be deficient of some vitamins / minerals from what you have described. A lack of vitamin Bs may cause concentration issues. Suggest a daily children multi-vitamin due to her eating habits. Ask your question in the Child Behavior Forum, too for additional help.