Nine year old lives on refined flour foods.

[96321]

My daughter (9 yrs) only eats Carbs.  She has a prutruding stomach from a unusual anal curve, that causes severe constipation. The Gastrologist recommends she has 10gm of fiber supplements per day,  that we force her to take. She refuses to eat anyting unless it is one or two of the items she enjoys. That does not include any protein, vegetables or fruits. She will not take any vitamin supplements.  Our plan of attack is to ONLY have healthy whole fiber breads and healthy foods in the house. Is it unwise to refuse to provide her with her carb only meals?  How long should we let her go without eating if we stop buying the white flour poisen items for her?  She is getting plumper by the day and we feel we must take some drastic action but are afraid of turning her into a secret bindger by witholding the bad choices she lives on.  Thanks for your website.  I look forward to reading your response.

[Rayecee]

From the time my daughter was approximately 10 months old, she started eating wood, and sticks of butter.
Her toy wooden blocks were distroyed, she nibbled all along the rails to her baby bed, took a chunk out of the console TV, and the front door.
Evidently there was some nutrient her body was lacking. The doctor advised me to give her a childrens chewable vitamin.  After a few days of taking the vitamins she stopped eating the furniture.
Contact me for information on a great tasting chewable for children.  ***@****

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

No, you won't be making a mistake. Such a carbohydrate-laden diet is a sure guarantee of poor health, both physically and emotionally. Mother nature will solve the problem - i.e., when your daughter is hungry she will eat. Be sure to keep in touch with her pediatrician and work in concert with him/her. But your general approach is fine. We se many children who must adjust their daily diet, and often parents rely on the child's willingness or cooperation, while continuing to bring unhealthy food items into the home. That is a formula for failure. Many parents should follow your approach - that is, purchase healthy foods, make them available to children, and refuse to bring sugar-rich and other carbohydrate-rich foods into the home.