WORRIED ABOUT SON STEALING FOOD

[cmuir]

Hi

 

Really worried about my son (just for a wee change!!!). He's 8 and has AS. Because of the summer hols he's obviously out of sorts and the meltdowns have been frequent and spectacular! I'm obviously concerned about that, but also I'm increasingly aware that he is overweight verging on fat. He's a very tall lad for his age (4' 11") and has always been well built, but not fat. His diet is fairly limited, however, he loves fruit and eats a lot of it, which I'm pleased about. I won't pretend that he doesn't get sweets - he does, but in moderation. However, hubby and I have been finding evidence that he's been stealing food. We've found empty wrappers in the fireplace in our dining room as well as behind a kickplate in kitchen. R says he's hungry just about all of the time including just after a hearty meal. I'm really concerned he's developed an eating disorder.

 

Advice welcomed.

[trekster]

Could he be emotionally eating due to the change of circumstances ie no school for now?

For me i used to steal kitkats from the kitchen as a kid.

i was craving the gluten and milk in them without realising it. My appetite went down once i went

off the addictive foods i was craving.

 

Another possibility could be fluctuating blood sugar levels, my appetite is also much lower

when i take chromium picolonate.

 

Worrying uses up energy (for your child i mean) so anything unexpected and stressful could

raise his metabolism causing him to require more food.

 

Could you make a rule that he can "eat as much fruit as he likes but has to ask you before

he has (name of sweets)?" Then lock away the sweet stuff hes stealing.

Edited August 2, 2010 by trekster

[Boy]

Sometimes I get anxious about when I will be eating and what I will be eating (although I can't have a strict food routine as such because I also need to know what everyone else is eating before I can choose, and my family will often wait until the last minute to decide, and all have different tastes so don't eat the same meals (I am the only member of my immediate family who likes pasta, only two of us like lasagne, my father and brother enjoy lots of frozen foods from the freezer but I don't, etc.). If there is a desirable food item in the house, I also worry that my brother and father will eat all of it before I get to have some (so whereas I might be content to have one chocolate bar or one packet of crisps during the entire week, the various foods available make me worried that I will miss out, because I don't go food shopping myself and often my dad will bring home random treats, which I suppose can be seen as 'high value').

 

Perhaps you could make a chart where he has specific snacks on specific days and they are saved for him (perhaps a sort of packed lunch every day but each item can only be eaten at specific times). It might not work out this way, but it might make it easier for him to practise self control if he knows that the same foods will be available to him every day? I.e. On Monday he will have one of his favourite biscuits as a treat between lunch and dinner, but he won't have a Kit Kat as well because he'll have one of those the next day, and he doesn't have to worry that the Kit Kats will be gone, because he knows what he is eating next.

 

Another thing that might be worth trying if he genuinely does just feel hungry more often than other children is splitting his meals up (so that he eats smaller portions but more often).

 

I know that some autistic people have a disorder called pica, which means that they eat everything (including non-food items, but I think that they also tend to over-eat food, there was one boy with this on an autism programme on TV who was very overweight). I'm not sure whether it might be the same issue as with pica (whether they are caused by the same things, i.e. sensory appeal due to texture, or whether it is just hunger and an inability to distinguish between appropriate things to eat and inappropriate).

[ScienceGeek]

I used to do the same particularly during times of high stress/change. I remember clearly as a child continually eating and never feeling full, always feeling hungry. It got worse during the summer holidays where boredom, lack of routine and change came into play. It got to the point where my mum would buy a limited amount of treats and once they were gone, they were gone that I started stealing them from shops too Definitely not saying that is right mind.

[justine1]

Sam does the same in the holidays.Well I wouldnt say its stealing because he does tell me he is going to get something to eat,generally he makes his own sanwiches and eats healthy foods.He always eats small meals/snacks rather than eating three big meals,so the behaviour is quite normal for us.

 

The only thing is with ice lollies,he will eat up to three a day,I have the same rule that sciencegeek mentioned,once its gone its gone.I do my shopping online and so I wont go out just to buy ice lollies.I also explain that he needs to keep some for his brothers and he now has his own section in the freezer.I do find this helps to an extent.

 

The only suggestion I can give would be to hide/lock away sugary foods and maybe you can make him a paked lunch for home and say he can eat the contents from 12pm,then he can either eat it at once or gradually.That way you can monitor what he eats.Try and keep him occupied so he doesnt feel he has to eat.

 

I think if its just over the holidays then he will be okay but if it continues when he returns to school then maybe you can seek outside help.