WFPB for toddlers and young children

Share your experience, challenges and success implementing the McDougall program with family and children.

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WFPB for toddlers and young children

Postby JBWoody » Tue Dec 31, 2019 9:08 am

Hello all,

My husband and I have been light consumers of processed foods and meat over the last 10 years, exercise regularly and maintain healthy body weights. However, as we have aged we've both experienced joint pain, lethargy and decreased mental stamina that we hope to combat and have recently committed to going entirely WFPB. We have learned so much in the past several weeks and are excited about this lifestyle change.

I work as a pediatric occupational therapist who specializes in helping children with feeding and eating issues (20 years), so of course what I am learning will have a major impact on my professional life and what I share with parents and other service providers. Feeding therapy and treating children with significant eating issues has exploded in the last two decades and it is no wonder why. While a small percentage are due to identifiable developmental and physical issues, most of the cases I see are a result of lifestyle and lack of experience. Many of the young children on my caseload live on fast food and junk and are centrally obese. I've seen several clients recently be diagnosed with precocious puberty (6 & 7 year-olds!) which is no doubt related to their high fat, high meat consumption of fast foods. Many families rarely cook. Family meals at home are infrequent to no existent and are often eaten in the car or in front of a screen. The majority of the school lunches brought from home are filled with pre-packaged brown foods - energy bars, cookies, chips, and crackers, as well as sugary yogurts and pouches children suck down. Furthermore, children regularly experience severe constipation, poor exercise tolerance, self-regulation difficulties, and are diagnosed with eczema, food allergies and ADHD in exploding numbers!

Can you direct me to literature and research as well as programming for toddlers and young children that I can incorporate into my own practice and share with families? There is so much erroneous and conflicting information (from seemingly reputable and good-meaning sources), especially as it pertains to the "necessity" of animal protein and calcium from dairy, and concern that a WFPB diet does not contain enough fat or nutrients for optimal growth and cognitive development. It is a battlefield! Where do I start? Thank you!
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Re: WFPB for toddlers and young children

Postby JBWoody » Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:15 am

I have many resources and tricks up my sleeve to help toddlers and young children eat more starches, fruits and veggies, but when children are stuck on fast food meat & dairy, their motivation to eat them is lowered, especially if their parents aren't eating them! Young children can be so stubborn and resistant to food changes and for them, taste is the only thing that matters. It takes time to develop a taste for certain foods. What many don't understand is that eating is a learned behavior and it takes time, continued exposure and practice to eat a varied diet. Parental pressures can backfire, but modeling good eating never does. It is a tricky balance! What I run into routinely is parental fear. Parents fear that their child won't get enough calories if they don't provide the chicken nuggets they love. And it's true, kids will hold out for the foods they want unless parents are willing to set non-negotiable boundaries about what they serve and keep in the house. There are children out there who will absolutely starve themselves rather than eat a non-preferred food, but in reality it is relatively rare. So how to help families make the transition from the SAD to WFPB? Traditionally, feeding therapist promote the idea of serving a food that you know your child will eat, in addition to to two new foods - so a slow approach. Now I am not so sure this is the best way! Obviously the best approach is not to give these foods to young children to begin with!
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Re: WFPB for toddlers and young children

Postby jamietwo » Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:53 pm

Congratulations on recognizing the benefits of this way of eating and how it can positively impact the children you work with! Dr. McDougall addresses some of your questions here: https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl ... ildren.htm
Jamie
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Re: WFPB for toddlers and young children

Postby michaelswarm » Tue Dec 31, 2019 9:31 pm

It’s the parents.

I dont know any toddlers and children that themselves put food on the table.

My kids love bread, tortillas, potatoes, pasta, beans, rice, and oats Why wouldn’t they? There is no need for kids to love kale, brussel sprouts, or salads. They will get plenty of everything just eating starchy vegetables, tubers, legumes and grains, which is a natural preference for higher calorie density foods kids need to grow.

Bread and tortillas at 1200 calories per pound would be roughly equivalent to the energy density of meat. Peanut butter or other nut butter ar 2600 calories per pound would be roughtly equivalent to other very high energy foods. There is no need for parents to worry about kids wasting away. (Parents might themselves want to limit these higher energy foods for themselves.)

When parents change, kids will change. Tantrums and such will be overcome in short order. It will not kill kids to miss a meal or two if necessary. Kids won’t starve themselves for long.

Have a bowl of fresh fruit always available on the table. Keep some cooked oven fries, mashed potatoes, beans, bread, and other staples pre cooked and ready in the refrigerator for fast foods. Have a routine. Make the food taste great.

Getting kids involved in the kitchen, garden and shopping also works. For example, in my house, Thursday and Saturday are bread-pizza days, and they receive their own dough to shape and bake. They chose and cut the fruit for their breakfast cereal, and help making fruit salads. I take the kids shopping and we select the produce together.

Finally, a podcast I enjoy is pediatrician Dr Yami Cazorla-Lancaster (Veggie Doctor Radio)
https://veggiedoctor.libsyn.com

Also PCRM https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/nutrition-for-kids

and Plantrician Project https://plantricianproject.org/quickstartguide (A guide specific to children)
https://resources.plantricianproject.org/tools-and-resources
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