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She is healthy in every way with long pony-like legs and developing on schedule. No periods yet. We used to say she had a hollow leg cause she had a very hearty appetite. And she LOVED salads and fruit salad, etc. Now for the past several months she has decided she doesn't like salad, sometimes "accidently" leaves her lunch at home and says she just isn't hungry. She's now picking out onions where before they never bothered her. I'm perplexed. Her skin is clear and she seems to have enough energy to go about her day. No changes in school and she has no accesses to food away from home.
She doesn't have body dysmorphia problems, is extremely lean (but she has always been on the skinny side). She's not into fashion or trying to fit a certain mold so I don't think that is it. Doc says she is just fine.
I found myself encouraging her to finish her dinner till it became a problem. I serve plates from the kitchen and thought maybe i was giving her too big a portion but it was not uncommon for her to ask for seconds in the past. Now I've decided to let her serve herself according to how much she thinks she wants. And if she wants more that is fine.
I'm an excellent cook and use almost no processed foods. She is my 4th and last child and I don't remember any of the others having such a drastic change in appetite and taste. Has anybody else experienced this?
She is healthy in every way with long pony-like legs and developing on schedule. No periods yet. We used to say she had a hollow leg cause she had a very hearty appetite. And she LOVED salads and fruit salad, etc. Now for the past several months she has decided she doesn't like salad, sometimes "accidently" leaves her lunch at home and says she just isn't hungry. She's now picking out onions where before they never bothered her. I'm perplexed. Her skin is clear and she seems to have enough energy to go about her day. No changes in school and she has no accesses to food away from home.
She doesn't have body dysmorphia problems, is extremely lean (but she has always been on the skinny side). She's not into fashion or trying to fit a certain mold so I don't think that is it. Doc says she is just fine.
I found myself encouraging her to finish her dinner till it became a problem. I serve plates from the kitchen and thought maybe i was giving her too big a portion but it was not uncommon for her to ask for seconds in the past. Now I've decided to let her serve herself according to how much she thinks she wants. And if she wants more that is fine.
I'm an excellent cook and use almost no processed foods. She is my 4th and last child and I don't remember any of the others having such a drastic change in appetite and taste. Has anybody else experienced this?
I'm a 30 year old child who needs an adoptive Mother to cook for me . It's not uncommon for your taste to change though. I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point.
Sometimes their appetites will just change. One of my kids used to be an extremely picky eater and now she eats everything, all the time.
I've started letting my kids serve themselves so they can take the amount of food they want. We almost always have leftovers, so I'm not worried about them taking too much.
My 13 year old won't eat anything that she thinks would cause pimples or anything she thinks makes her skin oily. Except chocolate when it's that time of the month.
I was like that starting about 12. It was autonomy, peer pressure, general hormones. I became a veg, then a vegan, back to a veg, etc. I was like that all through my teens. For me it was just autonomy, really. Even though I didn't tend towards fitting in with the crowd, I did respond if my peers went "ewwww onions its going to make your breath smell". Even very grounded kids at that age respond to what their peers say. You would have to be autistic for it not to get to you. And it is way worse with girls.
I also wouldn't totally discount that she is having body image issues. She is likely changing and putting on fat in different areas of her body. If she has always been known for being super lean, that could be challenging to her self concept. And 13 year old girls tend to keep that stuff to themselves. I know even if my 9 year old eats too much and he belly gets round (she is also very thin) she will be bothered by it. Being skinny is how she sees herself. I don't know how she will manage puberty. We will see.
I also wouldn't totally discount that she is having body image issues. She is likely changing and putting on fat in different areas of her body. If she has always been known for being super lean, that could be challenging to her self concept. And 13 year old girls tend to keep that stuff to themselves.
Agree.
That was when I became worried about the knobby knees on my long, pony-like legs. How naive I was.
The more you push, the more she will resist. Give her the control to eat what she wants, when she wants (within reason). Healthy options should be in the home, so no matter what she's picking it's nutritious. We save the mini junk splurges for when we're out. Otherwise, as long as she is eating and not anorexic, let her be or you might create a problem where there currently isn't one.
As others have said, at that age, she might very well be having body issues, or maybe just confusion. Instead of pushing the food, I'd find a clever way to talk to her about her body and health. Let her know you understand and can help her and that you are a team.
I worked in a middle school serving lunch. The 6th grade girls would gobble up everything on their plates.
When those same girls were in 7th & 8th grade they suddenly became the pickiest eaters. They worried over every morsel on the plate & talked endlessly about calories in each food, etc.
What you're describing sounds normal to me.
Also, when our son was young he was a very picky eater & the pediatrician told us to never force him to eat.
Have you asked your daughter if there are certain ingredients that she'd rather not have in her food? I'm sure no teenage girl would want onions (or anything else that could cause bad breath.)
She may not want to take to school any food that might have an odor that others can smell.
It is the age and hormone developments also possible she is tired with your cooking style some times kids get bored with the same style of cooking or food. That happened with my one. Nutrition's advice was Leave her alone she will eat when she is hungry. So no worries now.
We raised two daughters, 2 years apart in age. It was just crazy. One day you'd think they were starving; the next, our 12-year-old wouldn't touch food, and our 10-year-old decided to copy her. In those days, kids weren't brought to doctors for every little thing, like now.
Fast forward: today, one is 40 and the other is 38. Both healthy women, both married, both mothers.
Sometimes I think childhood is tougher on the parents, than on the kids!
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. It's not uncommon for your taste to change though. I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point.
