How Do You Start A 6 Year Old On gluten-free Diet?

[aprilh]

Anyone have any advice on starting my 6 year old on gluten-free diet. She is already in an "emotional state" right now (i think from gluten) and now that I have told her that she can't have the oreos the coach passed out after soccer game today, she is very upset!

Also, she is going overnight to a BD party in a month. What to do about that?

[Guhlia]

For the birthday party, I would suggest baking her some gluten free cupcakes to take along. They can be every bit as good as the glutenous ones if you find a good recipe or mix.

For the Oreos dilemna, I would suggest getting some K-toos from Kinnikinnick.com. They are delicious and almost like the real thing.

[Ursa Major]

Angie is right, sending cupcakes is what people here do, and it makes the kids happy. And there are those yummy oreo-cookies substitutes, that she will like just fine.

For the birthday party, you will need to talk to the mother of the child who is inviting your daughter. You might have to send all her food with her. Let's say, they're serving pizza. That's an easy one. Send some gluten-free pizza along, the other kids won't even know the difference. For breakfast, send some gluten-free cereal. Make sure there are gluten-free snacks, if not, send some.

As long as your daughter will have equivalents to what everybody else is having, she'll be fine. And by then she should feel so much better being gluten-free that she wouldn't even want to eat the other kid's stuff any more, knowing it will make her sick.

[Guhlia]

I forgot to add, if your daughter is resistant to the diet, you will want to make the party hostess aware of the situation so that she (if willing) can supervise snacks. After you find out what their menu will be, I'm sure we can all give you recommendations on brands of gluten free goodies to use as substitutes.

[aprilh]

Thanks so much! It's hard for her to see the connection because she doesn't have any intestinal symptoms, nothing immediate. She has some pain in her joints and some emotional stuff. I am trying to talk to her about it without scaring her. I will try those oreos.

[Ursa Major]

Kids her age love to go shopping. My oldest granddaughter, who is six as well, is thrilled when I take her shopping when I'm visiting, and she is ecstatic when I ask her opinion on what treats to buy, and which kind of apples etc.

So, I think your daughter would love it if you take her shopping, and let her choose some of the foods you're getting for her.

Don't confuse her with too many choices, though. Say something like, "what do you think, which gluten-free cookies should we try, those waffles, or those that look like oreos?"

Some gluten-free cookies are gross. Don't be discouraged by that, you have to just try a few kinds before you'll find the ones you'll like.

The best pasta is Tinkyada, they have many different kinds.

Also, kids that age LOVE baking. Get some gluten-free flours, and bake some yummy cookies together with your daughter. You'll have fun, and afterwards you'll have a really nice, homebaked gluten-free treat.

In a nutshell, make sure your daughter realizes that gluten-free doesn't mean the end of having fun, and having yummy treats. She'll soon forget about gluteny treats. And when that joint pain goes away, and her mood improves, she'll hopefully realize what gluten and dairy did to her.

[sara's mom]

Anyone have any advice on starting my 6 year old on gluten-free diet. She is already in an "emotional state" right now (i think from gluten) and now that I have told her that she can't have the oreos the coach passed out after soccer game today, she is very upset!

Also, she is going overnight to a BD party in a month. What to do about that?

Hi there. I remember the day they told me and my daughter that she had Celiac and the emotions that came with it. Sara was afraid that she would be made fun of and that she was weird. Hopefully this will help you with your daughters frustration. My daughter is now 20 and she was first diagnosed when she was 9. Back then the options were very restricted and it was very hard. What i did was try to tell her she had a special diet and that it was going to be an adventure for us to try new things and to share with others her special foods. I was very upfront with her friends parents when she was invited over to parties etc and the parents were very good about making sure sara was ok. Oreos have never been replaced as Sara loved those as well. But I spent alot of time doing experiments with her in the kitchen coming up with new favorites. The recipes now are so much better and the only bad thing Sara to this day will not eat is pea flour cookies that as she describes to this day as smelling like her hamster cage. On her birthday we always celbrated her birthday making the "world's biggest Banana split in my largest salad bowl full of every topping she could have. It became the thing to do with her friends and I recieved many calls from moms the next day asking what I did as their kids wanted one too, instead of the normal B/D cake. If you create the magic and make them feel special they will see that all will be ok. When I did have to send something with her I always created the "special item" which made all her friends want to try it too.

[skipper30]

Our 4 year old is our Celaic.

I can tell you that our non-gluten-free 6 year old LOVES the Kinninnick "oreos" and he have definite opinions about what gluten-free stuff he likes.

We love the Kinninnick brand for donuts as well...they are expensive, but who doesn't like donuts now and then. We also like the Glutino cookies.

We also "make" our own pizza crust..we use the Arrowhead Mills pizza dough mix. ALL (4) our kids like it. We just found 123-Gluten free Southern Glory Biscuits and the 4 yr old ate 3 of them. This was his first batch of biscuits since he was dx'ed about 8 months ago.

We also buy Cocoa Pebbles, Fruity Pebbles and Trix...as far as regular brands go.

Ditto Ursula on the Pasta, too!!

Hope this helps both of you out a little.

Dallas

[Suzie-GFfamily]

Anyone have any advice on starting my 6 year old on gluten-free diet. She is already in an "emotional state" right now (i think from gluten) and now that I have told her that she can't have the oreos the coach passed out after soccer game today, she is very upset!

Also, she is going overnight to a BD party in a month. What to do about that?

My 8 yr old and my almost 6 yr old have both started their gluten-free diets this month.

I'd say EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION....

We've discussed celiac disease and the diet alot over the past several months. The children and I have had many discussions about how gluten affects our bodies. I've done this in a non-threatening way that is geared to their level. I've also told them how lucky they are- most celiacs are not aware that they have the disease and so their bodies are being damaged everyday because they are eating foods which are harmful. My kids are very lucky- they'll be able to treat their condition and this will enable them to build strong, healthy bones.

I'm really impressed by how much my kids know about celiac disease and how knowledgeable they are about the diet.

Also, we have treated them to some sweet, sugary gluten-free cereals that we normally wouldn't buy. And I've made sure that I always have a gluten-free snack or treat with me when we're out, in case we get hungry.

Your daughter will probably need some sort of snack food for the party- kids often like to munch on bags of chips at sleepovers. Does your daughter enjoy any of the snack foods by Robert's American Gourmet? (most of their snack foods are gluten-free) My kids love "Pirate's Booty" and "Smart Puffs", and I love "Veggie Booty". Or, if she likes chips better- I believe that plain Lay's are gluten-free and I'm sure there are others too.

[mamaw]

Hello

I'm not sure where to put this but I make the soft breadsticks that CarrieFaith posted way back. My grandkids loves these with sauce for dipping. The neigborhood kids were playing outside yesterday when we arrived. First thing out of four kids mouths (who are not nor need to be gluten-free)came running over to the car asking if I had anymore of them breadsticks & sauce with me. So maybe this could ba a suggestion for a school lunch ......

When we started our two ages 6& 8 two years ago we bought alot of snacks & comfort food (gluten-free) before actually telling them then we just kept making a fuss over how yummy everything is. Plus I told them they were so special that not everyone gets SPECIAL foods..... For us that worked.We alway take doggie bags for sleepovers & we send extra so every kid can taste.

Now we are trying to teach them to read the labels!!!!!!!!!Each child also has a bag of goodies at school when someone brings treats for the class the teacher just matches from the goodie bag.

blessings

mamaw

[Nic]

Hi, just want to add that this will get easier. Most of the cookies we have tried from Kinnickinik (how do you spell that) have been great. Not only do they have make the oreo type one, they also make them in vanilla cookie with cream filling as well. They are very good and both my kids, one celiac, one not, enjoy them. Also their montana chocolate chip cookies are very good. We just ordered from Glutino these chocolate waffer cookies. My son was so excited because they look like kitkat candy bars. After the shock of loosing favorite foods, the diet becomes second nature. As far as parties, I have found that other parents have been very understanding about letting me know what foods will be served at other childrens parties. I hope she adjusts as quickly as my son did when he was diagnosed, it was hard but he did ok.

Nicole

[mommida]

I agree with everyone's advice.

I have found that giving your child more control over the life style and choices of alternatives works for us.

Let your daughter pick out her snack bag. Call ahead to the event, tell her what the menu is going to be, then say would you like this or that instead, pack some extra treats - in case the host forgot to tell you about some type of candy in the goody bag or party favor.

You might want to stay at the first few parties.

L.

[Terri-Anne]

My son outgrew his "allergy to wheat" a year ago, but we used to buy him Mi-Del brand "oreos" that he liked just fine. And if another child was at the house playing with him, I'd often just hand them BOTH a Mi-Del oreo, and the non-allergic child who is used to eating REAL oreos would never balk or leave their cookie uneaten, so I would predict that your son would enjoy them as much as the real oreos too!

Also, even though he's been back on a regular wheat-filled diet for a year, he still asks me to bake him the "Wheat-FREE" banana chocolate chip muffins that he LOVED when he was wheat-free/allergic. My whole family would get into those, and the brownies too.

For birthday parties I either sent a gluten-free cupcake that I'd made, with whatever coloured icing that my son chose, or I'd send him a wheat-free brownie. The choice was up to him. I think that made him feel like he had some control over the issue. HE got to choose whether it was a brownie or cupcake, AND he got to choose the frosting colour. You could even add a gluten free treat to the top of the cupcake, like M&Ms.

I would speak with the host-mom ahead of time to find out what her menu plan was and tried to send along something parallel. If they were having hot dogs, I'd send along 2 wheat free buns, and 2 wheat free wieners, and ask the mom to microwave the wieners for him, explaining cross contamination and they were always happy to comply. If they were having pizza, I'd make up a wheat-free pizza, on a wheat free hot dog bun (for pizza fingers!) or on a wheat free English Muffin, or occasionally on an actual wheat free pizza crust. But my son preferred the hot dog bun/ English muffin texture to the Pizza crust texture.

Beyond that, there are plenty of gluten free chips, etc listed in the Dana Korn book, Raising Our Celiac Kids.

Most Moms are GREAT when they realize the burden of complying is nothing more than serving your child the food YOU've provided. And as long as the foods you are providing your child coincide with what the rest of the gang is eating, he won't really feel left out.

I hope this helps. This Message board was my life line for the four years my son WAS unable to eat wheat. Come here often and ask all the questions you need to! You'll surely find the answers here.

[Guest nini]

my six year old celiac daughter says "get her to eat some gluten-free things and if she likes it she might not have a problem anymore"...

ok, my advice, focus on the things she CAN have, not on what she can't. Educate big time about labeling and safe ingredients. My daughter loves it when she recognizes gluten-free on the label. As far as the Oreos are concerned, we LOVE KinniTOOS they are by far the best. Baking together is a very fun and educational thing to do and she will take pride in making something yummy that she can eat. As far as birthday parties are concerned, always talk to the other mother, find out what the menu will be, and make sure you send gluten-free versions of the same foods. We make cupcakes ahead of time and freeze them just for those occasions.

[2Boys4Me]

You don't say how the diagnosis came about. In our situation, Ty had had several blood tests and then an upper endoscopy. Before the endoscopy we sat down and explained that the doctors were looking for damage to his intestine that was caused from eating gluten. We explained what gluten was and said that if he did have celiac that he would not be allowed to eat gluten anymore, but that we would find stuff he was allowed to have. He NEVER EVER had stomach aches. His symptom was anemia. We said he wasn't allowed, even if it didn't make his stomach hurt it was hurting his insides and in order for his insides to get better and stay better he couldn't eat anything with gluten ever again for the whole rest of his life. He shrugged and said okay. We also told him that for him it was like smoking. Even though he couldn't see that it was unhealthy and hurting him, it really was and he should ask everytime if something is gluten free or ask to look at the ingredients. He's six (7 next month) and has been gluten-free for a year.

The only mistake I know of him making is drinking hot chocolate at the running club wrap up. I didn't know they were handing out hot chocolate after, so asked him if he knew what kind it was. He said no and I said next time ask first. You can have Carnation with the red lid/label, but not Cadbury because it has malt. Cadbury has a purple lid. If they don't know what kind it is, don't have any and get a treat from your teacher's desk instead.

We bake almost everything homemade, but do often have mini chocolate bars on hand since he didn't like any of the premade gluten-free cookies we've found. (We haven't tried K-toos - can't find them in the store.)

[aprilh]

Once I diagnosed myself through dietary changes (no good luck with dr's.) and my son was diagnosed through Enterolab, I ordered the Enterolab genetic, gluten, and dairy test for her. She had poop problems as a baby but the only issues she has right now are pain in her joints. I sort of tested this theory in July - which is when I discovered myself and my son. We went gluten free and she did to because of what I was serving and buying. I noticed that she seemed to have more energy, the sporatic pain dissapeared and she could concentrate a bit better. The energy and concentration were not a "terrible" problem but enough to make me wonder. The pain in her legs was very bothersome to her. She had low Iron at 2 years old, but through supplementation it got better.

Anyway, the enterolab results were that definately had a immune response to gluten and dairy. She also had an elevated ttg which I am still trying to figure out. Also the genetic testing showed that she had copies of the gene from each side - mother and father. And apparently, one of the genes indicates her problems may come about as neurological - that info I got from this site. Not confirmed through any dr. yet.

Lately she has been very up and down emotional, so we are willing to try this and see if it helps her.

[SarahTorg]

Start by making a list of the foods she already enjoys eating. Eat those foods, and slowly test out other brands, and baking your own items. That is what I have been doing.

I enjoy cooking though, and you should see the look on my sons face when they see I've invented something new to eat. hahahahahahaha

A few days ago I made some pancakes out of some pamelas pancake mix, and I made some lunch meat sandwhiches out of them. The kids thought they were very good!

We've been gluten free for several months now, and we are slowly adding new recipes, and favorite snack foods to our diet.

I can say that some of the replacement foods are pretty gross, but if they pass the kid test, that is the best.

Pamelas makes good chocolate chip cookies, and there are quite a few mainstream brands that make gluten free chips.

I definately agree with the people about educating the child about celiac.

My twins have learned what types of foods are NOT okay, and they always ask if something is gluten free before they eat it.

Sarah

[prinsessa]

My DD was really upset the first week of her diagnosis (it has only been about 2 weeks now). She kept talking about all the stuff she couldn't have anymore. I kept reminding her that most of the stuff had gluten free substitute. She is feeling a little better about things now. We made some gluten free cupcakes (with Pamela's chocolate cake mix) and she loved them. She kept saying how they don't taste gluten free.

She did a sleep over this past weekend and it turned out pretty good. I sent some gluten free food with and enough to share with her friends (so she doesn't feel too different). She went to McDonald's one day and they made her a hamburger without a bun (in a salad box which she thought was cool). She is now starting to see that life isn't that much different gluten free.