OT:adding fiber to your child's diet?

[CampbellScot]

does anyone use Benefiber in their chid's diet? The doctor said it may help my step daughter's constipation issues. (She is 8, has pretty huge food anxiety and eats few things without "fear" mostly dairy and protein...we are working on this issue pretty intensely from a behavioral standpoint) I just wanted to know if anyone used benefiber in their child's diet and how their children responded to it?

thanks!

 

[Starr W.]

I have never used it for my kids, but I did try it and to be honest I didn't think it mixed up as well as advertised in liquids.

 

[beattyfamily]

We've been using it on a regular basis since probably Sept. and off and on before that.

I have a 10 and 7 year old and my 10 year old has had constipation issues since she was potty trained.

I finally took her to a specialist to get this problem behind us for good and they told me to use Benefiber as much as possible and have her take an Xlax at first one a day and then, after a couple of days, take one every other day and to do this until she was on a regular schedule. This was to clean her out and get her on a regular schedule. Once she was cleaned out and doing better we just did the Benefiber.

Be sure to nip this because the constipation issue along with the fear of going due to pain can cause major problems, which is what my DD had, and makes it even more difficult to overcome.

I haven't noticed anything negative with Benefiber though.

Good luck!

 

[Tigger&Aidan]

We have not used it yet, but I may ask the dr about it. We have used Miralax a few times and I don't really like it.... I think that DS problem comes from not eating enough fruit/veggies and a little from his stomach problems (he lost 1/2 his large intestines due to a belly infection cause by being born prematurly). I'm curious to see what others that used it have to say....

 

[krystalleigh1]

I have not, but if it were me I guess I would try solving the problem with diet first. To me Benefiber would be a fix, sure, but temporary fix. She needs to work on her behavior issues with food (is she a picky eater?) so that she can see long term results without taking a fiber supplement for the rest of her life. There are several foods that can help with constupation issues naturally (not that Benefiber is all that unnatural-but I wouldn't use it long term for an 8 yr. old). If it were me I would probablly research some other alternatives that may help her behavior problem as well as some natural foods that have a lot of fiber in them. Just my $.02.

 

[A&CsMom]

We had to add fiber to our DD3-4's diet for a while and used Benefiber (I used half of what they said for an adult). Our doctor also told us to feed her lots of popcorn because it is high in fiber, and we bought cereals and crackers with fiber in them. We used SmartPop microwave popcorn because its low fat and Multi-grain Cheerios because it has fiber but a light sugar coating makes it taste good. We used the Benefiber when our DD needed a break from the popcorn! Good luck with your DD.

 

[mhm]

My dd gets 2 tsp in her V8 Fusion every morning and doesn't even know it!

 

[all4fun]

My ds has very similar eating issues. We have been adding Benefiber to his diet for over a year now. He is also on Miralax.

 

[CampbellScot]

I have not, but if it were me I guess I would try solving the problem with diet first. To me Benefiber would be a fix, sure, but temporary fix. She needs to work on her behavior issues with food (is she a picky eater?) so that she can see long term results without taking a fiber supplement for the rest of her life. There are several foods that can help with constupation issues naturally (not that Benefiber is all that unnatural-but I wouldn't use it long term for an 8 yr. old). If it were me I would probablly research some other alternatives that may help her behavior problem as well as some natural foods that have a lot of fiber in them. Just my $.02.

She's not so much a "picky" eater as an "anxious" eater. The back story to all this is that she was allowed by her grandmother and mother to eat baby food until she 5 years old. Any time she showed any resistence to food as a baby they'd go right back to baby food. This of course set up a fear of anything new and it became a behavioral issue in this very stubborn little girl. My husband tried his hardest to point out all the issues that would arise b/c of the prolonged babyfood eating, he threw all the baby food out of the house several times, but overbearing grandma and afraid of her mom wife would just buy more when he was at work. It was out of control.(They lived two houses from his ex-wife's parents). It did not help that the pediatrician said that as long as DD was getting the nutrition she needed it wasn't that big of an issue. (He said this when she was three and grandma waved that like a flag for years) After my husband and his wife got divorced, DH put a complete stop to the baby food. He had a very stern talk with his ex wife and she finally got on board. DD8 was going to start kindergarten and she could not be eating baby food anymore. He introduced kid friendly foods, hot dogs and such as well as carrots and peas and apples. She loves the veggies really, and being Italian on mom's side they eat a TON of pasta. Which she loves, but then it became an issue of only eating pasta and the few veggies she was familiar with. Her diet pretty much consists of refined carbs, dairy and protein. She inherited intestinal difficulties from her family as well. Which is what KILLS me here...they know what dairy does to them yet they all her to gorge on mozzarella cheese and yogurt.

When I came into the picture a year later (as a social worker and a behaviorist) and somewhat impartial, I helped my husband set up a plan for her. She had gotten some avoidance mechanisms in place and was pretty rude at the table...saying Yuck a lot and just atrocious table manners. That stuff we did away with immediately. Being a bright girl she didn't want to lose any privileges and was immediately cooperative in the manners department. As far as the eating went, we didn't want to further the emotional distress so we never force her to "clean her plate", but she has to have four normal sized bites of everything on her plate. One dinner is made and that's it. This served us pretty well for a while. Now that she is 8 and growing like a weed, she's hungry a lot more and it turns out that Grandma is continuing to give her blocks of mozzarella cheese to munch on, hunks of cheddar and crackers. She returns to us blocked up and sick. It is infuriating.

SO...we have changed her diet significantly. She gets a small amount of milk in the mornings and that's it for the day. We cut way way down on the cheese and yogurt...occasional treats only. But we can't fight the over indulgence at Grandma's (yet) and I'm just looking for ways to really get some fiber into her that isn't going to be a test of wills. We have talked to her about not eating things that make her feel unwell even if Grandma offers it...which is hard for her to do b/c she dearly loves dairy stuff and she loves and trusts grandma. But she is getting that when she eats like that she pays a price later and it can be embarrassing.

THANKS everyone for your comments. I think we are going to try to the Benefiber and see if that helps some. We are working on the Grandma situation too.

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

I just wanted to share something that she might like. My DD LOVES desserts and I'm trying to teach her a little self control in this department. She got a smoothy maker for an Easter present and loves to have fruit smoothies with a little yogurt, fruit, oj and splenda. She also has had constipation problems in the past and I was thinking of starting her on the benefiber, but know I think I'll get some and put it in her smoothie !!

 

[tadamom]

My nephew (8 yrs. old) has intestinal problems (has even had surgery to correct it) and he takes Miralax. You can get it over the counter now, so check into that. My nephew takes his in his milk every morning.

 

[hrsmom]

My son suffers from chronic constipation and has been seeing a Pedi-GI for 4 months. He basically told us we can put benefiber or fibersure in every drink he gets (I refuse to put him back on miralax because of adverse side-effects and the fact that it is not FDA approved for children). He's 21 months old and gets about a tablespoon in every drink. I have no problems with thickening up the drinks.

Also, there is a wonderful juice by Bolthouse Farms that is loaded with fiber! Only the Blue Goodness variety has the fiber. Here is a link to it:

http://www.bolthouse.com/html/cs_bluegoodness_n.html

 

[Experiment113]

My son (age 4) had constipation problems too. He was on a prescription medication (Glycolax) for a while. He loves to eat pasta too. He now eats multigrain pasta (Barilla) that is high in fiber. He has one serving every day at supper (along with a serving of meat and 2 vegetables). We are working on him eating more fruits and more variety of veggies too. The multigrain pasta was a happy compromise since he is able to eat his pasta and I know he is getting fiber. Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[walkena]

When adding fibre, don't forget to ensure that fluids also need to be topped up as not enough fluids with extra fibre can make things worse....

 

[CampbellScot]

Thanks Walkena, I will remember that. I'm pretty good about keeping them hydrated as my step son ended up in the hospital once due to dehydration...was just a peanut of a munchkin and a tummy bug wiped him out! But it's good to know...I've been reading up all day today on fiber supplements and the like.

I wish she'd just eat normally, but that is more of a war than a battle so we just have to do what we can to get around it.

thanks for the info!!!

 

[DBarber600]

My DS is on Miralax also.

 

[**eeyore**]

When adding fibre, don't forget to ensure that fluids also need to be topped up as not enough fluids with extra fibre can make things worse....

I was just going to mention the same thing - adding all the fiber in the world won't do one bit of good if you are not taking in enough fluids - it will just make it worse - much worse

When I came into the picture a year later (as a social worker and a behaviorist) and somewhat impartial, I helped my husband set up a plan for her. She had gotten some avoidance mechanisms in place and was pretty rude at the table...saying Yuck a lot and just atrocious table manners. That stuff we did away with immediately.

SO...we have changed her diet significantly. She gets a small amount of milk in the mornings and that's it for the day. We cut way way down on the cheese and yogurt...occasional treats only.

Since you are a social worker and behaviorist, I'm sure you already understand that the more you pressure a child, the worse it will typically make a situation. I would just be careful not to make too big a deal over all of this - it might make this little girl start to feel like her digestive issues are a result of her behavior. I actually doubt that this is the case - it sounds more like it is genetics, as most people are able to digest pasta and cheese without problems.

Also, I wouldn't be so quick to rule out yogurt - yogurt is actually very good for the digestive track - it is highly recommend for people with IBS.

Please be as loving as possible to this little girl - stress typically aggravates digestive issues.

 

[CampbellScot]

I was just going to mention the same thing - adding all the fiber in the world won't do one bit of good if you are not taking in enough fluids - it will just make it worse - much worse



Since you are a social worker and behaviorist, I'm sure you already understand that the more you pressure a child, the worse it will typically make a situation. I would just be careful not to make too big a deal over all of this - it might make this little girl start to feel like her digestive issues are a result of her behavior. I actually doubt that this is the case - it sounds more like it is genetics, as most people are able to digest pasta and cheese without problems.

Also, I wouldn't be so quick to rule out yogurt - yogurt is actually very good for the digestive track - it is highly recommend for people with IBS.

Please be as loving as possible to this little girl - stress typically aggravates digestive issues.

We are incredibly loving to our little girl. Of course we are. As I mentioned before, we are not making a big deal of this to her at all. We never have. It is just very frustrating for us to have extended family members actively campaigning against us. We are well aware that disordered eating can begin in these stages of a child's life. It doesn't matter to her if we serve something with love or with force...if she hasn't eaten it before she is immediately anxious. It's very complicated unfortunately.

We'll get through it one way or another. We are starting the Benefiber this weekend after we visit the doctor for a check-up and to go over these "food" issues.

thanks for your input.

 

[matt f]

Benefiber tablets are much better than the powder. The tablets are berry or orange flavored and they're really good. My kids love them. My DD5 is also on prescription laxative powder any day that she doesn't go before dinner time. She takes it really well, we put the powder in her milk at dinner.

This is in addition to our whole weat only diet, no refined flour whatsoever. Even our cereal is high fiber organic whole grain. The fiber helps a lot but doesn't solve our problems.

 

[dzorn]

I would try to get her to eat an orange a day. Dairy can be constipating for some people so I would watch how much she is getting.

Denise in MI