Gluten free kids

ricearoniee · Joined: 22 May 2008 Posts: 3

Hello! I just found this site and it is wonderful. I have two out of three children that have celiac disease. As I know no one else that has it I am totally at a loss. My 3 year old was diagnosed Oct 07, and my 5 year old diagnosed in Mar 08. So far out of all the research I have done this site has helped me the most. Any advise that you could give me for raising gluten free kids would be very welcomed.

Mandie

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 10968 Location: WI, USA

Hey Mandie,

Welcome to the board! Glad you find this place helpful Smile

My 1st question is: Has the whole family been tested? As you've probably seen this is genetic and it's coming from "somewhere". Wink

Are there any areas in which you feel you have trouble? Maybe giving us a place to start would get the ball rolling.
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

ricearoniee · Joined: 22 May 2008 Posts: 3

My three children have been tested. I myself have not been tested yet or my husband. My mother has Crohns disease and has been tested for celiac but does not have it. I plan to be tested at my next doctors appointment in a couple of weeks.

I am getting better with feeding my kids a gluten free diet. The hard part is making sure they are eating a gluten free diet at daycare and school.

What the hardest part for me right now is things like soaps, lotions, toothpaste. The every day products we use that may contain gluten but that I never think about.

When I first found out my kids have celiac disease, I gave away my bread maker, but never thought to get a new toaster (thought about that after reading another post Smile

I have been mainly looking at food that they eat.

luvscowznh · Joined: 23 Dec 2004 Posts: 421 Location: Groton, MA

Most of us started out looking at the foods we ate, then moved on to other issues like cross contamination and then other products like lotions, shampoos, (and in my case) paper products. There is quite a learning curve with Celiac. I have been gluten free for 4.5 years now. (I was in denial for the first few months after being diagnosed...) It does get easier as time goes on.

Good luck and keep learning! I am interested in how you approach day care and school issues as I am pregnant with my first. Since I have CD, he has a good chance of having it too. We won't know for at least a few years. (Even once he is on solid foods, I plan on keeping him mostly GF to keep the cc issues for me down - babies love to put their hands in your mouth...) Wink

--Manda
_________________

cruelshoes · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 3555 Location: Washington State

Hi, ricearoniee. My son is now 9, and he was diagnosed when he was 6. I have lots of experience working with the school district dietician to get a safe lunch and navigating the 504 process. I can help you with those things if you need.

We keep a box of snacks in my son's classroom for unplanned food events, and his teacher emails me when there is a pizza party or something similar coming up so I can provide alternatives. His boy scout group has also been great about including him in the snack events. I think the key to doing this with kids is to plan ahead and always have things that are easy to grab and go (cupcakes in the freezer, individual bags of chips or candy bars). We always have a stash or shelf-stable foods in the car for when we are out and need to eat.

Glad you joined us, and I am looking forward to hearing more from you.
_________________
-Colleen

Where are we going, and what am I doing in this handcart?

celiacmaine-iac · Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 1487 Location: Maine

I'm curious Colleen- Has your son ever cheated or been tempted to cheat because of peer pressure? It must be so hard for a kid sometimes. I'm glad everyone works with you to keep him safe.
_________________
Steph

cruelshoes · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 3555 Location: Washington State

celiacmaine-iac · Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 1487 Location: Maine

What a great kid! Black and white can be a very good thing sometimes!
_________________
Steph

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 10968 Location: WI, USA

Yeah...coming from someone who see is 256 shades of gray...
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

cruelshoes · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 3555 Location: Washington State

ostrich · Joined: 30 Mar 2006 Posts: 5100 Location: Nebraska

Second, though I'm trying to get better. Embarassed

From what I've read on here, most of the kids are pretty mature about the whole GF thing. They at least realize that eating "unsafe" or non-mommy-approved food makes them sick, and they don't want to be sick.
_________________
Ostrich :>--O==={

Time falls away, but these small hours
These little wonders still remain

ali · Joined: 09 Jan 2008 Posts: 70 Location: CO

Like Colleen, I try to keep treats made ahead and frozen, packaged in single portion sizes. Two of my three children have adverse reactions to gluten (ages 11 and 9). I usually keep GF granola bars and juice boxes in the trunk of the car, and have a big rubbermaid container in the cupboard of safe snacks that are easy to pack on a moments notice.

We also like to keep on hand: fruit cups, raisins, popcorn, cheese sticks (in the fridge), rice crackers, granola bars, and homemade trail mix. They also like carrot sticks, apples, celery and peanut butter, and pudding. When they are lucky, I'll splurge on a bag of Ener-G Sesame Pretzels.

My 9 year old has nearly memorized the list of 'can't have' ingredients, and is a champion label reader. This helps immensely. She is so aware of what is safe and not safe, and is really committed to keeping herself healthy. Added bonus: It cuts down on the "Mom, can I have this?" questions! I would definitely start teaching/training your children about the specific ingredients that are unsafe as soon as they are old enough to understand. Wheat is easy to remember, but things like annato are not always easy to recall.

Most important in my family is reminding the kids that they shouldn't focus on what they can't have, and that there are so many things they CAN have. Every once in a while we need to have a gentle attitude check. =) We like to experiment with new fruits and vegetables and GF grains. They eat a far more varied diet than most of their peers, as a result of having to go GF. What's a Twinkie when they can say they made litchi sherbert from scratch?!

We use Loreal Kids Smoothie shampoo and Colgate toothpaste. All of my children are old enough to use Viactive vitamins, which are GF. I've found that Unilever brands can be trusted not to hide gluten in their products - so you could check their lotions out. I think they make Vaseline brand. With summer coming, you'll need to think of bug spray and sunblock.

My kids are currently homeschoolled, but two will be going to a charter school next year. I'm sure we'll be facing new challenges then!

It sounds like you are on top of things. Keep up the good work - I know, there is so much to learn. I felt so overwhelmed at first, but this board is amazing!
_________________
"The electrocution was not my fault. You refused to wear the rubber underpants!"