My son has never been an adventurous eater. In the past I have referred to him as the camel, waiting for fun food and loading up and by-passing most of the healthy stuff. But an amazing transition has occurred. My son was recently diagnosed with Crohn’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the digestive tract. Many children with Crohn’s are small in height for their age, as is my son. Before his treatment for Crohn’s he had not grown at all in 3 years, he is currently 9 years old and wears size 6 pants.
Now that he is being treated for this condition an amazing transformation has taken place. He is eating, a lot. And he is chosing healthy nutritious foods. He is also asking to taste foods that I have been serving for years but he has previously rejected. A typical day for my son is: 2 multigrain waffles with syrup, a few nuts and raisins, pretzels, yogurt, an apple or pear, 1/2 cup to 1 cup refried beans with melted cheese, enriched chocolate soy milk, another apple or pear, 2 large pieces of vegetarian lasagna, carrot and cucumber sticks, 1 cup of low-fat ice cream, maybe another waffle or pretzel. I offered to buy my son a snack at an asian grocery store, anything he wanted including cookies or snack foods. He chose crab sushi, gobbling down 5 of the 6 rolls as I wandered the aisles.
But what is so gratifying to me is that his body is forcing him to eat both more quantity and greater quality as it is now ready to grow. Since October when he started treatment he has grown 1/2 inch and gain 1 pound, not bad for a kid that hasn’t grown in three years. This validates what I have been teaching parents for year: offer healthy foods to your child and they will be drawn to what they need.
Creating Healthy Eaters Blog 