Iron Deficient?
I went for the second round of the Picky Eaters Group last night at the QA and got some more good information. There are a few new ideas I will try, such as food chaining/shaping (slowly altering an accepted food into a new food). One topic that came up is that iron deficiency anemia is extremely common in children whom are particularly picky eaters. This has struck me as possible before and has been mentioned to the doctor (and not pursued after we went briefly to a pediatrician at about 1.5 years)... Just on the suspicion, we've since given Rylan a daily multiple vitamin that contains iron~ once I finally found one that my medicine and candy-hating preschooler would eat. But apparently if he is deficient, this little supplement with only 4 mg of iron is not nearly enough to replenish his depleted stores. We've tried to include iron rich foods, but he pretty much turns his nose at most meat, poultry and fish, raisins, eggs, nut spreads, greens, and legumes... He will only occasionally eat cereal, but will fortunately(?) eat lots of enriched bread. Kyle's now going to experiment with recipes and will try to make him some muffins with molasses, dried apricots, and ground raisins...
I tend to be a bit of a hypochondriac, but some of the signs of anemia that apply to Rylan:
-behavioural problems
-learning problems
-repeat infections (that disgusting impetigo that he's had 4 times comes to mind)
-low appetite
-lethargy/fatigue (again NEEDING that daily afternoon nap- though most of the time he's bursting with energy... But then he'll suddenly fade like a flower. He often still falls asleep while in the car for more than a 10-minute drive.)
-increased sweating (gets very sweaty in sleep)
-pica (only ate dirt once that I know of, on a fieldtrip to a nursery last week- the preschool teacher joked that I should have his iron checked!)
-failure to grow at expected rates
-pale skin
-weakness (he has trouble riding a bike for more than a couple minutes or using his muscles to pull himself up or climb very well)
Causes that may apply to him
-high intake of cow's milk (opps, I was just so happy for him to get the fat and calories from whole milk that I probably let him have way over the recommended 2 cups a day)
-low/no meat intake
-poor diet in 2nd year of life (he ate fine as a baby, but around 14-15 months when he started walking, he started refusing most foods)
This is particularly worisome: "Low iron levels are an important cause of decreased attention span, reduced alertness, and learning difficulties." A photo to illustrate Rylan's pretty noticeable 'gapping out'--
This was at a birthday party this past weekend, where all the kids were watching a science experiment/demonstration. Note how all the kids are focused on the demo. Rylan, on the other hand, is completely in his own world. No wonder he's so behind in learning!! I had to actually get his attention and point him back to the really cool experiment going on... But he still seemed to struggle with paying attention, and this party was AFTER a nap that day!
So needless to say, I have made a doctor's appointment at which I'll request a requisition for a blood test for him. That should be loads of fun... If it comes back saying he is iron deficient, I can't imagine how we'd ever get a daily liquid supplement into him, but we'll see what happens. I will feel really good knowing that this is something we can improve quite easily and quickly. One website said that the effects of long-term deficiency on cognitive and behavioural issues isn't fully reversible once iron levels are restored, but I'm not going to take that to heart. Another parent in the group last night said that they saw a HUGE change in behaviour once they gave their 3 year-old treatment for anemia.
**edit-- reading through more websites, Rylan does NOT have some of the other symptoms, such as dry, brittle nails and blood in his stool, nor dizziness or a racing heart... So maybe he isn't iron deficient, or his case just isn't severe enough for those symptoms. Need to let up on Dr. Google now until we get that blood test done!
I'm trying to summon lots of patience within to work with him on the learning piece. Lately I've been working with him on the simple concept of his full name (with two middle names and last) and his new age (now saying 4 instead of 3 and a half). He frequently answers the name question with "I'm three and a half!". Not because he doesn't know his age or his name, but because he doesn't pay attention to really listen to the question. erg. Similarly, doing a puzzle with him yesterday, a dinosaur one he got for his birthday about which he was really excited, was just hopeless. He wouldn't pay attention for the two seconds it would have taken to figure out how to look at the pieces to distinguish the differences and then fit two together. Instead, he preferred to mess all the pieces around in a crazy fashion... I know he's got the knowledge and abilities to apply learning within him somewhere, but sometimes he just seems so incapable of demonstrating basic learned skills and knowledge. My mom questioned if he was even really aware that it was his birthday the other day.
What does seem to be working okay at the moment is the counting technique from "1, 2, 3 Magic!" I just returned the book to the library and picked up the DVD version, in hopes of convincing Kyle to watch it with me and then using the same techniques. I will be going to a parenting book club tomorrow night to chat about this book and hopefully share ideas. So far giving the two warnings and then doing a 4 minute time out in his room, or taking away toys/tv/books/privleges seems to be a powerful motivator for Rylan to turn off some of his obnoxious behaviours, like the sister bullying.
I tend to be a bit of a hypochondriac, but some of the signs of anemia that apply to Rylan:
-behavioural problems
-learning problems
-repeat infections (that disgusting impetigo that he's had 4 times comes to mind)
-low appetite
-lethargy/fatigue (again NEEDING that daily afternoon nap- though most of the time he's bursting with energy... But then he'll suddenly fade like a flower. He often still falls asleep while in the car for more than a 10-minute drive.)
-increased sweating (gets very sweaty in sleep)
-pica (only ate dirt once that I know of, on a fieldtrip to a nursery last week- the preschool teacher joked that I should have his iron checked!)
-failure to grow at expected rates
-pale skin
-weakness (he has trouble riding a bike for more than a couple minutes or using his muscles to pull himself up or climb very well)
Causes that may apply to him
-high intake of cow's milk (opps, I was just so happy for him to get the fat and calories from whole milk that I probably let him have way over the recommended 2 cups a day)
-low/no meat intake
-poor diet in 2nd year of life (he ate fine as a baby, but around 14-15 months when he started walking, he started refusing most foods)
This is particularly worisome: "Low iron levels are an important cause of decreased attention span, reduced alertness, and learning difficulties." A photo to illustrate Rylan's pretty noticeable 'gapping out'--
This was at a birthday party this past weekend, where all the kids were watching a science experiment/demonstration. Note how all the kids are focused on the demo. Rylan, on the other hand, is completely in his own world. No wonder he's so behind in learning!! I had to actually get his attention and point him back to the really cool experiment going on... But he still seemed to struggle with paying attention, and this party was AFTER a nap that day!
So needless to say, I have made a doctor's appointment at which I'll request a requisition for a blood test for him. That should be loads of fun... If it comes back saying he is iron deficient, I can't imagine how we'd ever get a daily liquid supplement into him, but we'll see what happens. I will feel really good knowing that this is something we can improve quite easily and quickly. One website said that the effects of long-term deficiency on cognitive and behavioural issues isn't fully reversible once iron levels are restored, but I'm not going to take that to heart. Another parent in the group last night said that they saw a HUGE change in behaviour once they gave their 3 year-old treatment for anemia.
**edit-- reading through more websites, Rylan does NOT have some of the other symptoms, such as dry, brittle nails and blood in his stool, nor dizziness or a racing heart... So maybe he isn't iron deficient, or his case just isn't severe enough for those symptoms. Need to let up on Dr. Google now until we get that blood test done!
I'm trying to summon lots of patience within to work with him on the learning piece. Lately I've been working with him on the simple concept of his full name (with two middle names and last) and his new age (now saying 4 instead of 3 and a half). He frequently answers the name question with "I'm three and a half!". Not because he doesn't know his age or his name, but because he doesn't pay attention to really listen to the question. erg. Similarly, doing a puzzle with him yesterday, a dinosaur one he got for his birthday about which he was really excited, was just hopeless. He wouldn't pay attention for the two seconds it would have taken to figure out how to look at the pieces to distinguish the differences and then fit two together. Instead, he preferred to mess all the pieces around in a crazy fashion... I know he's got the knowledge and abilities to apply learning within him somewhere, but sometimes he just seems so incapable of demonstrating basic learned skills and knowledge. My mom questioned if he was even really aware that it was his birthday the other day.
What does seem to be working okay at the moment is the counting technique from "1, 2, 3 Magic!" I just returned the book to the library and picked up the DVD version, in hopes of convincing Kyle to watch it with me and then using the same techniques. I will be going to a parenting book club tomorrow night to chat about this book and hopefully share ideas. So far giving the two warnings and then doing a 4 minute time out in his room, or taking away toys/tv/books/privleges seems to be a powerful motivator for Rylan to turn off some of his obnoxious behaviours, like the sister bullying.