Picky Eaters....

Picky eaters are the bane of many parents existence.  This is actually a new phenomenon.  Most parents weren’t given a choice in what they ate as children.  You ate what was put on the table – and you ate however much they gave you. Period.

In my opinion this has several causes.  First, there was less food and less waste.  Parents had grown up in the depression or during war time when food supplies were actually slim.  A hungry kid will always eat more “gross” food – because they are hungry and it is food.  Today we have more food and parents are busier so convenience foods are offered on a more frequent basis.  Nearly any kid will choose a “fun” happy meal with chicken nuggets, fries, soda and A TOY over steamed vegetables, grilled chicken breast, brown rice and herbal tea….seriously.

Our healthy food tasted better.  We cooked the whole chicken, not just the breast.  We used butter and really good eggs.  Who doesn’t prefer a garden raised, heirloom tomato over a mealy, pale excuse for tomato?

Our food had more nutrients and tasted better – but our parents cooked it to mush - or even (gasp) fried it.  We cooked the whole chicken, not just the breast.  We used butter and really good eggs.  Who doesn’t prefer a garden raised, heirloom tomato over a mealy, pale excuse for tomato? This is an odd thing in that it was healthier – but it was also easier to choke down, even if you didn’t like it.  Again – nearly any kid will choose a happy meal over (don’t forget the toy)… 

Today’s vegetables – even though they are less nutritious and tasteless, are harder to eat.  Today a kid has to actually chew that tasteless broccoli – making it harder to choke down....and we try to serve them weird stuff like sushi, tofu and rice milk - which I don't even want.  Some parents served us stuff like fried bologna - which was actually fresh (a very odd concept today but actually possible).  My parents definitely served chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy with really mushy green beans - but the meat was butchered locally and the green beans and potatoes were from the garden.

The “high carb” diet phenomenon didn’t help either.  It has been shown that consumption of fat or oils at the beginning of a meal will trigger the “saiety” mechanism (the message from your brain that says “I am full”) earlier in the meal.  In fact, if mostly carbohydrates are eaten – the saiety mechanism never goes off – so you keep eating – more carbs.

It is no wonder our kids are picky eaters who are fat but poorly nourished with all kinds of behavior problems, allergies and immune disorders.  Oh and don’t forget the TOY (plastic crap made in China which will eventually clog your toilet or vacuum cleaner).

You might be able to treat your cold without regular "Medicine"...

A couple of days ago, I came down with symptoms of a cold – the “common” cold.  This was after all three of my kids had or were already infected.  It probably started with my oldest kid – who in turn probably got it at the local germ cesspool known as a school where a whole bunch of other germy kids gather on a daily basis.

This cold was a little different as it took almost two weeks for me to get it after he had it – which meant the “incubation” time was 7-14 days – longer than most colds.  Probably it was Respiratory Sincytial Virus (RSV) which can be dangerous and even deadly in small infants.  In older children it causes a fairly intense cold and in adults it usually causes a minor illness – doesn’t really mean you don’t feel like garbage, you just don’t feel like you are going to die.

RSV is one of the most common causes of “croup” which is characterized by a barking and sometimes spasmodic cough.  In children, this often leads to a buildup of congestion – which can lead to infections such as ear and sinus infection, along with pneumonia.  I say it was probably RSV – but it could have been an adenovirus, a parainfluenza virus – or a number of others.  Point is RSV is not an emergency except in small children.  You should take your kid for treatment if they can’t breath, have a high fever, have been sick for more than a couple of days…etc.  Use your common sense or someone else’s if you have none of your own (apparently a lot of people don’t).

Aside from waiting until the bacteria have grown in the stagnant mucous – and aside from the over-the-counter meds that you can give or take, there are also a number of home or natural remedies that can help treat a cold – or even a worse infection such as the flu.

• MOST OBVIOUS – wash your hands frequently with soap.  DON’T touch nasty tissues or drink after someone else.  If you have touched something or someone – WASH YOUR HANDS and DO NOT touch your face or eat.
• Spending a little time in a steamy room – can help to moisten and liquefy mucous so that it can

Kids with allergies…medicine unsafe….give me a break!

I was born in Oklahoma – the land of all flowering trees, grasses and all known allergens. I had allergies that were severe enough that my mother thought I would die….seriously. I had ear infections every 6 weeks and regularly visited a “pediatric allergist” who refused to take out my tonsils or put ear tubes in because he was not sure I would survive the surgery….seriously. I had full allergy testing performed and was taking allergy shots by the time I was four. Let me tell you this was over 35 years ago and they did not have “scratch” testing for allergies. They used to fill little cups with allergen solution and set them on 4 needles imbedded in your arm or back and wait for 15 minutes or so for a reaction. I don’t remember much about it but it must have been torture for my mother. By the time I was four, I was also taking adult strength allergy pills – not kids allergy liquid but adult tablets. I know this because my mom used to put one under my tongue as she dropped me off at day care and say “run in and get a drink of water to swallow it.” At the time – this was not considered dangerous and this way she knew that I got my medicine on time and it would last the rest of the day.

Fast forward many years. I now have 3 children – 6 and under. They all have allergies. Fortunately, we don’t live in Oklahoma so they are not quite as severe but as we do live in Central Texas – they are certainly noticeable and bothersome. Consequently, I have had to give them allergy medicine almost every day since they were infants.

A couple of years ago, the American Pediatric Association in conjunction with drug manufacturers came out with a statement that medications given for colds and allergies to children under two years of age are ineffective and could be unsafe. Because of this, all over the counter cold/allergy medication formulated for infants and toddlers were removed from the shelves of your local drugstores and grocery stores. All children’s cold/allergy medicine had to be relabeled to eliminate dosing instructions for children under 2. Cases and cases of cold medication were actually thrown away. A year or so later – this was repeated for children under 6. Now there is news that the same situation may be repeated for children under 12…..What is next….18? 21? 30? All cold medicine for all ages?

The medical establishment says that cold and allergy products do NOT work for children and that they may be unsafe. This is an outright lie.

The real problem is twofold. The first is that the medical community thinks the average American is too stupid to take medicine properly and especially that American parents are too stupid to know when children need medication and too stupid to give it properly. They claim that “hundreds” of children are seen each year in emergency rooms due to overdosing. Since we have become a litiginous society, the pharmaceutical industry and their insurance companies are unwilling to take the risk that some kid might get overdosed by his dumb parents….huh? I worked in hospitals and emergency medicine for many years and I don’t know of any cases that a child was harmed from an accidental overdose of allergy medicine. It would take way more than mom giving 1 teaspoons instead of 2…

The second reason is this: allergy and cold medication is still available in pediatric formulation for children – you just can’t buy it unless you visit a doctor. In fact, the last 3 times I have taken my kids to the doctor for a respiratory infection, I have been given a prescription for exactly the same medication I would have purchased over the counter. So the statement….these medications do not work is a LIE. If they didn’t work – why would the doctor prescribe it? The truth is they just want you to be required to see a doctor…..This in a time where many, many Americans including hundreds of thousands of children are not covered by health insurance –you have to see a doctor to get a prescription for medicine that was available 40 years ago…..sounds fair….(NOT).