10 yr old girl

[mags79]

Hubby and I are on day 20 and feeling great.  After the 4th of July we're considering easing our girls into it (3, 6 and 10).  Our 10 year old, we believe, could especially benefit from it.  She has learning difficulties, eczema and about 3 times in the past week have had uncontrollable outbursts that have lasted 20+ minutes each.  While I haven't fed them 100% Whole30 while at home, I have not bought new non compliant food.  While away from home, anything goes.  Here are my concerns:

 

1) Grandparents.  We've done restricted diets in the past and it's always tough on the grandparents.  They try and be supportive but they don't understand and get frustrated with the restrictions.  We live close to 3 sets of grandparents, we eat with my in laws once a week and my dad and step mom gets the girls frequently throughout the week (we live 1 mi away).

 

2) SWYPO foods.  I'm thinking these may be key in the grandparent department.  If I can keep some Paleo cookies in their freezer for those times when a treat seems necessary to them, then it may be best for all. 

 

3) Time!  I know, this one I just have to prioritize, but some days I just don't know how.  I'm figuring now until school starts is the perfect time but boy is it a lot of food prep and a ton of groceries. 

 

4) Budget, good grief all this meat and produce is expensive, compared to oats, rice and beans and pb and j.

 

Thanks for letting me process looking forward to your responses.

 

Maggie

[Tina R]

Welcome! Sounds like a great plan especially the SWYPO idea. Yes the prep will be hard, have you checked out The Clothes Make the Girl blog? She has some great ideas about doing a weekly cookup. Good Luck!

[Tom Denham]

Print out a copy of the Whole30 rules and the Shopping list. Laminate them and give a copy to the grandparents. Ask them to help you by feeding the girls according to these guidelines. 

 

http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/

 

http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-shopping-list.pdf

 

You know your family better than me, but I am sad at the idea of caving in about cookies without trying to convince them to offer fresh fruit as a treat. 

[GoJo09]

Like Tom said, give them the shopping list, and instead of listing all the things they CAN'T have, say "Here's a giant list of all the good foods the kids can eat while staying with you".

 

And maybe try saying "Look, we're trying not to use food as a treat or reward, so maybe instead of giving the kids a cookie when they've been good, here's a list of games/books they love - could you play 10 mins of the game as a reward/treat?"

[AllyB]

It would be worth trying, especially for your 10 year old.  I have a friend with a  daughter that had similar issues.  She didn't do a whole30, but something similar and it worked wonders.  She was able to pinpoint which foods are triggers for both her kids.  It was a big effort but now her kids will ask for fruits and veggies if they've been off roading for too long.  They start to feel bad and now know how to fix it.  When her kids are eating compliant, the behavioral/skin/learning issues are gone.

[pjena]

I hope you give us updates here.  I've never brought my family into this with me but have a niggling feeling I should.  I'd love to hear some success stories, in particular around the behavior.  Good luck!