What do I do about a child who is hordeing and sneaking food (especially food with sugar as an ingredient)?

Question

My step-daughter was taught at a very young age by her obese grandmother to horde and sneak-eat candy bars so her mother would not see. She is now 12 and since I came into her life 3 years ago, her mother and I have been in a constant battle with this behavior. We have taught her the benefits of eating properly. We have told her that she should be comfortable in asking us for candy, cookies and other sweets. We just noticed her sneaking a whole box of cookies. We have not said anything to her yet. The grandmother has been told, but that will not stop her from shoving sugar down this kids throat. We are about to move far enough away to prevent frequent visits, but we know that when she will visit that all of our teachings and pleadings go out the window. Removing all sweets from the house only increases the intensity of the hordeing when she is around sweets. And she craves any food with sugar. I watched in horror 3 yrs ago when she ate 4 slices of dry bread.Each slice had 4grs of sugar

Answer 1

I think it is ur child and if the grandmother can not respect ur wishes then u should not allow the grandmother to see the child, I do not believe it will take long for the grandmother to come around to ur way of thinking. If she don't thats her problem not urs. I gues I would remove everything from the house lock the cabinets even paddlock the fridge, if u have to only keep meat, potatoes, and eggs in the house then do that. If she starts eating raw potatoes, for the sugar, then she has more issues than u can fix and needs to see Dr. Phil.

Answer 2

Is she obese or overweight? I'm not sure a 9 yo eating 4 slices of dry bread is something so horrific. Could it be possible that you may be placing unrealistic expectations on this child? 12 year- olds tend to crave sugar. If you keep junk out of the house and keep modeling and discussing healthy eating while suspending judgment (including judging the grandmother) she'll pick up the right information. You may not see her consistently making these choices for at least 10 years so maybe you should just have faith that you will have a positive influence on her eating habits.

Answer 3

Sit down and talk to her, find out, beside the grandmother, if something else is behind it.. Explain moderation, she's doesn't have to hide it, just eat small amounts..Explain eating disorders, and obesity,,,,,just talk to her!!!

Answer 4

stop buying it. if she wants something sweet offer her fruit, jello, or Popsicles . she can't horde it if there's nothing around for her to horde.