Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Recognizing Hunger

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for posting this question, but I'll give it a shot. My son's coping abilities diminish severely when he's hungry. The problem is, he often doesn't recognize when he's hungry. Dh and I can identify it by the behavior, and then we give him food, and immediately he's happy again. It's his number one trigger for a meltdown. How can we help him to regulate his own body's needs? I give him lots of healthy snacks throughout the day. We always start out the day with some sort of fruit, grain, and protein. It's worse when he's going through a growing spurt b/c he needs more food and eats a lot more. It's just that many times, I'm the one who has to say, "hey, are you hungry?" When it gets to the point of a meltdown, he sometimes doesn't even know if he's hungry when I ask him. If you've had a similar experience, I'd appreciate any hints for what might work. Thank you!

I think that's typical of any child. And if they're not hungry, they may just be tired and in need of a good rest.

There is some thought that reactive hypoglycemia is more common among gifted children. I don't have an easy answer other than prevention with regular snack and meal times. We found it helps quite a bit to always have some portable snacks in the backpack and car.

That very well could be true, considering the brain uses a lot of calories in it's work. But I wouldn't expect a gifted child to be any more aware than a normal child of the feeling of needing fuel, or rest. Considering how intense some of these gifted kids are, and how focused they can be on things, they may be less aware of their bodies saying, "HEY, FEED ME", haha.

Thank you both for your opinions and info. I just looked up "reactive hypoglycemia in gifted children" and it certainly fits. Wouldn't it be nice if I could resolve the meltdowns and intense behavior with diet change and frequent snacks? I'm not holding my breath, but it's worth a shot. I think I will talk to the pediatrician about it just in case. The behavior is severe, and when he hits the point of no return there's no reasoning with him, but literally seconds to minutes after eating, he's a different kid. We've always thought it was strange, these extreme mood changes related to food. We thought he'd eventually learn to recognize when he needed food, and this would be resolved. Not so far! Anyway, thanks again. It's worth checking into.

Here's a good blog I found with lots of info and others with similar experience if anyone is interested.

http://www.reactivehypoglycemia.info/articles/reactive-hypoglycemia-in-highly-gifted-children/

Funny you say that! We always attributed it to his hypersensitivities (hypersensitive to feeling hungry with typical overreaaction).

I'm getting more reluctant to using the words, 'over sensitive' or 'hypersensitive', or 'over reaction'. It's just who GS10 is, he's not 'over' or 'hyper' about anything that may be labeled as a negative. He's very intense, a good thing; he's very sensitive, a good thing; he's very emotional, a good thing.

GS had his first meeting with his team for Destination Imagination. There are 5 kids on the team, from the 3 different elementary's in our district, all fifth graders. All 5 are in the gifted class in their schools. GS is the only one from his school on the team, so he didn't know any of the others. 3 are from one school, 1 from the third school It was fantastic to watch this group of kids, (all who might be labled as 'hyper' or 'over') bond and feed off each others energies and ideas.

It is great you are figuring this out and hopefully it cut back on the meltdowns.

Another thing that helped here was having more good fat in the diet. Kids need more fat that adults. Fish oil supplements and protein based snacks seem to help keep blood sugar more stable for longer.

Thank u for the tips! This isn't the first time we've suspected hypoglycemia, but I've never heard of REACTIVE hypoglycemia. I had a roommate in college who was hypoglycemic and turned into the devil when she didn't eat or if she ate ANY sugar. I see it with ds if he doesn't eat, but not so much with sugar consumption. We r pretty good about limiting sugar, though. Thanks again! We'll definitely be investigating further.

This is interesting... I still forget to eat!

Teach him to use Dr. Webb's HALT: Hungry Angry Lonely Tired. He can just use "HALT" at first so he learns to stop what he is doing, while you go through the list with him.

My child uses hungry, angry/anxious, lonely and tired.

Thanks lightdance. That's a great idea!

We have very high motabolisms in our family. We typically eat every 2 hours here. My son loves, loves, loves fruit. But fruit converts to sugar and within 1 hour he is hungry again, trying to get back up to the high sugar level. So I always insist on cheese with fruit. Again we eat a lot during the day both complex carbs and protein.

I agree about the fats too. We eat a lot of almonds and EVOO. Their little brains need fat. We also eat tuna or walleye (courtesy of our retired neighbor who fishes year round and needs an excuse to keep the fish) at least twice a week. I really can tell a difference when we have not had fish for a while. I also started vitamins again since the days are so short (sunrise is at almost 8 am and sunset is before 5 pm here). So I upped the vitamin D even more. This week is going much better for all of us after I remembered to do that.

I noticed this about DD when she went through major learning or growth spurts, and our solution is now part of our daily life. I fill a cupcake tin with healthy snack choices (12 cups, 12 choices) and leave it on her snack table and throughout the day her goal is to eat it all.

A handful of raisins, cherry tomatoes, pretzels, banana chips, cut up cheese sticks, frozen berries, frozen grapes, trail mix, nuts, carrot sticks, you name it, I put it in. Just a little of each. If there are perishable items (cheese sticks and such) I fill a smaller mini muffin tin and leave it in the fridge on the shelf she can reach.

She knows that all items in these tins are fair game, and she does not even need to ask.

I find that if she grazes all day, we have far less meltdowns. We also supplement with Omega-3 daily.

Bear does the same thing, but the problem is he won't eat when anyone else suggests it, even though he may be hungry. Add that to him not being very good at telling when he is hungry life around here is interesting. My best suggestion is that when it comes down to it the type of food isn't as important as simply getting food into him regularly. I try to feed Bear healthy food, but if all I can get into him is chips and that will give him enough calories to stop a melt down, guess what he eats! I've found it is very much a pick your battles situation.

Great idea with the cupcake pan.

JenSMP - You could easily be describing my GD5. I've forgotten, how old is your son? I've read about reactive hypoglycemia and have long felt that was a big part of GD5's problems with meltdowns. At home we give her snacks and try to make sure she eats every 2-1/2 hours or so. We try to get her to eat as much protein as possible but she is a very picky eater - textures, smells, tastes. The meltdowns are now pretty much limited to at school and right after school (she is in full day Kindergarten - I wish our SD had not done away with 1/2 day K). Sometimes I forget to feed her as soon as she gets home (well two or three times) and we've had some big scenes until I realize she just needs to eat. A few minutes after eating, she's back in control and generally cooperative. AND I KNOW BETTER! (Guilt - I know it happens at school & they don't get it.)

Some days she just can't make herself eat a good breakfast and it's a long time until noon lunch. Then a long time until she gets home on the bus at almost 4:00. She can be redirected and control herself much better now UNLESS she needs to eat (she usually doesn't realize that's what is wrong either). We've tried to get the school to let her have am and pm snacks but she would have to go to the clinic and that is an issue due to previous VERY BAD experience there.

Is your son a pretty good eater normally? We've even considered adding protein powder to muffins or "sweets" just to get more in her. The other problem is she does not eat much of her lunch at school (except on Pizza Day). They get to go play outside as soon as they finish their lunch and she would rather play than eat. Definitely a problem! DD has lunch with her once a week to try to get her to eat at least that day.

Let me know if you find that change in diet or frequency of eating helps.

lightdance - Where can I Dr. Webb's HALT? I've read some of his books before but is this method in a particular book or online somewhere? Reading more about it might make it easier to implement than coming up with my own method.

Thanks for mentioning it.

Wyldkat, sounds just like GD5. Sometimes any food IS better than no food at all. Lately she will agree she needs food more often than before, but not if she has to stop something she wants to do to eat!

DS6 (in 3 weeks) and I BOTH have this issue. My mom did as well. DS is a BEAR if he's hungry.

We have the opposite problem ... DD claims she is hungry and I have noticed it is because she is bored. If I can redirect her to another activity she tends to forget that she's 'hungry'. This is usually my tactic because if I argue she isn't hungry it backfires and I have the whining child who is completely focused on food and nothing else.

GM5-you described my ds6 perfectly! Your experience sounds exactly like ours, food sensitivities and all. He's pretty picky, although he's gotten MUCH better, so I have to put a lot of thought into his food choices. I really like the cupcake pan idea. That's great. Ds would be totally into that if I could just find enogh snacks he'll eat! We also pair cheese or lunch meat with fruit. String cheese is our best friend in a pinch, as is yogurt. Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this and for sharing your experience. I've been trying to pay close attention to when ds has last eaten so that I can head off a potential meltdown. It does seem to help. Today, he was REALLY hungry just before lunch, and he said, "Mom, I'm struggling to survive, here!" My dramatic little man!

As a person who grew up not knowing I had reactive hypoglycemia, I think I might be able to tell you a little bit about what it feels like.

I can go from being completely fine and not hungry at all to being so ravenous I might die in a period of five minutes. I never realized this was not normal until I read an intuitive eating book called "Are You Hungry?" and realized that I never had the one to two hour warning period of gradual increases in hunger signals that most people get. When I talked to my siblings, they agreed that they were exactly the same way -- not hungry to ravenous in less than five minutes. And when I say ravenous, what I mean is it literally feels like I will die if I don't immediately get food. A pounding, strong headache, desperation, intense irritability about whatever I'm working on. It's nothing like the gradual sensations of hunger I've read about.

The only way I've found to avoid it is to eat lots of small snacks irrespective of whether I'm "hungry" -- my goal is 6 per day, and I have a schedule where I know that if it's 9:30,I'd better eat something or by ten I will feel terrible.

So when you say that it's hard to get your son to recognize that he's hungry -- maybe it's because he doesn't feel hunger in the same way that you do. I didn't realize until I was over 30 that most people do not recognize "hunger" by an intense headache. But eating something ALWAYS made my headache disappear.

I don't have children, but I would venture to guess that the best solution for children is to feed them very often (and always small meals low in carbs and sugar) until they're old enough to understand what hypoglycemia means and can monitor themselves by just knowing that 7, 9:30, 11:30, 1:30, 3:30, and 6:00 mean that it's snack time, no matter what, and regardless of whether they want to interrupt what they're doing to eat.

I like the cupcake pan idea -- if, like Jen, I could find enough things that DD would eat!

I've always been hypoglycemic, and when it hits me I can just feel my blood sugar drop. I get the shakes, and I have to get something in NOW. Most of the time it's not that bad, and it just makes me irritable, impatient and angry.

My kids, especially DD7, have it to at least some degree -- I think DS11 has gotten better in the last year, but I used to have to stop him and make him eat when he would get cranky. I still do, with DD7 -- when she has a meltdown, playing with her friends, I make her come inside and eat something, and then she's fine.

It is hard to control your emotions when your blood sugar is low. I was amazed to read that someone's kid doesn't get to eat between breakfast and lunch - isn't that what morning break is for. NZ has always had a 20 min recess for food and exercise mid morning. My son has a break from 10.30 to 10.50 then lunch from 12.30 to 1.30 (20 mins eating outside then outside play). If your child doesn't get a break for exercise and food at least every 2.5 hours it is time to start being an activist because it is not reasonable.

My son's classroom has a table set with snacks during the morning and afternoon work periods. Snacks usually include fresh fruit and veggies, crackers, cheese, milk and juice. The kids have to serve themselves using utensils, sit at the table to eat and clean up afterwards. Only a few are allowed over to that table at a time but if the kids are hungry, they can head over there and eat as much as they want.

I didn't know they had that until I was in his classroom last week. I was kind of impressed. It seemed so civilized.

Wow, that is an excellent classroom!

This year, second grade doesn't get snacks because there are too many kids with food allergies. Apparently they switch classrooms for some classes, so none of the three second grade classes can have snacks. DD7 seems to be ok with it, though she was upset when school started and she found out. They do have lunch fairly early, so her blood sugar problems are saved for afternoon when school gets out.

My DS's preschool had a setup like KJP is describing. But, in his 1st grade class now, they do not have a snack break in the morning - instead they eat lunch early at 11:30 AM. I load up DS with breakfast and fruit and water and send him on his way each morning. His behavior changes drastically when he is hungry. When I pick him up from school, there is a small packed snack in the backseat. My DS has never once asked for food in his life - just does not feel hunger. He is intense in playing and never stops to consider whether he is tired or hungry. I have learnt to anticipate hunger and constantly give him snacks before the behavior deteriorates. I also carry snack bags every time we set out for extracurriculars or small trips so that he is constantly fed. The snacks I carry are: cheese sticks, carrots, cucumbers, craisins, dates, graham crackers, cheese crackers, grapes, strawberries, bananas, apple slices with cream cheese, granola bars, fruit chips, milk cartons, yogurt squeeze tubes.

And I forgot to mention - there is also a nut cracking area this year.

Apparently DS was victorious in a pistachio eating contest against one of his friends yesterday.

Another vote for hypoglycemia. My daughter goes from not hungry to ravenous in 30 seconds flat. In fact, I could ask her if she wants dinner and she can say no, not right now and then 10 minutes later she is demanding food and when I ask her why she told me she wasn't hungry she gets very upset. I choose to make light of it and call it HANGRY (hunger that turns into anger) and ask her if she can please let me know when she needs food BEFORE her hunger turns to hanger. LOL At any rate, I think frequent small snacks that are nutritious (protein and carb together) that last longer are the key.

hangry!
i'm stealing that one for DD5! she's honestly like the Hulk sometimes... thanks, kelly0523!