Food

Continued from Part Five... My personal philosophy is to let a newly adopted child eat as much as they want in the beginning. You do have to be careful that they not gorge themselves to the point of vomiting and/or physical discomfort. Maybe many smaller meals all day long would work better, but do not limit them. It might make them feel more insecure. In the beginning let them eat, with very little restrictions. (Obviously you want to get them to eat healthy food as much as possible.) I remember a story once about an adoptive mom who was upset about the daycare her son was in. He had recently come to America, and was frequently wanting to eat. At home, the… [more]

Continued from Part Four... An older child will have his or her own issues. They could exhibit one or all of the symptoms below: Gorging—the child will eat until they can hold no more. They will often vomit or be in physical pain. Hoarding—the child will hide food in the rooms, or in school backpacks, or random places around your home. Stealing—the child will steal food and either eat it right away, or hide it somewhere they deem safe. Lying—the child will be dishonest about stealing food, or about how much food they have or haven’t eaten. Extreme pickiness—the child will dislike foods presented to them. They might use it as a power over their new parents to gain sympathy, or simply to manipulate them. They may… [more]

Continued from Part Three... Most children adopted internationally will not be used to the abundance of their new home. One of the biggest changes for them might be food. For children who are used to small, scheduled meals, or always feeling hungry, or the same meal for every meal, life with their new family will most likely create quite an array of emotions and adjustments in the food department. They might be over-stimulated by the choices and quantities of food placed before them at meals. A simple trip to the grocery store could send your new child into sensory overload. Even a well-stocked fridge or pantry could be overwhelming for a newly adopted child. Most adoptive parents understand that their new child will view… [more]

Continued from Part Two... Then we adopted three kids from Ethiopia—a nine year old, a four year old, and a seven month old. In the beginning we didn’t think our 9 and 4 year olds had any serious food issues. They did not hoard food like some children do. They ate the things they liked, and refused the things they didn’t like. All seemingly normal. As time passed, we began to notice that we were wrong. Our 9 year old daughter was extremely picky. She hated nearly everything we gave her, unless it was loaded with sugar. She would throw food away and lie about it. She would fain illness in restaurants, until we stupidly allowed her to get dessert (because… [more]

Continued from Part One... In my experience as an adoptive mom to internationally adopted children, I have noticed that food seems to be an issue for nearly every internationally adopted child. At least I have seen it in all of my children that we have adopted or are adopting (from other countries), whether they were adopted as babies or as older children. Our first child was eight months old when we adopted her. She was living in a foster home type of setting with a few other babies to be adopted. She was small, but also of a healthy size. The first night we had her with us, she ate and ate. We weren’t sure whether we should keep feeding her, but we also wanted her… [more]

The first time we met Georgia in Haiti, she would eat anything we placed in front of her. She was shy and wary of us, but when it came to food, she was all business. She would take any bite we offered with our forks, without hesitation. When she was eating, she didn't care what we were doing. It was a good time to take her photo or video her. Between the first and second visit, Georgia was moved to Talley’s orphanage. We wanted them to be together, so that they would get used to each other’s presence. When we went to Haiti for our second visit, we could see a noticeable change in Georgia. She looked a little heavier and was much… [more]