Talk to me about low blood sugar and behavior...

[GrowingInGrace]

I think I found out one of dd2s major triggers for meltdowns/misbehavior - not getting enough good stuff to eat and not feeding her frequently enough.

I was thinking she has emotional issues (well, she does have some, but she's only just going to be 4 on Friday) , I was thinking there is something "wrong" with her. I even tried to get her to get evaluated last Friday, but she refused to participate. I am going to guess that reason was due to a combination of shyness and stubbornness and it was an unfamiliar place being asked to do things by unfamiliar people, no matter how much fun they tried to make it.

I posted this in the educating our children forum because it was related to her first day of preschool, but I wanted to explore this here, because I think it's key with my dd2 and her behavior.


When I dropped her off at school, I got there early enough to spend some time cuddling with her before I had to let her go. I had her climb in the front seat, and we cuddled, then she wanted to play with the window buttons and things, so that got her mind of her worries, I think.

She seemed in good spirits when I picked her up. And she said she liked it, but didn't sing the songs when it came to sing. I said that was okay, maybe next time she'd feel like it.

But...later in the day, she went on to go into major meltdown mode when I took the kids out to play. It's something she likes enough, but she just fell apart multiple times and couldn't/wouldn't do anything but be in my arms. Then when dh got home, I had him take her inside so the other 2 could play. But she calmed down and wanted to come out to play. She'd come out, then go into another meltdown about something. Then I'd cuddle her, but when she wouldn't let up, I had dh take her back inside. That happened about 2 more times, then I decided we all need to come in because she was just falling apart.

I thought maybe it had to do with the school day, then I realized maybe she didn't get enough to eat. She ate lunch around 11 so she could go to school at 12. She had a granola bar at school, then I gave her an thin slice of leftover ice cream cake from her birthday as a special treat, then she had some sun chips just before she went out. But I was completely out of good food snacks (grapes, apples, bananas). I should have given her something more like that, or a pb and j sandwich at the least.

I realized it was food and not tiredness, because after all the melting down she did, she didn't fall asleep like she normally would. I think it was an issue with low blood sugar and the crud I did give her just made her crash all the harder.

So, last night I went shopping and I will have to remember to feed her good stuff when she comes home from school.


I'm sure she had crashed from all the sugar/processed junk she had. I didn't mean to be giving her the crappy stuff, but I didn't have the good stuff on hand (and I usually do). I just forgot to make sure I went shopping for the week because over the weekend I was preparing stuff for her birthday party on Sunday. And Monday was spent cleaning up. And Tuesday, I didn't have a key to lock up the house with, because I was going to go after I dropped dd1 off to school in the morning. Apparently, I left the key unknowingly at my neighbor's house.

But aside from yesterday, she has been giving me a problem eating. Like right now, I gave her a few choices for breakfast. Eggs, oatmeal, or cereal. Rejected all of them, saying she's not hungry. But I know she's hungry. She ate craisins before we dropped dd1 off to school, and now she accepted grapes while she thinks about what she wants to eat. But it's 8:40 and she still hasn't made a choice yet.

Most mornings, like yesterday, she'll eat a few bites of cold cereal (like frosted shredded wheat), then claim she's full. I don't force her to eat, but it won't be long before she whines she's hungry.

Of all my three kids, she's the most slender. She doesn't seem to have much body fat, even though sometimes she can eat better than her siblings. She has the most varied diet and likes more flavorful foods - like spicy foods (orange chicken from Panda express is one of her favorites), or chooses food with sauces over plain foods.

How can I investigate this further? Is there something I can pursue with the pediatrician to have her tested for? Or do I just let that go and make sure she's got a steady stream of healthy foods all day long. I know right now, I'm not too pleased with my pediatrician, because she has not taken my concerns about her behavior seriously in the past. She just said I need to find a parenting group. Umm...yeah, whatever :no2.

Any thoughts on the blood sugar/behavior link?

[GrowingInGrace]

Now she's squirming on the couch, whining a bit because I am nursing dd3 and on the computer. She came over wanted me to pick her up and I told her I would when dd3 was done. She wasn't happy about that. This is starting out to be a bad day, and after yesterday's bad afternoon, it's going to wear me down. I know it.

Yeah, she can get really clingy when she is crabby.

[klpmommy]

Sorry this is rambly, my kiddos are "helping".

P *definately* has more behavior problems when his blood sugar has dropped. What this has meant for me is that I have to keep pretty "strict" snack & meal times (I will let him eat at other times, but I have times that we all sit & eat). We eat something about every 2 hours throughout the day.

When I am proactive about his eating (ie he eats before his blood sugar drops) he eats better than if I let it go too long & am already seeing the misbehavior. When I wait too long & he is already misbehaving due to blood sugar I have to start with something that he will eat w/o complaints- whether it is a cup of juice or some sundrops (natural version of m&m's) or even some chips. Once he *starts* eating he will do better so starting like this seems backwards, but it is what works for us.

Sugary junk will process out of the system faster & cause more crashes than healthier foods. I *insist* on a protein at every meal but not necessarily at every snack time. Breakfast has to be either a fried egg or pb b/c they are long lasting proteins. Protein processes through the system slower than other foods so making sure P gets enough protein is important.

This one is a bit harder to "admit" but there are times that I have to MAKE P eat. I tell him he doesn't have to eat, but he has to sit at the table until he is hungry enough to eat something. I don't make him clean his plate or things like that, but there are times that I know his blood sugar has dropped & if he doesn't eat it is just going to continue downhill. Those are the times that I start him with something he really likes then move to other healthier foods. And I do sometimes have to tell him "you need to eat x number of bites of --". I never planned on doing these things, but with P I have to.

Like your example of breakfast- if P can't make a decision I make it for him. Then he has to sit at the table until he eats a little. I tell him that I know he thinks he isn't hungry, but I can tell that he really is. But of course it is more fun to play than to eat.

E doesn't have as many problems eating that P does. She loves food. But I have had to limit her dairy or that is all she will eat. Sometimes she will eat just a little bit, say she isn't hungry any more & then a few minutes later she wants a snack. I pull her exact same meal out for her. If she ate a good amount I won't do that, but when she picks at the food b/c she wants the snack instead I do this.

HTH- oh, I have not had P tested or even mentioned this to the dr b/c I have been able to manage it all on my own.

[GrowingInGrace]

Thanks Kimberly, this is a major trigger for K too.

Yeah, it sounds like K is a lot like that after not eating enough. I usually don't offer sugary stuff or sun chips either, but it's all I had at the time, and the ice cream cake was a treat since it was leftover from her birthday party and it was her first day of school. I just felt like surprising her with it since she seemed to do well at school.

As it was today, we have continued to have issues today too (much to my :blush, they weren't all her fault). She ate cheese and crackers for lunch (not her normal lunch, but it's been a rough day for us). And I just gave her a snack of raw almonds and a banana. She seems quite peaceful now. First time all day she's been calm.

The newness of the school thing may also be affecting her, but I do know that low blood sugar also must play a big part of it too.

I think scheduling a good meal/snack every two hours is going to help.

[klpmommy]

crackers & cheese/almonds & banana both sound like "good" meals & snacks. I am not huge into making sure meals are meal like, we often have snack-y meals as long as they have protein.

I can always tell when I am neglecting our meal/snack schedule by P's behavior.