Poop Talk...Passing on educational info to parents

[Fun&care]

Yes unfortunately these days I find people place way too much value on cows milk for kids. My son never had any because it made him breakout in horrible rashes on his face (this when he was breastfed and I consumed dairy). I cut out dairy and voila the rashes disappeared. This intolerance continued until he was about two at which point it seemed he outgrew it, although to this day he is not a fan of dairy.

When I was a teenager I started suffering from pretty bad acne and it all again disappeared when I cut out dairy, sugar and caffeine.

All to say that dairy CAN be a good supplement to a child's diet IF they can handle it and only as a SUPPLEMENT, it shouldn't be their main source of calories and should only be a small part of their diet.

If I were you, I would just keep pushing the issue like I did even though our situations were not exactly the same. I feel your frustration!

[5 Little Monkeys]

I'm exhausted tonight and might have missed this but....have you or can you decrease the amount of milk and dairy he has with you during the day? I have a child with a milk allergy right now so the parents send his food and milk everyday. I just give him milk once a day and send the rest home.

I also had a child with a milk sensitivity but I supplied the food. I would buy lactose free yogurt and just gave that to all the kids. Are there things like that, that you could buy and feed him instead?

[bright sparks]

I'm exhausted tonight and might have missed this but....have you or can you decrease the amount of milk and dairy he has with you during the day? I have a child with a milk allergy right now so the parents send his food and milk everyday. I just give him milk once a day and send the rest home.

I also had a child with a milk sensitivity but I supplied the food. I would buy lactose free yogurt and just gave that to all the kids. Are there things like that, that you could buy and feed him instead?

He only has his cans of formula which I have cut by 50%. Only 1 of my kids has milk, plus this little guy who has his special stuff and then another child whose mother has actually researched thoroughly how bad dairy is for us humans. I work very hard to include better sources of calcium in every meal to make sure every child is having a healthy dose, and as for iron, well there actually isn't any naturally occurring iron in milk, its all modified so terrible stuff anyway. I don't feed the kiddos yogurt and the 1 kiddo who can have dairy has their milk sent in. I'm not going to bother spending more on special dietary foods for a child whose family will take their child home and destroy all that goodness. I'd rather eliminate dairy and add collards to every recipe imaginable. I also make kale chips so they get a great amount of calcium there without all the fat and other nasties.

[momofnerds]

why is this child on forumula.
also if he is at your house why are you giving him so much formula, does he not eat.
why can't you give him water

also is he having loose or diarrhea. There is a difference.
also, how do you not know that its not milk its acually fruit. i have had kids who eat alot of fruit and end up with loose stools all day long.Or juice, he could be getting juice at home too.

also, yogurt does help the digestive system, and if he does have some tummy problems then yogurt may help

also, did you know that tylenol or advil also will give kids loose stools. I've been down this road too.

you have 2 choices, either term them or deal with it. Ya it stinks, but this is what I would do. I would start sending the poopy diapers home so they can see what is going on.

has he ever done a stool sample, because the child could have worms too.

you also have to remember to not mix your beliefs with theirs either. Also, maybe a food journal would be the best for you and your family this way you will have an idea what he has eaten or drank.

[momofnerds]

I just checked the can of formula I have and it has no sugar in it, so what formula does.

[mickyc]

Yes good questions - why IS this child on formula?! No reason for an 18 month old to be on formula. I usually like all daycare kids weaned off the bottle/formula no later than 16 months

[bright sparks]

Much easier to answer all your questions momofnerds within text as there were so many and I want to be very clear and not miss anything.

why is this child on forumula. Because the parents want him to be on it at the advice of their dr to keep him on till he is 2 years old because he has a dairy intolerance
also if he is at your house why are you giving him so much formula, does he not eat. As stated in previous posts, I have cut out 50% of his milk intake and yes he does eat, no problems in that department although his diet is dairy free.
why can't you give him water I do give him water, but as you say further down about keeping my personal beliefs out of it, I give him his milk because his parents tell me to, if it were up to me or I was acting on my belief systems, I would give him ZERO!

also is he having loose or diarrhea. There is a difference.I am well aware of the difference between the two given my history working in healthcare. This child since cutting back on the quantity of formula and cutting out dairy has only loose movements, when his parents gave dairy it was diarrhea, the kind that is liquid, when they reintroduced it in small quantities it was also dhiarrhea. His movements now have no solidity to them except undigested food but have the colouring of poop, versus liquid which is more yellow in colour with dhiarrea. They are not smooth and pasty or even clumpy but very sloppy and he has to have a change of clothing nearly everyday and sometimes twice.
also, how do you not know that its not milk its acually fruit. i have had kids who eat alot of fruit and end up with loose stools all day long.Or juice, he could be getting juice at home too. This answers a question further down too. I am big into observation and recording so about 4 months ago I started a journal that mom and I pass back and forth. This was prior to eliminating the dairy as I wanted her to see exactly what he was eating and I also wanted to see how much and how frequent certain foods were being ingested. When his dhiarrhea returned about 6 weeks ago I spoke to his mum about cutting out fruit as this can commonly cause loose movements as the food journal showed that he was eating a large quantity. I said that I would no longer serve him fruit unless it was bananas as they have a tendency to bung children up and so he was still getting lots of nutrients I would serve him raw veggies for snacks as a replacement. This didn't make any difference and it was only after 3 continuous days of 3-4 dhiarrhea apisodes that mum fessed up that they had given him these small servings of dairy and she eliminated it again and within 4 days the stool changed to loose and generally only 1-3 a day.

also, yogurt does help the digestive system, and if he does have some tummy problems then yogurt may help If a child is given probiotic yogurt it can help digestive issues, but if it is any other yogurt then the sugars, even the artificial sweeteners dominate and these types of yogurts do very little if anything to help an unhealthy gut. That being said this child has a DAIRY INTOLERANCE which I stated in the original post so I can not give him yogurt of any kind.

also, did you know that tylenol or advil also will give kids loose stools. I've been down this road too.He isn't regularly medicated to my knowledge and I doubt very much this would explain a 7 month period of absolutely no solid bowel movements

you have 2 choices, either term them or deal with it. Ya it stinks, but this is what I would do. I would start sending the poopy diapers home so they can see what is going on. I wasn't under the impression I said I wasn't going to deal with it. This post was simply asking others of their experiences and a place to express my concerns and opinions and to have the support of my online professional peers. I also made it clear that I wasn't terming but to me the actual "dealing with it" is to do everything I can to help this child, obviously within the confines of my role. That doesn't mean that I just deal with it by doing nothing.

has he ever done a stool sample, because the child could have worms too. To my knowledge no. The child was at the dr's as recently as Wednesday where the dr dismissed it as even being an issue to have this many loose bowel movements over such an extended period.

you also have to remember to not mix your beliefs with theirs either. As I wrote in my original post, I have not done this at any point and have given the family every opportunity to tell me no thank you. Also, maybe a food journal would be the best for you and your family this way you will have an idea what he has eaten or drank.

This was the easiest way to address all your points I hope it is clear to read

[bright sparks]

I just checked the can of formula I have and it has no sugar in it, so what formula does.

That's just one formula though right...

This brand is Alimentum and the number two ingredient is Sucrose which is SUGAR! This formula also contains casein which is number three ingredient and is a dairy product.

[bright sparks]

Yes good questions - why IS this child on formula?! No reason for an 18 month old to be on formula. I usually like all daycare kids weaned off the bottle/formula no later than 16 months

I'm sure you remember my older post about child still having so many bottles at 17mths because I just read back on it so as not to contradict myself and be refreshed on where the thread went and you were one of few who agreed with me that he didn't need so many bottles or nearly as much milk.

The simple answer to this question then is that this child is on formula because his parents tell me to give it to him. I have people on one side saying I should not cross the line on my beliefs and on the other side people telling me a child can be kept on formula till 2 years. I really couldn't care less about the milk, dairy or otherwise, I do however care about the child's wellbeing and that is why I am trying my damnedest to help find the route of the loose stool and occasional diarrhea. He has a very clear and obvious intolerance to dairy but his formula contains a component of dairy. The childs dr says it is a more digestible form of dairy protein but there is always an exception and this may be for the majority, but not everyone. Also for those who get loose movements from to much fruit, it isn't just the dietary fibre but mainly the sugar content that causes it. This formula also has a great amount of sugar in it so it is obvious to me that this is a dairy issue likely causing an increased response to the sugar content also due to a no doubt leaky gut. Yes that is only a hunch from a daycare provider, but unless someone else can come up with an alternative cause, and back it up with facts that make sense, I'm just gonna stick with the dairy problem. He has such a wonderful appetite and eats everything so if the formula was eliminated it wouldn't do any harm