Sue Scheff: Teens, Kids and Emotional Overeating

As parents/adults many people experience that gallon of ice cream when a stressful situation is looming in your life. When feelings of sadness or hopelessness overcomes them, some people simple turn to food. It is no different for children, however we as parents need to recognize the signs and talk to our kids about it. Read this recent article from Connect with Kids about Emotional Overeating and your children.

Source: Connect with Kids

Emotional Overeating

“They’d make fun of me because I was getting overweight, and I’d come home and I’d feel bad so I’d eat. The next day they’d make fun of me again, and I’d come home and I’d eat.”

– Cheyanne Fowler, 13

Thirteen-year-old Cheyanne began hiding food three years ago.

“I’d stick it under my bed,” she says. “Or, I’d get a pack of gummies and I’d save the wrapper and, you know, stick it in a drawer or something, hoping my mom wouldn’t find it.”

Hiding the food didn’t work, though.

“I would find wrappers in her room,” says her mom, Debbie. “I would find plates with food, like the crust off of toast; things like that hidden under the bed.”

And then Cheyanne started having trouble at school.

“They’d make fun of me because I was getting overweight,” she says. “And I’d come home and I’d feel bad, so I’d eat. The next day they’d make fun of me again, and I’d come home and I’d eat.”

She says she was using food to ease the pain. Only at the time, she didn’t know it.

“I didn’t notice how I was feeling,” says Cheyanne. “I guess I thought I was hungry. But now, I know that I wasn’t, that I was either upset or I was angry.”

Cheyanne started seeing Dr. Genie Burnett, a psychologist.

“We do one of two things with our feelings,” says Burnett. Either we talk them out or we act them out. Sometimes acting them out involves taking in food.”

Burnett asked Cheyanne to keep a food journal. Every time Cheyanne ate something, she would write down how she felt.

“Basically, what I’m trying to do is help them link what is going on in their mind with what is going on in their belly,” says Burnett.

“I guess we started talking about my feelings,” says Cheyanne, “and then I’d say, ‘Well, I’m hungry’ or I’d have, like, a candy bar. … And if we were talking about something that I didn’t feel all that great about talking about, … I’d start eating the candy bar.”

Cheyanne had to interrupt her pattern of feeling bad and then eating to compensate, says Burnett.

“Before you go to dinner, before you go to breakfast, before you do whatever,” she adds, “if you feel like bingeing, sit down and write down what you are thinking and what you are feeling.”

“I would either talk to my mom or something because we are really close and I tell her just about everything,” says Cheyanne. “Or, I’d talk to a friend, or I would just go up in my room and just sit a while and wait till I’m not feeling so bad and try to stay away from the kitchen.”

Tips for Parents

•According to the American Dietetic Association, most people don’t even recognize they are engaging in emotional eating until they’ve gained a lot of weight. Parents should learn to recognize the warning signs – being overweight, having a history of weight fluctuations, eating alone, hoarding food, eating rapidly, eating until uncomfortably full, and having feelings of guilt or depression after eating.
•Experts say encouraging kids to express their feelings can lower a child’s need to binge. Have younger kids draw pictures of how they are feeling. Afterwards, discuss the drawings.
•When older children feel the need to binge, distractions may help. The American Dietetic Association suggests finding other things to do, for example, walking, riding a bike or playing with the dog.
•Keep the kitchen stocked with plenty of fruits and vegetables. If children feel like bingeing, encourage them to have a small, healthy snack instead.

References
•http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/ohe/library/bodyimage/compulsive.htm
•http://www.oa.org/is_oa.html
•http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Resources/POC_topic9.pdf

Sue Scheff: Teen Anger, Rage and Learning to Manage it

"I don't care what you say I am doing what I want to do! I hate you and you just don't want me to have fun!"


"All my friends are allowed to stay out late; you are mean and want to ruin my life!"


"You have no idea how I feel and you are only making it worse!"

When a difficult teen is out of control, they only can hear themselves and what they want. It is usually their way or no way! There are so many factors that can contribute to these feelings. The feelings are very real and should be addressed as soon as you see that your child is starting to run the household. Teen anger may lead to teen rage and teen violence which can soon destroy a family.

A local therapist can help your family diagnosis what is causing the negative behavior patterns. Conduct Disorder or Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) is some of the many causes to this harmful and stressful behavior. Many times you will find a need for a positive and safe program either local or outside your home are that can help determine where these hurtful outbursts are stemming from.

As difficult as this may seem, it is important that as your teen is expressing these feeling of anger and rage, that you as the parent learn to control your emotions. You don't want to fuel it or feed it which can potentially enrage it.

Here are some tips for parents to learn to help manage their stress level as their teens is spiraling out of control:

1. Take a 'timeout.' Although it may seem cliché, counting to 10 before reacting really can defuse your temper.
2. Get some space. Take a break from the person you're angry with until your frustrations subside a bit.
3. Once you're calm, express your anger. It's healthy to express your frustration in a nonconfrontational way. Stewing about it can make the situation worse.
4. Get some exercise. Physical activity can provide an outlet for your emotions, especially if you're about to erupt. Go for a brisk walk or a run, swim, lift weights or shoot baskets.
5. Think carefully before you say anything. Otherwise, you're likely to say something you'll regret. It can be helpful to write down what you want to say so that you can stick to the issues. When you're angry, it's easy to get sidetracked.
6. Identify solutions to the situation. Instead of focusing on what made you mad, work with the person who angered you to resolve the issue at hand.
7. Use 'I' statements when describing the problem. This will help you to avoid criticizing or placing blame, which can make the other person angry or resentful - and increase tension. For instance, say, "I'm upset you didn't help with the housework this evening," instead of, "You should have helped with the housework."
8. Don't hold a grudge. If you can forgive the other person, it will help you both. It's unrealistic to expect everyone to behave exactly as you want.
9. Use humor to release tensions. Lightening up can help diffuse tension. Don't use sarcasm, though - it's can hurt feelings and make things worse.
10. Practice relaxation skills. Learning skills to relax and de-stress can also help control your temper when it may flare up. Practice deep-breathing exercises, visualize a relaxing scene, or repeat a calming word or phrase to yourself, such as "Take it easy." Other proven ways to ease anger include listening to music, writing in a journal and doing yoga.

These tips from the Mayo Clinic can also be helpful to your teens. It could benefit you to sit down with your teens and talk about controlling rage and anger before it escalates to the boiling over point.

Be an educated parent, you will have safer and healthier teens.
Read more on Examiner.

Sue Scheff: Teenagers Use of Caffeine

Another great timely article from Tangerine Times!!!!

Source: TangerineTimes

We already know that teenagers don’t get as much sleep as they should. The fact that the school systems in the U.S. haven’t “waken” to the fact that teens have a different sleep rhythm isn’t overlooked by me but I’ll not get into that subject today. Some studies say that only one in five teens is getting the recommended eight hours of sleep each night. I’m sure the rest are texting the night away. What I didn’t realize is the common and casual use of highly-caffeinated drinks to help them stay awake. We didn’t start “using” coffee to stay awake and study until college. Of course, that WAS to study not to text.

One-third of teens polled recently (as reported by U.S. News and World Report) fell asleep in school at least twice each day. Several students even confessed to falling asleep at the wheel while driving.

“We found that as these adolescents multitask into the night, they also caffeinate, and it affects their sleep dramatically,” said the study’s author, Christina Calamaro, an assistant professor of nursing at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
We’ve all read the poll published recently that stated the U.S. as a whole has lost about one to two hours of nightly sleep during the past four decades, putting us behind France but ahead of the Koreans who seem to work around the clock. At the same time, there’s been a twofold increase in the number of teens getting less than seven hours of sleep per night. Most experts agree that eight to nine hours a night isn’t enough sleep for most teens. (see the Sleep Foundation link in the sidebar)

Since almost all teens have at least one electronic device in their room — TV, cell phone, computer, telephone or music device, it’s not hard to see the stimulation driving the kids to stay up. Heck, the average sixth-grader has two devices in the bedroom, according to the study. By 12th grade, there are often four electronic devices in the bedroom.

Devices in the Bedroom
“These technological devices activate the mind. It’s like having a stressful work conversation just before getting into bed,” explained Dr. Jonathan Pletcher, an adolescent specialist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

“I think teens definitely underestimate the effect on sleep these devices have. I think most adults underestimate it, too,” he said. ( I don’t and frankly I think most reasonable parents don’t. It’s just really hard to wrangle these devices from the kids!!)

The current study, published in the June issue of Pediatrics, recruited 100 teens from the Philadelphia area to assess their technology and caffeine use, as well as their sleeping habits.

The teens were between 12 and 18, with an average age of 15. Fifty-eight percent were female. Sixty-two percent were white, and 27 percent were black. The average household income was $51,800.

Two-thirds of the teens had a television in their bedroom, and nearly one-third had a computer. Ninety percent of the teens had their own cell phone, and 79 percent had a personal music device.

On average, teens said they used four devices after 9 p.m. More than 80 percent of the teens reported watching TV after 9 p.m., and one-third said they sent text messages after 9 p.m. Fifty-five percent were online after 9 p.m.

Fifteen percent of the youngsters said they only slept three to five hours per night, while 62 percent reported getting six to eight hours nightly. Just 20 percent slept 8 or more hours each night.

Caffeine: Red Bull and Monster’ized’
Eleven percent of the studied teens drank the equivalent of more than four espressos daily. And, because many schools limit the sale of energy drinks, teens often got the bulk of their caffeine after 3 p.m., which Calamaro said could definitely disrupt sleep. Drinks such as Red Bull and Monster are loaded with caffeine and the combination of the caffeine and the late hour of consumption puts these teens in the exhaustion category.

And, we were worried about too much stress from school weren’t we?