Michelle on Josie's Progress

[GeoBQn]

Michelle gives an update on "Bionic Baby" Josie.

 

parentables.howstuffworks.com/family-matters/how-michelle-duggar-deals-her-daughters-food-sensitivities.html

 

Quote

She is still supposed to be careful to not get too much dairy in her diet, so I am teaching her about it. The other day, we heard some commotion in the kitchen. Jordan was standing in the kitchen holding a yogurt and trying to tell Josie that it would give her a belly ache. Josie just kept saying, “It doesn’t have milk. It doesn’t have milk. It doesn’t have milk.†She was really distraught.

 

I had to take her aside, and I had to talk to her about it and let her know it would give her a tummy ache. I told her she needed to leave that milk alone and taught her to say, “I know others may, but I may not.†She’s learning it. She practices speaking it with me. And we just have to learn that lesson young in life and live that way. So anyway, bless her heart, she really is convinced that yogurt does not have milk!

Should a 3-year-old really be responsible for making sure that others don't give her food that she can't have?

[AuntCloud]

Don't know how to respond to that - no, a 3-year old shouldn't be in charge of her nutrition, but it's never early enough to drill it into allergic/intolerant kids which foods are bad for them.

Has osteoporosis reached J'Chelle's brain and deleted the correct spelling of her kids' names? Because of course she writes her ParentBS all on her own.

[laura oz]

My three year old was premature like Josie, and as a matter of fact he almost came when Josie did and at the same gestation which made me even more interested in the Duggars way back then. He would eat pudding and strawberries every day all day if he made his own judgment calls on what he ate. No, Josie is too young to have that kind of critical thinking, and Michelle is a lousy and lazy pseudo mother. I have to shake my head at how much I used to admire her and think she was an amazing example of a Christian mother. I was a douche.

[gustava]

So, bionic miracle baby isn't perfect.

[France Nolan]

Well, she spelled JORDYN's name wrong.

If you're child can't have dairy how about getting non-dairy yogurt? That way she can have yogurt that "doesn't have milk". My daughter is two and I guarantee you if I told her that yogurt, ice cream, and cheese all have milk in them she would look at me like I have six heads. Why? Because she's two. As far as she's concerned milk is a liquid. It's in a carton, kept in the refrigerator, and poured over her Cheerios. That's completely normal. Josie's insistence that yogurt doesn't have milk is completely normal.

What isn't normal is making your child watch as others get to enjoy food and refuse to provide appropriate substitutes. They make and sell almond/soy/coconut milk yogurts where I live. I'm sure it's not that different in AR.

[slickcat79]

I find it sad that the 4yo is the one keeping her from eating the yogurt. She shouldn't be in charge of what her little sister eats either. Also, for the millionth time, it's JORDYN.

[Eternalbluepearl]

I think she's trying to teach her that yes, she's going to see her 18 siblings eating dairy, but she cannot have it. That's what the "others may have it, I may not." Thing was in my opinion. Nothing really snark able there.

[Cheetah]

Michelle gives an update on "Bionic Baby" Josie.

parentables.howstuffworks.com/family-matters/how-michelle-duggar-deals-her-daughters-food-sensitivities.html

That's a really awkward phrasing for a 3 year old. Plus that's actually a place where one should use can/can't instead of may/may not. Why not just teach her, "I can't have dairy products.. they give me a stomach ache".

[Seal]

"others may, but I may not" is a typical fundie phrase from what I've heard. It's an explanation of why you see other (ebil) people doing one thing, but it's still not ok for your family to do those things. Alot of my fundie-ite homeskool friend's mothers would say those things to the kids.

[Eternalbluepearl]

Because its Michelle Duggar. Remember? Her boys only wear nice polo shirts and khaki pants? She's more formal and better than others at all times? *totally being sarcastic*

[Mudgie]

Having a food allergic child means that you can never drill it into their heads early enough. And yes, the other siblings do need to be aware and alert about it as well. The entire household does. It doesn't sound like Josie's reaction is life threatening but still I can understand how the older child commented. My kids are hyper vigilant about certain foods because they know their sister is allergic. Just like when the baby is in the room they know they can't play Legos or other toys. It's a family awareness.

[slickcat79]

I think she's trying to teach her that yes, she's going to see her 18 siblings eating dairy, but she cannot have it. That's what the "others may have it, I may not." Thing was in my opinion. Nothing really snark able there.

Except that Michelle's not teaching her that others may have dairy, but she can't, Michelle is teaching her to SAY that. Which is odd and awkward phrasing for a small child, plus it still doesn't teach her which products have dairy and which don't. As mentioned above, why not just teach her to say "I can't eat dairy"? Then the person she is speaking to would know what to avoid giving her, and suggest an alternative.

[France Nolan]

Having a food allergic child means that you can never drill it into their heads early enough. And yes, the other siblings do need to be aware and alert about it as well. The entire household does. It doesn't sound like Josie's reaction is life threatening but still I can understand how the older child commented. My kids are hyper vigilant about certain foods because they know their sister is allergic. Just like when the baby is in the room they know they can't play Legos or other toys. It's a family awareness.

Is Josie allergic or is she lactose intolerant? People use those terms like they're interchangeable but they're not (not saying that's what you're doing, just making an observation).

Toddler Nolan has a shellfish allergy. She wears a medical ID bracelet so in the event that I'm not with her and she has a reaction people will know to call emergency services. I carry an epi pen on me at all times, her daycare has an epi pen, and my parents keep one at their house.

[Coconut Flan]

I think Michelle has said Josie is lactose intolerant. I wonder if they've ever let her try yogurt. A lot of people with lactose intolerance can eat it fine. I also remember them allowing her to have some fairly dairy heavy meals including macaroni and cheese.

[Bazile]

Should a 3-year-old really be responsible for making sure that others don't give her food that she can't have?

Jordyn isn't really old enough to be telling Josie yes or no on foods, but any kid with food allergies needs to be cognizant to the best of their abilities of what they're allergic to in order to avoid it. One of my brothers was severely allergic to rice (which was made harder by the fact that it's a rare enough allergy that rice is generally considered hypoallergenic) as a kid, and he would have anaphylactic reactions. By the time he was three, he knew to ask anyone who gave him food other than our parents if it had rice in it. After a woman at church gave him a mini crunch bar that one bite of sent him into an allergy attack at about 3 and a half, my mom sat him down and taught him to read the word rice for himself. The woman in question was a nurse, and my mom had thought it would be fine for my brother to be in her preschool kid's program that met during the mid-week Bible Study. My brother had asked her first about the candy, and she told him it was fine since she thought him not being able to have rice just meant no white rice or Rice Krispies. She could have killed him, and my mom stopped the car twice on the way to the emergency room to literally pull gunk out of his mouth, and give him CPR. Though based off describing Josie's issues as no dairy because it will give her a stomach ache, I doubt that Josie is dealing with an allergy of that severity. Which is great for her sake, because as much attention as Michelle pays to her kids she'd be dead.

[Rescinded and Mended]

Well, she spelled JORDYN's name wrong.

If you're child can't have dairy how about getting non-dairy yogurt? That way she can have yogurt that "doesn't have milk". My daughter is two and I guarantee you if I told her that yogurt, ice cream, and cheese all have milk in them she would look at me like I have six heads. Why? Because she's two. As far as she's concerned milk is a liquid. It's in a carton, kept in the refrigerator, and poured over her Cheerios. That's completely normal. Josie's insistence that yogurt doesn't have milk is completely normal.

What isn't normal is making your child watch as others get to enjoy food and refuse to provide appropriate substitutes. They make and sell almond/soy/coconut milk yogurts where I live. I'm sure it's not that different in AR.

This is immediately where my mind went after I read the first post. I mean, how hard is it to keep a soy yogurt alternative in the fridge or freezer, locked away from the other Duggar kids, so that Josie can have a yogurt treat to enjoy, too? I have allergies to dairy, and some of the soy ice cream alternatives are really quite good. There's also almond milk, coconut milk, amd even the stuff made with corn fillers, though not as nutritious.

It's good that Josie is learning that she needs to avoid dairy, but there's no reason to leave her out and make her feel deprived, either.

[Lillybee]

It looks like the lost girls are still foraging for food out of the snack fridge. Little kids do not always make wise food choices.

[mockingbird]

I agree that it's good to teach her(/any kid with allergies or intolerances) what she can't eat early, but that Michelle isn't being as effective as she could be. Being able to name the thing she can't have to other people (saying "I can't eat milk/dairy") would probably work better in getting her needs across and maybe help Josie be able to understand better too if she knows what she's not allowed to have. I'm probably expecting too much of Michelle but hanging a food pyramid up in the kitchen and pointing out to Josie which items are in the dairy category might also reinforce things.

Also, it's good that JordYn knows what foods Josie can't eat, but a little scary that she's being the one regulating that. Like someone else said at least it doesn't sound like a life-threatening allergy because I'd be worried about Josie's safety.

And I agree again about finding non-dairy alternatives for her instead of letting her feel left out.

[HereticHick]

Most of my family is lactose intolerant & can eat yogurt just fine (and eat a lot of it, for the calcium!). I agree that Michelle may be confusing intolerance and allergic. Science--how does it work??

[Mela99]

Well, she spelled JORDYN's name wrong.

If you're child can't have dairy how about getting non-dairy yogurt? That way she can have yogurt that "doesn't have milk". My daughter is two and I guarantee you if I told her that yogurt, ice cream, and cheese all have milk in them she would look at me like I have six heads. Why? Because she's two. As far as she's concerned milk is a liquid. It's in a carton, kept in the refrigerator, and poured over her Cheerios. That's completely normal. Josie's insistence that yogurt doesn't have milk is completely normal.

What isn't normal is making your child watch as others get to enjoy food and refuse to provide appropriate substitutes. They make and sell almond/soy/coconut milk yogurts where I live. I'm sure it's not that different in AR.

This. Every grocery store has a small organic section. Ice cream and everything has a non-dairy counterpart. She shouldn't have to say "I may not". She's THREE. She doesn't understand WHY.

[Grannie2times]

In my area Aldi sells Almond milk. $2.49 a half gallon. Regular and Vanilla, both taste great. Walmart has it at$2.97 a half gallon.

[Sailing on Europa]

If you're child can't have dairy how about getting non-dairy yogurt? That way she can have yogurt that "doesn't have milk". My daughter is two and I guarantee you if I told her that yogurt, ice cream, and cheese all have milk in them she would look at me like I have six heads. Why? Because she's two. As far as she's concerned milk is a liquid. It's in a carton, kept in the refrigerator, and poured over her Cheerios. That's completely normal. Josie's insistence that yogurt doesn't have milk is completely normal.

What isn't normal is making your child watch as others get to enjoy food and refuse to provide appropriate substitutes. They make and sell almond/soy/coconut milk yogurts where I live. I'm sure it's not that different in AR.

Yes!! I am vegan, and I love all types of soy, coconut and almond yogurt. Why don't the Duggars buy alternatives that Josie can have?

[PennySycamore]

I think Michelle has said Josie is lactose intolerant. I wonder if they've ever let her try yogurt. A lot of people with lactose intolerance can eat it fine. I also remember them allowing her to have some fairly dairy heavy meals including macaroni and cheese.

Yeah, yogurt is fine for a lot of lactose intolerant people. I know my daughter doesn't seem to be bothered too much by TCBY frozen yogurt. She was also delighted to find out that real cheese is lactose-free. (Pasteurized process cheese is not.) She just graduated from college in Vermont, land of Cabot and other fine cheeses. Yum!

[curlytoes79]

What isn't normal is making your child watch as others get to enjoy food and refuse to provide appropriate substitutes. They make and sell almond/soy/coconut milk yogurts where I live. I'm sure it's not that different in AR.

Of course a 3-year-old is going to get upset if she can't do something everyone else is doing. If you just tell her "they can do this, but you can't," she's going to end up with a complex. Or at the very least, she won't be able to connect her actions with consequences because you're not saying "you can't eat this because you'll get sick." Followed by "But here's something you can eat."

These fundy families think they can tattoo rules on a kid's brain without giving a rationale - because you're not supposed to think, just obey.

[paganhomeschooler]

I just want to say ditto to what PP have said about siblings. One of my kids has food/dye allergies. The other kids know, and they watch out for her. My kids that have any sort of allergies, food or medication, are taught from the time they can speak what their allergies are. My allergy-riddled child is almost 10, and even my just turned 5 yo will say "You can't have this, A., it has red dye in it."

Medications can get tricky with penicillin and red dye allergies, but I handle those with the doctor and pharmacist in the event she needs antibiotics. She has been reading labels on her own for over a year now. I'm very proud of her for the way she has taken control of her medical conditions.

When she was little, however, I did just teach her to politely say, "No thank you, I'm allergic to red dye/mushrooms/etc." Very graciously, most of our family and friends try to go out of their ways to make sure there is at least something fun she can eat at parties and things. My SIL has even been trying to work out a fruit based dye for the chocolates she makes them for holidays so she can get a pink and purple since those are my daughter's favorite colors, but she hasn't gotten one to work that doesn't mess with the chocolate setting up yet! lol

Of course, Mullet probably would never think of trying to give Josie something else in place of actual dairy. A couple of my kids have needed lactose-free/soy milk as little ones, and we always made sure they could enjoy things with the family. I even got goat milk cheese for my son!