Child Getting up in Middle of Night and Eating Junk Food

My son, also adhd, has done this too. He might really be hungry. Offer him a bedtime snack (healthy one). I used to give mine crackers and a glass of milk to help him get ready to sleep. Tell him that he once he is in bed he needs to stay there. He must get all of his night time stuff done before bedtime, snack, bathroom, brushing teeth, water. If he gets up past bedtime, there will be a consequence. If he's getting sweets without permission, they'll go in the trash.

This worked with my son. Also, you may want to positively reinforce him getting in bed and staying there by rewarding him the next day. Maybe then he can have a sweet.

I'm afraid if you completely take away all sweets and don't allow them in moderation, they can become a "forbidden fruit." It's just my opinion, but I think teaching moderation and impulse control is better than teaching deprivation. The reason many people on diets fail is because they feel deprived.

The medicine does affect his appetite and by night it has worn off so he is hungry. My suggestion would be to put healthy snacks in his room and don't let this be a power struggle. Let him help select his middle of the night snacks. The more you make food into a battle the worse it will get. I suggest you get all the sweets out of the house and let them only be an occasional treat perhaps when you go out and get a special treat at the bakery of ice cream store. I have had 2 grandchildren on this medicine and they were definitely affected by it. V.

Hi P.,

This could be one of two things. Either he is ravenous because his diet is not satisfying him or he could just be doing what he wants and it's a behavior issue. Sometimes the ADHD is not as severe as we think. My daughter's diagnosis was removed when we detoxed the house. She was a much more compliant child and her behavior changed. She was my child that would get out of bed when everyone else in the house was asleep. It scared me to death to know she was rambling around the house with no supervision so I know how you feel…

Yeast can also be an issue. Feeling bad from yeast can also exacerbate bad behavior. If his little body is eaten up with it (over 85% of Americans have a yeast problem because there is so much sugar in our everyday diet...even white breads and French fries) he will not necessarily show symptoms except through his behavior. A yeast problem makes us ravenous for sugar.

Have you ever made bread from scratch? You keep a “starter” in the refrigerator of yeast and you have to “feed” it every day. You add a teaspoon of sugar to it to keep it alive. That is what you use to make the bread rise. It is a living thing. If a body is fed sugar everyday and yeast is present, it WILL get worse. NO ONE is addicted to sugar except people that DO have a yeast problem. When a woman sees yeast in her vaginal area or you see a baby with Thrush (white coating on the tongue), then the entire body is already eaten up with it. The outside of the body is the LAST place it shows. My mom had it so bad after some antibiotics in the hospital that it was oozing through her skin. If it’s not taken care of it can cause severe health issues later on.

I’m not saying this is your son’s problem but it is definitely something to watch for. At 6 years old, if something happens in the night he may not know what to do, so as a short term solution you might want to lock the sweets up at night. It might be a wise thing to do until his behavior changes.

God bless!

M.

Nip it in the bud! It would be okay to "lock your kid out of the food" between the hours of say, 9pm and 7am, I think. If he really is hungry, healthy snacks. I read that other posters thought he might actually be hungry... Why don't you make him a PB&J when he goes to bed and tell him that that is his only option if he wakes up hungry.

I still would talk to the pediatrician. I don't think nighttime eating is a good habit to get into.

I agree 100% with andrea, get rid of the temptation. throw the junk food out. your second option is to lock the cabinets. He having ADHD shouldn't be eating that stuff to begin with. Kids with ADHD get a big push from all that sugar. I can always tell when my daughter has been sneaking candy because we have major attitude and listening problems.

Great idea to replace the junk food with healthy options like fresh fruit and pretzels. However, it is also important that he learns to stay in bed and not get up to eat and, therefore, obeying his parents.

I would give him a negative consequence for the behavior so he is deterred, since just verbally telling him no has not worked. Perhaps let him know that the if he chooses to disobey and get up and eat food in the night again, you will receive a consequence for that decision. Choose something that will outweigh his delight in the junk food, perhaps taking away his favorite toy for a few days, not allowing him to have any dessert for a month, taking away the privilege of tv or movie watching for a week etc. Then, the key is FOLLOWING THROUGH. Do not make idle threats. He will quickly learn that he needs to eat at the times that you designate and then he won't be hungry at night. And, more importantly, hopefully he will learn to obey mommy and that you are in charge, not him. This will help in this situation and on down the road when he is a teenager! :)

What you could do is take out of the junk food in the house and only put nutrition foods like fruits and raw vetagetables in the house especially in the kitchen. When the child wakes up and see nothing to eat,then he will eventually stay asleep. If your husband like junk food hide his portions somewhere in you all room that the child will not see it. You don't want him to become over weight in a month becasue it can happen before you know it.

It may just be a habit he's formed over the past week, however he could be really hungry too. My son is also on ADHD meds and will eat his meals during the day (not very good though), but once his evening meds. wear off he acts as if he's never fed & can't get enough. I don't know if you do, but you might want to offer him protein rich snacks (yogurt, cheese, icecream, peanut butter, etc.), maybe more than once, before he goes to bed. They get that protein in & also will last longer than carbs, veggies, etc. One of my son's favs. is apples with peanut butter. Good luck!

You mentioned your son being ADHD. Sugar is one of the foods that they crave. But also can make symptoms worse. You could put all sugary foods up out of reach and leave apples and bananas around. If he is hungry at least something healthy would be good. This possible could be just a phase. Just hang in there, I'm sure you have your hands full.

Well, hind the junk and have out some other stuff is the only answer to be honest I think on some people the medication lowers their blood sugar.... I have a child with adhd and we've had diff meds so I can speak with exp. they will tell you it doesn't but I've had meds that make me need something later at night, my husband takes an antidepressant and he too needs some crackers and juice or something at night. i wouldn't lock stuff but I'd make other things avail to him. Sorry best advise my personal opinion and exp.

P., you have already gotten some very good advice on here. I just wanted to add that it has been my experience, too, that sugar is very addictive and you said he had recently had an excessive amount of it and then began craving it in the night and getting up to find it. I would advise you to take all white sugar out of his diet ASAP and just as someone else has already posted, to show him before bedtime some healthy options he may have instead if he wakes up to eat. It only takes about a week to get rid of the cravings and once those are gone, he probably will stop having this nighttime eating behavior. Also, if I were you, I wouldn't mention to him that he is being deprived of sugar from now on -- just offer him the healthy options and don't make a huge deal of it.

Sounds like you need to delete the sweet snack foods (or risk him being a diabetic). Have grapes, bananas, watermelon, carrots, celery, etc for him to eat as he doesn't have control. You are the adult, not him. Also, make sure he gets plenty of exercise. Tell everyone he is on a "no sweet" menu (not diet).

First I would get your son tested for Lead Poisoning, most children who are ADHD have high Lead levels in their system. Get a hair test, not a blood test. This might help him get off the meds which are probley causing the problem.

Second get the junk food out of your house, none of the items you mentioned are good for kids, there is an overwhelming amount of literature that points to sugar, corn suryp, artificial colors and preservatives also cause all sorts of problems again ADD is amoung them. And if the stuff isn't in the house the kid won't eat it. Put out a bowl of fruit or some cheese chunks in the fridge for him.

Make sure he has protein before he goes to bed at night a good glass of hormone free milk should do the trick.

Hope this helps.

Have you thought of getting him OFF the meds? Docs are way too gung-ho to prescribe, prescribe, prescribe, instead of offer any real advice on health. If you are interested, look into alternative ways to control behavior. One way is through a whole foods diet free from food colorings, artificial flavors and additives. This adhd 'diagnosis' bugs the heck out of me. These are our children! Do they really need to be on drugs?? Children are by nature, curious, active, fidgety, talkative, inquisitive, loud, etc... should this be stiffled by drugs?
First get a few other opinions, maybe holistic doctors if you can find any in your area, and see if you can improve your son's diet by removing the toxic additives.

Love,
C.

P.,
Everyone here is giving great advice. Another consideration is- are you sure he is awake when he is doing this? There is a sleep disorder called sleep eating. Just thought I would throw that in there. My kids know they cannot eat whatever they want without asking and they definitely wouldn't sneak it without knowing about consequences. This is why I asked if you are sure he is awake. You can look up sleep disorders on internet.
Good Luck! God Bless!

HI P.,

It may be easier than you think...just remove the temptation! the party is over and if there is not a way for him to eat this moderately, just get rid of it. I bet if you leave fruits,carrots and cellery stick all over, he won't eat them at night. If you don't want just to trash the rest of the sweets, take them to his school for instance.
It won't become a habit if you don't let him.

I hope it helps and thank you for the sacrifices your family makes for this country! God bless!

I completely agree...night time eating is a very poor habit to get into...especially if it's junk food. I would remove all junk food from the house to be honest.

I also agree that it's perfectly fine to lock your fridge between certain hours. He should be sleeping...not up, eating junk, and losing sleep. Eventually he's going to wind up gaining an unhealthy amount of weight and become fatigued with lack of sleep and these sugar crashes from eating junk.

Good luck! I would maybe even let him know he is going to be punished for getting up and eating at night. If he's hungry...he needs to eat during the day. I hope he stops doing that soon.

Hi, P.!
Bless his little heart; y'all must have given him a wonderful party! My kids were on AD/HD meds for several years and the type of medication they were on made them not eat or sleep well at all. (matter of fact, doctor had to prescribe another med for before bedtime so they could sleep.) Most forms of these medications are like a legalized form of speed; and the people/kids on them don't want to eat as much as they normally would. For a long term solution, I would ask your doctor about non-stimulant types of meds. These might also allow your child to sleep better and eat better. And maybe he won't be as hungry when the medication is not in his system. For the short term, I would suggest that you keep reiterating that this behavior is not acceptable by whatever means you use to discipline him. The sugar is definitely not good for him especially with him being AD/HD.
Good luck to you all!