Help! My daughter is afraid of chocolate!

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Nathan asks:

I know this may sound a little ridiculous, but my nine year old daughter developed a fear of eating chocolate about nine months ago. This all began one morning when she woke up with a slight tummy ache before a soccer game. She said that she felt well enough to play, so I gave her a cliff bar (chocolate flavor) and we headed out for the game. Well, she got sick on the way to the game and she has been avoiding chocolate ever since! Sure, some of you might think this is a blessing, but she wants to be able to eat chocolate again! It is really hard for her when she attends birthday parties and a chocolate cake is rolled out. Halloween was really hard too. So, I'm looking for some advice on what to do about our chocolate situation. She is miserable! THANKS!

In Topics: Anxiety, Nutrition

> 60 days ago

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Expert

mheyman

Jul 16, 2011

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What the Expert Says:

Some kids avoid specific foods because they know they feel ill when they eat the food. The classic example is milk; when kids or adults for that matter develop lactose intolerance, they may simply know that they don't feel well an hour or two after drinking a glass of milk. In this situation, your daughter may indeed have an intolerance to chocolate, so I would not force or coerce her into eating more.

If she is allergic to chocolate, she will even learn that small amounts make her feel uncomfortable, and she will learn to avoid even these foods.

More simply she may not like it.

Bottom line is that she can live very healthy with no chocolate in her diet, so why push it!

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Additional Answers (2)

graham writes:

Hi Nathan.

In my experience, it can take some time to get over the food to sickness association formed. I was very ill after eating Indian food in Africa and it took me weeks before I could smell it without being nauseous, and months before I could eat it again (fortunately I got over it, I love Indian food). Assuming that its not a food allergy, or lactose intolerance, I think time will resolve her chocolate problem. Can she eat tiny amounts of chocolate? What about things like hot chocolate?

-graham

> 60 days ago

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umcchoirlady writes:

I don't know if this would help matters at all...but it is worth a try. "Hide" chocolate in something and don't let her know it is there until after she eats it. There are many sauces that call for chocolate as a small ingredient that wouldn't be very noticeable. After she eats it and has no ill effects, you can let her in on the secret! Hope this helps and good luck!

> 60 days ago

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