Child Hides Food
trash anyone that he thinks that I can't find it (apples too). He has been
doing this for three years. He doesn't seem afraid of the consequences,
which range from writing that "he will follow the rules" to taking away his
favorite things for the day The last time we found trash behind the couch
we told him that he would go to the local park and pick trash off the
ground. Guess what, he snuck food the next day and throw the trash in
his toy box. I hope no one is thinking that we don't feed our son plenty
b/c we do. We even prepared food the night before so if he woke up in
the morning very hungry he could eat the prepared food but he was
sneaking more food even after he ate. Its not like he's up hours before us.
He usually sleeps until 7:00 and I get up at around 8:00 to make
breakfast. I need some solid advice. I don't have any advice for you. Sorry we are facing the same problem. I I also have taken stuff away. Nothing seems to work. I try not to stress over it to much anymore. We just make sure the food is put up and then when she goes to school I go in her room and pick up wahtever food I might find and confront her with that way at least she know that she is not getting away with it. But her cousler told me that that is part of ADHD for some children. That she has a least 5 other patiets that do this. We just have my daughter clean her room all the time and then I do a random sweep of it just so she dosn't get bug and things. And let her know what I found. Sorry I wasn't much help but also to let you know it might be something he can't control. Melissa
At 11, do you trust him to make his own breakfast? If he wakes up hungry at 7, I can see how it would be hard to wait until Mom starts preparing breakfast at 8. You could freeze pancakes or something, and he'd just have to put them in the microwave. The night before, you could leave the plate you want him to use next to the microwave. Sometimes I have my 8 year old put frozen waffles into the toaster oven. I also will make a container of cut-up fruit so he can have it with breakfast.
If your ds is taking the food out of impulsivity, consequences never will change the behavior. Remember that impulsivity means acting w/o thinking. When acting impulsively, the person is acting in the moment and not looking at how that action impacts the future.
My child used to eat all sorts of junk food at 3 AM. We had to resort to locking the fridge/freezer and the cabinet with bicycle locks. It's not ideal, but we knew there was no other way to stop these impulsive actions. We also had to lock our TV so he couldn't watch who-knows-what at that hour. His meds aren't in his system in the middle of the night, and when he was having tremendous sleep problems, the impulsivity was kicking in and leading to lots of sneaking food and TV watching at around 3 AM.
Also, remember that ADHD kids burn a lot of energy due to the hyperactivity. It's normal to eat more than other people do. Also, they make up for lost calories when appetite is suppressed due to the stimulant, if your child is one of the people who has this side effect.
I hear your frustration, and I hope you'll be able to come up w/ some strategies that work well for all of you.
My son does the same thing. And we were told that most all ADHD meds supress appetite and since he doesn't really eat much throughout the day, it's only natural that he would probably wake up feeling like he was starving to death. So, what we did, was leave a bowl and a box of cereal on the table, so that when he wakes up.. voila.. there's food all ready set out for him and he doesn't have to go looking for something else. However, we also have a lock on our fridge, and locks on our cupboards. We don't lock during the day, only at night because it's then that we have to worry about him sneaking whatever he can find.This may sound odd - but I'll toss it out anyhow. Have you asked him WHY he's 'sneaking' food? I ask my 7 y/o to explain to me his behaviors because sometimes when I get it from "the horse's mouth" it explains things that I never would have realized.
My husband always got mad at him when he'd "sneak" food from the fridge or cupboard - well I asked my son why he was taking food and he said point blankly - "I"m hungry". Given he's going through a growing spurt and is VERY phyiscally active/hyperactive, of course he's burning more calories than his calm non-adhd brother. So he needs more food. Once i got my husband to understand that he isn't "sneaking" food but is just plain hungry, things got a bit better.
He's allowed to help himself to a snack if it's healthy. Again, a bowl of cereal is easy to make himself. He doesn't sneak chocolate bars etc, because we don't keep them in the house. He's just hyperactive, and hungry. He eats now about every 2 hours. So that means snacking between meals - no problem really.
At night, if he's hungry he can get a bowl of cereal or a cheese stick. Yogurt and cheese are great because they are quick and easy, and due to the protein in them, they really help calm him down sometimes too.
Ask him - you might be surprised at his honesty and information he gives you if you approach it calmly yourself too.
That said - since I teach and see odd behaviors all the time, "hiding" food can sometimes be their way of dealing with stress. If their lives are so controlled everywhere else, scheduling, "having" to take meds etc, hiding food is one small way they can have some degree of "control" in their own lives. Remember, many of us, when WE get stressed - we eat too. Personally, when I get stressed a chocolate bar gives me a quick fix - the sugar must trigger my serotonin which sends "happy signals" to my body, that's why sugar makes me temporarily feel better. At least I understand the biology/chemistry of why it happens. But it makes me realize at the time, to address the real ISSUE after I've had the chocolate bar, of course. 
If 'control' may be the reason behind the hiding of food, perhaps sit down with him, and not even having to address the topic of control, plan a healthy snack menu together - perhaps a trip to the grocery store to peruse his options - voila - control - choice - just what all kids want a bit of.
But again, could be he's just plain hungry too. That'd be the easier fix.
You bring out some good points 3littlekids. Sneaking food could be a form of self medication (comfort food). Some children are so stressed that food is their only comfort. If rules are too rigid it can back fire. My son was free to eat and take food whenever he wanted to because once his meds were out of his system he was super hungry but I didnt keep junk in the house and I didnt put restrictions on his eating. Unless the child is over weight, restricting food can cause the child to hoard or sneak. Sneaking food can also be a sign of an eating disorder. There are many different scenarios but every parent knows their own child so it's best to keep an eye on the behavior and try to get to the root of why the child is sneaking food. The child may not always tell you why or may not understand why so as parents, we not only have to observe the child's behavior but our own as well and figure out why this is happening like some parents did here. Finding out why leads to a solution or a way to manage the problem.We were having (and sometimes still do) a problem with one of our boys sneaking food in the middle of the night and in the early am. We had a long conversation with our child's behavioral specialist who gave use a few useful suggestions. At first, I'll admit I was opposed to them, feeling like we were rewarding his naughty behavior, but I've since discovered he was right. Our son was sneaking food because he truly was hunger, and is impulsive off meds. We now have a bowl of food in our family room of acceptable snacks (small bags of popcorn, graham crackers, fruit, carrot sticks, etc.) that we re-stock regularly. No questions asked he is allowed to eat from the bowl with one rule. We don't question what he eats, he throws trash in garbage can in his room (which we have to empty regularly due to apple cores or banana peeels!), and he know logner sneaks food. Course this works because our son is also not getting enough food during the day (he doesn't eat much lunch due to meds) and the fact that he is slightly below weight. You couldn't do this program with a child who was overweight probably...
Hope this helps. It completely eliminated the food battles we had been having. Best of luck!
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