We all get advice on how to lose weight, but what about gaining it? Having a child that is underweight for either medical reasons, or genetically can be strenuous on a parent. Adults have an understanding that young children don’t, and getting them to cooperate can be extremely difficult. A child young enough won’t comprehend the importance of nutrition, and in some cases a child’s weight is extremely important because they are so small. Some kids love to eat, while others fight having food put in their mouth. In some situations, reflux and other factors prevent them from wanting to eat. So what do we do when feeding our children?
First, Find out why your child isn’t gaining weight properly. If your child is underweight your physician should have already informed you. Ask them questions and request tests. If you feel that you’re doing everything you can, then get additional help. Don’t ever assume that there’s nothing you can do. Express your opinions and concerns to your health care provider.
Medical problems are among the toughest reasons. For me personally, I’ve struggled with putting weight on my son because of medical reasons, and it can be overwhelming at times. Reflux (When a child has trouble keeping food down) is a major interference for my son. As we all know children get sick all the time, and when there’s ingredients like reflux and illness combined it makes for a bad recipe. This can put a real damper on weight gain success. If this specific example doesn’t apply to your child and you have another medical reason then educate yourself and understand exactly why they aren’t growing. There could be an allergy to certain food(s) , or the body just doesn’t want to digest a specific kind of food. An allergy doesn’t necessarily mean that they break out in hives or has trouble breathing, the body reacts in different ways. There are many other reasons for a delay in gaining, so whatever your child’s is, get a hold of it.
When your child doesn’t have a medical reason but chooses not to eat, there are little ways to make them interested.
5 Ways:
1. Kids love colors, textures, shapes, and sizes. They aren’t hard to please. Present a variety at each meal. (The food Pyramid: http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html)
2. Instead of offering a drink during the meal, offer it at the end. Unless they ask, only offer food. Filling up on liquids isn’t the best way to boost calories.
3. When offering liquids provide them with something higher in calories. Pediasure is a great milk based drink that offers vitamins and provides high calories. Just before dinner, don’t offer juice or milk. If they are thirsty give them water. They digest water much quicker so they won’t feel full at dinner time.
4. When preparing their food, fatten it up with extra additives, such as butter, mayo, sour cream etc…
5. Make an eating schedule. If they are just eating randomly throughout the day then their stomachs won’t feel hungry like it should. Make certain meal times, and stick to it! if you find that large meals are interfering with their consumption, then offer smaller more frequent meals. Don’t let them snack in between, because when they do they’ll end up eating less though out the day.
If your child is old enough to understand what you’re saying, then play a little game with them. Have a treat for after dinner, but tell them that they have to take a certain amount of bites before getting that treat. For me: I will have a lollypop (something my son loves) for a treat. When he starts showing less interest in eating, I will ask him if he wants a treat after dinner. He usually nods yes, and I will say you have to take 3 more bites before you can have a lollypop. He usually responds by eating those 3 bites. if he fights me on it, I give it a couple more tries. If it fails then I just know that he is honestly full, and that I don’t want to push it.
I hope this advice helps, its helped me. Don’t give up, it may take some time but it will eventually happen.
