My 10 year old son is in 5th grade and will be 11 in January. He weighs 52 lbs. He has always struggled with his weight from day 1. We have tried supplements, medications, and everything we can think of to help him get more calories or stimulate his appetite. Nothing has worked. He has no interest in food.
Since I know there may be someone who has struggled with either an eating disorder or just has been severely picky, I am hoping someone can give me advice. I just don't know how to get someone to eat that does not want to and does not care about food.
The last 2 times he has been to the doctor, they have been very concerned. They have now said that he is so underweight that he does not have enough body fat to support a growth. This means he may stop growing taller and may miss these important years where much of the growth occurs. It won't be long before he is hitting puberty and we want to get some weight on him.
So, does anyone have any advice?
Here is a pic of him. Yes, he is in his underwear and he doesn't care.
My son was always on the smaller side and VERY skinny for his age, but never to the point of true concern. What really made him get some weight on, was karate, believe it or not.
He was never much of an eater, but karate boosted his appetite and made what he ate into muscle. Now he's about 5 ft 5 and 115 lbs. hes 15 so now he eats like a horse.
but I just always indulged him in his eating, small meals through out the day. tried to pack as much protien in as I could. Veggies were nevera problem for him.
Have you discussed something like ensure shakes?
Quoting myfoursonsks:
My 10 year old son is in 5th grade and will be 11 in January. He weighs 52 lbs. He has always struggled with his weight from day 1. We have tried supplements, medications, and everything we can think of to help him get more calories or stimulate his appetite. Nothing has worked. He has no interest in food.
Since I know there may be someone who has struggled with either an eating disorder or just has been severely picky, I am hoping someone can give me advice. I just don't know how to get someone to eat that does not want to and does not care about food.
The last 2 times he has been to the doctor, they have been very concerned. They have now said that he is so underweight that he does not have enough body fat to support a growth. This means he may stop growing taller and may miss these important years where much of the growth occurs. It won't be long before he is hitting puberty and we want to get some weight on him.
So, does anyone have any advice?
Here is a pic of him. Yes, he is in his underwear and he doesn't care.
I had a VERY skinny bf in HS.He was 16 and roughly 90-100 lbs. He was 5'6. He ate fine...just never gained and bc of this his self esteem suffered...he wore long sleeves and pants ALL the time even in the summer. He is 28 now and has gained alot of weight and looks healthy now. Nothing but his metabolism changed.
My only advice is to find a good doctor though.....
oh that's a tough one! My only thought is to make sure that he gets the most out of what he DOES eat. I know you've said you've tried supplements and what not already. What DOES he like? Are there ways you could alter those foods? I'm sure you've thought of protein shakes, but you can always sneak high calorie, high protein powder into other food, like cereal or oatmeal with milk, even spaghetti sauce.
Good luck to you, I hope you get some more suggestions! *bump*
My son will be 11 in July and he just hit 60 pounds. He is extremly skinny as well but its all the time but can't gain weight.
Will he eat high-calorie foods like ice cream? When my mom was younger they said she was underweight and the doctor told her to eat a dish of ice cream every night.
What about getting him interested in a culinary class? It's worth a shot. Maybe he'll start eating his own food
I am an educated, breastfeeding (it IS best, there is nothing even close to that nutrition and bond), co-sleeping, extended rear facing (if you don't rear face to the maximum of your seat, you're NOT doing all you can to protect your child), baby wearing, Non spanking (I want my kids to respect me, not fear me) ANTI- CIO, cloth diapering, organic (chemical free household!) recycling, liberal, pro-choice, atheist mama to a beautiful two year old girl! My S.O. is my equal and my best friend, not my master and I believe basic health care should be a human RIGHT not a privilege!
Great suggestion...getting him active in sports will probably increase his appetite!
Quoting FooLynRoo:
My son was always on the smaller side and VERY skinny for his age, but never to the point of true concern. What really made him get some weight on, was karate, believe it or not.
He was never much of an eater, but karate boosted his appetite and made what he ate into muscle. Now he's about 5 ft 5 and 115 lbs. hes 15 so now he eats like a horse.
but I just always indulged him in his eating, small meals through out the day. tried to pack as much protien in as I could. Veggies were nevera problem for him.
Have you discussed something like ensure shakes?
My 11yo has always been very small. If I remember correctly, he didn't even reach 60lbs until this past summer at 11 1/2yrs of age. We were always told he was in the low percentile, but no dr. has ever showed that much concern. Kids grow at different rates and if they have family members who are on the small side, then most likely, they will tend to be small.
My son never ate much, but was always active. So, we let him eat as much as he wanted. Never thought he had an eating disorder though. This past summer, puberty hit full steam! He eats more, tries more foods and has gotten taller and gained some weight. He's still skinny, but healthy.
Does he like shakes? You could give him those with dinner. It may not be the healthiest, but, it would help to put some fat on him.
What about a check by a GI doctor to make sure he doesn't have celiac or something like that? Or thyroid problems? Although I don't see how an overactive thyroid would cause him to lose his appetite but will cause him to not gain weight.
My brother was and is very thin. If he weighs 140lbs that's it. He's also vegetarian but never really ate much anyway and was always thin.
I am a good enough mom. My opinions on parenting tactics change minute by minute depending on my mood and the situation. I feel if the kids are still alive and fed by the end of the day I've done my job. I am a Goofy Goober (see the Spongebob Movie). I believe in singing and other things that embarass your children. When my kids say I'm the meanest parent ever I take it as a compliment. I've often yearned to box up my kids and ship them to Timbuktu. I feel the best thing about having kids is reliving childhood. I have a career and I'm proud of it. You can mess with me and get away with it but God help you if you hurt my kids. We are all flying by the seat of our pants with nothing but love to guide us.
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- myfoursonsks
on Nov. 22, 2009 at 7:18 PM