I really hate to say this, but be a bit careful with kids who are in the low percentiles for weight around health professionals. My son and daughter were/are both thin and both in the lower percentiles for weight as children (when he was born, my son was in the 95th % for height and 5% for weight). One of the "well child" checkups for my daughter, the pediatrician decided she was too under weight. We were all stressed (in the midst of a divorce for years starting when she was 3). He made such a big deal out of it- I was obviously neglecting her- and sent her to counseling and a nutritionist. At 6. It added fodder to the divorce proceedings because I was obviously an unfit mother, and I could have lost custody. Now, at 27, she is still thin, but it's not my fault!
Dr. said son needs to gain weight....suggestions?
- Thread starter Jen-pi
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Boogity
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I'm going to look at this situation from a totally different perspective. Please cover your eyes while reading this because it could be very hard to digest.
Fire your Doctor! Just like plumbers, bankers, carpenters, engineers, and teachers - there are good ones and there are terrible ones. Many doctors were spoiled kids who wanted mommy and daddy to send them to university for as many years as possible to avoid the real world.
Forget all this diet talk! If your kid won't eat, a diet is not the answer. You could spend hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars on special foods and just throw it away at the end of every day. Just make sure there is enough wholesome food available at designated meal times only. No snacks during the day and no bedtime treats.
Now here's the part that may raise the hackles on some of the participants here . . . work his little butt off. Hard work. Heavy lifting and lots of walking with heavy weight where he must use all of his muscles. Yup, I said work him every day and work him hard. If you can't find enough chores around your place to keep him busy then offer his services to friends and neighbors. Make him work up an appetite every day. Sell his work to local farmers who will make him work very hard. Sell his services to horse stables or cattle farms.
But most of all please do not worry about his weight. I'm not sure but you may be obsessing on this situation. He's just a kid and he has the rest of his life to get fat and lazy. Just make sure the TV is turned off and the video games are thrown away.
This is just an old worn out farmer's opinion. But this approach has raised hundreds of thousands of very healthy boys and girls.
Let the flaming begin.
Fire your Doctor! Just like plumbers, bankers, carpenters, engineers, and teachers - there are good ones and there are terrible ones. Many doctors were spoiled kids who wanted mommy and daddy to send them to university for as many years as possible to avoid the real world.
Forget all this diet talk! If your kid won't eat, a diet is not the answer. You could spend hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars on special foods and just throw it away at the end of every day. Just make sure there is enough wholesome food available at designated meal times only. No snacks during the day and no bedtime treats.
Now here's the part that may raise the hackles on some of the participants here . . . work his little butt off. Hard work. Heavy lifting and lots of walking with heavy weight where he must use all of his muscles. Yup, I said work him every day and work him hard. If you can't find enough chores around your place to keep him busy then offer his services to friends and neighbors. Make him work up an appetite every day. Sell his work to local farmers who will make him work very hard. Sell his services to horse stables or cattle farms.
But most of all please do not worry about his weight. I'm not sure but you may be obsessing on this situation. He's just a kid and he has the rest of his life to get fat and lazy. Just make sure the TV is turned off and the video games are thrown away.
This is just an old worn out farmer's opinion. But this approach has raised hundreds of thousands of very healthy boys and girls.
Let the flaming begin.
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Jen-pi
Lovin' The Homestead
Boogity-
Well, I will not flame you! I agree with MOST of what you say. He is only 10, so I wont will be selling his services to horse stables or cattle farms.
I agree hard work will build a killer appetite. And, he is NOT one to work very hard. That Im sure is my fault, he is the youngest and my last baby, so I probably do baby him too much. Honestly, Im not sure what I could have him do in the middle of winter around here. Shovel?
I thank you very much for your input!
Well, I will not flame you! I agree with MOST of what you say. He is only 10, so I wont will be selling his services to horse stables or cattle farms.
I agree hard work will build a killer appetite. And, he is NOT one to work very hard. That Im sure is my fault, he is the youngest and my last baby, so I probably do baby him too much. Honestly, Im not sure what I could have him do in the middle of winter around here. Shovel?
I thank you very much for your input!
FarmerChick
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LOL no flaming from me
I agree wholeheartedly
if it isn't broken don't try to fix it and a little hard work is good for anyone, especially a kid
I agree wholeheartedly
if it isn't broken don't try to fix it and a little hard work is good for anyone, especially a kid
lalaland
Lovin' The Homestead
couldn't help but laugh at your comment, jen-pi, about what could you have him do around there because it is winter.
household chores? scrubbing the floor? stairs? helping flip the mattresses? wiping down the woodwork? vacuming? scrubbing the tub?
a 10 yr old isn't too young to be working outside, nor inside the house. but then.....everyone raises their kids their own way, and just because I think it is good for a kid to contribute to the household and have responsibilities doesn't mean that it is the only way, for certain.
anyway, sounds like a normal kid, just wiry!
household chores? scrubbing the floor? stairs? helping flip the mattresses? wiping down the woodwork? vacuming? scrubbing the tub?
a 10 yr old isn't too young to be working outside, nor inside the house. but then.....everyone raises their kids their own way, and just because I think it is good for a kid to contribute to the household and have responsibilities doesn't mean that it is the only way, for certain.
anyway, sounds like a normal kid, just wiry!
Bubblingbrooks
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And it would benefit Millions more. But don't tell any of them or their families thatBoogity said:
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Jen-pi
Lovin' The Homestead
YOUR comment made me laugh!
Getting him to do those things is nearly impossible! He SO doesnt like to do work.
Maybe one of my New Year Resolutions would be to get his little butt in gear!
adoptedbyachicken
Lovin' The Homestead
I was a match for your son at that age. It was horrible, the doctors saying Mom did not feed me, the school investigating the matter, calling my brother and sister into the office to question them on what I ate and why they were both above the norm and I was so far below.
First of all I have to say make sure your son understands that this is not a 'problem' or that he is not 'bad' for being thin. Tell him the truth that I finally learned, some grow up thin, their metabolism is like that. However also tell him that he needs to try to match his metabolism with the calories he takes in. He may be a slow eater and that is fine, but do tell him he needs to try and accomplish the task in the set time, no different than doing his math in the math class time, he needs to eat his lunch in the lunch time. If he does not get all his math done, or all his lunch eaten he needs to do it as homework. Tell him he is a bit behind right now, that's all, and needs to catch up.
As for foods I would suggest you look into anything that he says is uncomfortable or brings on digestive pain or nausea. Testing can be done for many things, including food intolerance but I did all that and got nothing to show for it but a bunch of needles. Given it all to do again I'd have waited to see if just eating more and better worked. Keep a diary as you plan and see where you go from here. If he is getting taller it's going to be hard to keep up with flesh!
I see plenty of opportunity for more calories in his diet, and you have great suggestions here. Meat in that breakfast, eggs on the bread, eggs in a shake. Wow, all the things I quit on 3 years ago because now I get to heavy too easy. His time will come too!
Any kind of motion will get his appetite up, I agree with that, be it active play or work. A body at rest stays at rest they say. However I was the opposite, way too active and was told to watch TV (which I hate) and I was the same thin as him so don't count on that working. Mom took my bike away one year. So I walked or ran everywhere to play. Did that help or harm? Remember it's calories in minus calories out but activity stimulates appetite. LOL if you figure that out let me know, I'm still not sure.
First of all I have to say make sure your son understands that this is not a 'problem' or that he is not 'bad' for being thin. Tell him the truth that I finally learned, some grow up thin, their metabolism is like that. However also tell him that he needs to try to match his metabolism with the calories he takes in. He may be a slow eater and that is fine, but do tell him he needs to try and accomplish the task in the set time, no different than doing his math in the math class time, he needs to eat his lunch in the lunch time. If he does not get all his math done, or all his lunch eaten he needs to do it as homework.
Tell him he is a bit behind right now, that's all, and needs to catch up.As for foods I would suggest you look into anything that he says is uncomfortable or brings on digestive pain or nausea. Testing can be done for many things, including food intolerance but I did all that and got nothing to show for it but a bunch of needles. Given it all to do again I'd have waited to see if just eating more and better worked. Keep a diary as you plan and see where you go from here. If he is getting taller it's going to be hard to keep up with flesh!
I see plenty of opportunity for more calories in his diet, and you have great suggestions here. Meat in that breakfast, eggs on the bread, eggs in a shake. Wow, all the things I quit on 3 years ago because now I get to heavy too easy. His time will come too!
Any kind of motion will get his appetite up, I agree with that, be it active play or work. A body at rest stays at rest they say. However I was the opposite, way too active and was told to watch TV (which I hate) and I was the same thin as him so don't count on that working. Mom took my bike away one year.
So I walked or ran everywhere to play. Did that help or harm? Remember it's calories in minus calories out but activity stimulates appetite. LOL if you figure that out let me know, I'm still not sure.
