Getting My Son to Gain Weight

hi J. i first say i wouldnt be to concerned about the weight if he is healthy. i have 4 children the 2nd son is average height but he only weighs around 40 pounds at 6 years old. he eats very good all the time.
but if you do want to try to have him gain some weight remember that kids need the fat in butter, dips, sour cream and dressings for salad. not like adults who have to avoid them at all costs or they will gain weight just looking at them. also i would see if you could have them drink like the carnation intant breakfast and things like that.thats what they told me to have my son drink when he was younger (2 and 3)also twice a day. when i was pregnant with my 2nd child i had bad morning sickness up until i was 7 months along and my dr told me to drink the carnation or weight watchers or any of them because they have alot of vitamins in there that you need wether pregnant or dieting or a child. if you do have trouble getting them to eat veggies chop them up really small put them in meatloaf, or meatballs for spaghetti or even in hamburger patties if they are small enough they will never even notice them. hope this helps and gives you some ideas. W.

As long as your son has always been low in the weight area, I wouldn't be too concerned. My son, who is now 19 months, has always been on the low end of the scale. He remains at around the 80th to 85th percentile for height, but hovers right around the 10th to 15th percentile for weight. He's just tall and thin. I was concerned for a while, too, but since he has always been that way, his pediatrician says there isn't anything to worry about. The time to get worried is if there is a sudden drop off in weight or a sudden gain. That would be a sign that something is wrong. I feed my son healthy foods (fruits, vegetables, meats, pastas, cheese, milk, etc.) and I don't give him junk food or sodas. He only weighs 23 pounds right now, which is not a lot for a 19 month-old, but he is healthy. As long as your son is healthy, there isn't really anything to worry about. You are absolutely doing the right thing by feeding him healthy foods and avoiding sweets and sodas. You should not start feeding him those things to try to get him to gain weight, though. It would most likely just cause other problems. I hope this helps!

D.

Hiya, J.!

Both of my daughter's fell below the chart for weight gain from 9mos to 2 years. My eldest even went to Children's Mercy Care Clinic for a failure to thrive evaluation. I'll share what I have learned.

My DH and I usually eat healthy so that is how we fed our kids. Well, kids need more fat than adults. We pile on the fattening(not sugary)foods and put Instant Breakfast in their milk. We butter everything (not margarine - 100 calorie BUTTER!), feed them lots of dairy and protein (cheese on everything, too!), serve veggies with lots of dips, load cream cheese into soups, eat lots of breads and pastas and give in to fried foods, too. It is strange to go to the grocery store and read the labels to find the highest fat content!!

We also changed the way we "taught" our daughters to eat. We just gave the girls a good variety of healthy, fattening things to eat at each meal (sometimes, as many as 5 food choices at dinner). Sometimes, I would put four or five choices of foods on the table at lunchtime in bowls/platters and let them choose what they would put on their plates to eat. We don't use food as a bargaining tool, "eat your veggies and you can have dessert". We don't pester the girls to eat more or try to feed them ourselves, but we do ask them to try a at least a bite. I always tell them they don't have to eat anything they don't like. I didn't notice a huge change in the amount they ate when we gave the control over to them but I sure saw the pounds pile on, so they must have been eating more!

It is also very enjoyable to have a meal without the hassle of dealing with a picky kid who won't eat anything. I know I have the insurance of the extra calories, vitamins and protein in that Instant breakfast I put in their milk if they don't feel like eating like typical toddlers/preschoolers!

My daughter's are both still just below the 50% mark for weight (at ages 2 and almost 4) so we still use the Instant Breakfast (2x a day) to beef up their milk and follow the same diet.

Good luck and happy eating to your growing boy!!

Do encourage healthier fats, too, like nuts, avocadoes, olive oil, fish.

Both of my kids fell below the 10th percentile between 1 and 2 years old. We just continued to feed them healthy foods and the oldest has now caught up and is back in the 50th percentile for weight. Our youngest son has some other issues with feeding and reflux that causes him to vomit frequently and not be able to eat a lot of food because he can't chew them, so we are a bit more concerned about him, but this is unusual. As long as he is getting a healthy diet and is eating a decent amount of food over the course of a day, I wouldn't worry. Kids at your son's age are more active, have less of a need for a lot of food and have better things to do than eat as far as they are concerned, so slowed weight gain is to be expected. Just keep up with the healthy diet - I know too many people who tried to put weight on their toddlers by letting them eat junk food and then they formed bad eating habits and are now chunky kids at 4 or 5 years old. Some foods that are calorie-dense, but still healthy are cheese, whole wheat bread, full fat yogurt and whole milk. Sounds like he is just fine as long as he continues to gain weight, even if it is just a little bit.

If you are really worried, my sister used Carnation Instant Breakfast mixed with milk to help her son gain weight. He was on the small side, now he's in the 50th percentile. It has a lot of protein that way too.