Getting Toddler to Drink Pediasure

hello all. all the answers are really helpful. My daughter is 23 months old.my prob is that she eats very little.....she spits most of things we give her...she likes to eat some olives , sweet melon, potato..she hardly eats any rice or bread..we are feeding her nido, yestreday my hubby got her nido, she didnt liked it and didnt drink it but today she drand 4 oz in morning nd 4 oz in evening....Do u think its unwise to replace nido with pediasure???

Hey K,

I've had the similar problem too with my 20 months old son. I mix Pediasure Vanilla with smooothie and he loves it. You should definitely try it.

Hi K.,

I give my son pediasure as well. I have found that there is something that is similar to pediasure that's less expensive. It the one that has Mickey Mouse & Goofy on the bottle (I can't remember the name of the brand at the moment), but its found in the same area as pediasure. I have also noticed that my son likes the chocolate better than the vanilla, so you may want to try the chocolate one. I hope that this helps!

I.

Hi K.,

We never gave our kids and grandkids pediasure. When my 18 month old grandson was losing weight, sick alot, the doctor wanted to put tubes in his ears. My daughter didn't want this operation and got on the internet and started researching his symptons and they were very much like gluten intolerant. so she decided to take him off gluten before having surgery and all his symptoms cleared up!

www.askdrsears.com is a wonderful resource and Dr. Sears recommends a whole food concentrate. I have a DVD from Dr. Sears, Nine Simple Steps, I'd be glad to send it to you.
Just call me at ###-###-####.

We just had a fantastic health education lecture with Dr. Kevin Ross in Phoenix. He is a chiropractor and specializes in children. I'd be glad to let you know when the next one is! Just let me know. Obviously, I'm in the health education business!

S. Fritz

I have tried to get my daughter to drink pediasure when she has been sick and not eating, and she also refuses to drink it. I also had a friend whos pediatrician wanted her 2 year old son to get more calories, he had the mom give her son Carnation Instant Breakfast in whole milk.

hey my son is 17 months old nd has been on it since he was 5months old but like we had to mix it with his formula well hes still on it and what i do is water it down and he seems to drink it more my son was the same way and i buy him the chocolate one cuz kids like chocolate.

I couldn't get my son to drink it either, but he loves the Pediasure bars. You may want to look at that as an alternative/in addition to the drinks.

I would mix it into a smoothie with bananas and frozen berries, ice cubes, etc. This way he gets more nutrients, calories and gets the pediasure. My toddler and older children drink every smoothie I make, and it is always a little different.

Due to feeding issues and not taking in enough nutrients or calories, my godson drinks these power-shakes that his parents make using Pediasure. They use the vanilla flavor, add a cup of frozen or fresh fruit, a scoop of protein powder, and a packet of Carnation instant breakfast. This is probably way beyond the caloric needs of your son, but trying the fresh or frozen fruit may help to turn it into a milkshake or a smoothie for him. Helping to put it all in the blender good as well, as he'll be engaged in the process. Best wishes!

He simply wants him to have a high calorie drink. I would make him smoothies with fruit and yogurt and throw some flaxseed meal in there and you have a high calorie smoothie. Use Stonyfield farms vanilla yogurt for better flavor and fruits he loves and give it to him with a kewl straw. No need for expensive pedisure that is not all natural anyway and they really do not taste that good. Oh you can also add a scoop or 2 of baby formula for added nutrients. Walmarts Parents Choice organic is great and only $15.

We had the same issue with our first son. The doctor told us to give him either pediasure or Carnation Instant Breakfast, which is WAY cheaper. My son loved it. Fry's also makes a generic pediasure which is just as good as the name brand at a fraction of the cost. Hope this helps!

Three of four of my kids are on the thin side - okay, downright skinny. My eldest was "prescribed" pediasure, and I did it for awhile ... then I got to thinking. Doctors hate that. Pediasure is full of sugars. Do you really want to do that? Read the ingredients sometime and chew on if you want to plump up your son on that. Is he getting proper nutrition and excersize, and eating? If so, pediasure isn't the answer. I agree with another mom, I make smoothies for my kids now. They love them, you control what goes in, and sneak in all kinds of good goodies like wheat germ, spirulina, etc. Good luck, and [[[HUGS]]]

K.,

We also give our daughter (21 mos) PediaSure NutriPals drink. They come in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate and maybe slighty tastier than the pediasure for the older kids. Another idea is to give your child carnation instant breakfast in the mornings with his milk. We also do this as a nutritional supplement. Our daughter wakes up every morning and has her "milk" before she goes to daycare where she eats breakfast, snacks & lunch. Sometimes when she gets home for dinner she isn't interested or too tired and that's where the pediasure comes in. She really likes all the flavors so it might be worth the $$$ to at least try the other flavors for your son.

Good luck and hope the weight comes on. Katie is 21 mos and just passed to 24 lbs. She was stuck at 23 lbs since her 15 month check up!!

Pediasure is YUCKY!I don't blame your toddler for tossing the cup! Most of what your Dr. is looking for is a concentrated healthy caloric content. More calories in and less energy spent getting it in, equals weight gain. Although weight gain is important, the BIG key is healthy calories and not junky calories. Good or BAD eating habits last a lifetime! Having said that, I have sucess NOT using the expensive Pediasure, but Carnation Instant Breakfast drink. Chocolate is Yummy and has about the same caloric content as PS using WHOLE milk. It isn't so thick as PS and affordable at .35-cents a serving vs $2 a bottle for PS (I get mine at Costco for about $8(?) a box of 24 =.333333 cents a packet)I serve it to my thin 6 yr old along with a healthy breakfast and she gets the extra calories while thinking it's just chocolate milk. We do it again after dinner and thus far, healthy weight gain and she still eats a good meal instead of drinking a thick beverage to top off a good meal.
Suggestion to use up what you have (if you have any), put half a bottle in a blender, add fruit like strawberries and bananas and other seasonal fruit and enough ice to make a smoothie. Give your underweight son a "full strenght" portion, and with the remaining portion, dilute with milk, add a little more fruit and ice and share with your other son. They both get a treat!
Good Luck!

Get frozen fruits like strawberries and peaches get a banana and make up a fruit smoothie for him. One can should make two smoothies for the day. As he gets a little older he may even learn to like the pediasure on it's own, my 13 year old loves ensure now. Get him a cool cup with a special straw or lip on it just for his smoothie and let him pick it out. Maker it a special thing and he will probably get into. I think the Disney store has cups just the right size for it and they make buzz lightyear and lightening McQueen cups etc....

My 15 month old was prescribed Pediasure because she only weighed 17 pounds. She has always been smaller, was born at 5lbs 13 oz, and has always gained consistently, just always been smaller. I gave her three bottles of Pediasure a day and she lost all interest in solid foods. She used to eat bananas, yogurt, cheese, etc, and refused all solids after about a week on the Pediasure. So, of course, she did not gain weight, she didn't lose, but she didn't gain. So doctor insisted 4 bottles of PS a day (do you know how expensive that is?) and I could never get her to drink more than 3 oz at once, and when she was finished she would gag and sometimes throw up. One day she kept throwing up...we ended up in the ER because her blood sugar level had dropped too low and she was almost unresponsive. Doctor insisted more Pediasure. As parents we'd had enough. We put her back on Similac Go and Grow baby formula and she drank 8 oz, she immediately got her appetite back and eats 4 small meals a day now. She is healthier now than she was at 15 months. I firmly believe Pediasure is not the right thing for some kids. It is full of sugar, thick, and hard to digest. I think it was making my toddler sick and she had no desire for real food. The smoothies are a great idea!

I would add strawberry or chocoale nesquick. I have always done that instead of buying the stawberry or chocolate flavors of pediasure because they just look so gross and smell gross. I had bought the other flavors once.