Underweight Child Not Eating

I will trade kids with you lol My little girl has heart problems and she did not weigh 10 pounds till she was 6months old she has had 2 heart surgeries and she weighs anywhere between 18-22 lbs and she is almost 2 will be in Nov the thing is she eats all the the time you would think we starve her the way she acts lol I'm sure your little man is ok don't give up on him but don't force him either I will keep him in my prayers take care and God Bless!!

My son, who is now 5, is still that way. He is very healthy and active, picks at his food, and only weighs 35 lbs. One thing to remember, a healthy child will eat what their bodies need, so if he only eats 2 oz of protien a week, its ok. Keep doing what you are doing, mama, offer the good stuff, (we eat mostly organics, so I know the it's not "empty" nutrition) and pack in the protien whenever you can. One thing I did do with my son was once or twice a week as a "treat" I would fix him a small "shake". Use half a packet of Carnation Instant Breakfast, 2 tablespoons of powdered milk, half a banana, 8 oz of whole milk (we use soy, more protien) and whatever frozen fruit he wants. Raspberries are the all time favorite! Blend it up, and let him sip on it between meals. It's packed with protien, vitamins, and minerals, and when you use frozen fruit, it gives it that creamy, shake like texture. Good luck!

I have a lot of experience with this and I got a lot of intervention for my son because he was never on the charts with weight and even though he was meeting his milestones, his height started dropping so we took a lot of measures. I am not sure what's right for you but here are your choices.

You can see an occupational therapist and have sessions with the OT to help him overcome any eating issues he might have. This has been very useful for us because he hated anything with a moist texture and only ate dry things and she was able to get him to eat mac and cheese which is a big thing for him.

If you think his stomach is not processing well and he can only hold so much food, they can give him Reglan to help his stomach work more efficiently. This did not help my son and actually gave him reflux but for some kids, it has been successful.

See a dietician. Some things we've tried are: put heavy cream in his milk, give him Pediasure, give him Kid Boost 1.5 (this has the most calories almost triple that of milk), add a flavorless powder called Duocal in his food which adds about 50 calories a teaspoon full, add coconut cream to his food, etc. Also, if he is not eating much, it's okay to give him milk or Pediasure even at night so he can get all the nutrition he needs. When they are this young, they need the fat and nutrients for their brains and bodies to grow.

Extreme options: feeding tube, get an endoscope, get a GI tract x-ray.

My son was premature and always gained weight slowly but once he started losing weight, we had to put him on a feeding tube for two weeks. It's horrible and I question if it needed it to be done or not but he did gain 2 lbs a month and now he is on the charts, between 2%-5% most of the time but at least on the charts. Hopefully, you won't have to do this because it's heartbreaking. Good luck.

My daughter is 17 months and only 17 lbs. She is healthy, hitting milestones, etc... If your Ped is not concerned after doing the appropriate testing then he may just be a small boy. Kids don't starve themselves. Keep offering him healty options and he WILL eat when he's hungry.

My cousin's little boy was this way. They finally did just have to give in and start giving him pediasure and milk to make sure he was getting his nutrition, as, he did drink. He finally outgrew it at about age 3. He is now a healthy 8 year old boy. I think it is that all kids develop differently and mature differently with all things, including eating. Make sure you get the liquid vitamins and put a drop in a cup once a day, since he is obviously not eating his fruits and vegetables as he should be. Since there were no health issues found, I would just ride it out and just keep offering something new every week until he is ready!!! :)

My son(now 7) has always been underweight. We went through quite a struggle especially up to 12m. The first pediatrician threatened to report us to CPS if my son didn't gain weight! We went to parenting classes, rented a baby scale, saw a nutritionist, an endocrinologist and more. They told us to add powdered milk, mayo, and peanut butter to his food, none of which he would eat. At one point I was so paranoid I would take a digital picture of every meal.

Now looking back, I can see what some of the reason were. #1- my son had a hole in his heart, so his body was having to work harder(found and corrected at age 4). #2- food textures- he won't eat mushy, sticky food including smoothies. #3- ADHD- he had trouble sitting still long enough to eat. #4- heredity- the new pediatrician says he is on target to be the same height as his dad.

I worry that all this pressure to make him eat may have affected him the rest of his life. He knows we'll let him stay up past his bedtime if he's willing to eat a snack. He eats breakfast in front of the TV, otherwise he'll get distracted. And we let him dip his french fries in sugar- anything to get him to eat!

My son is very similar. He has always been in the 5th and 10th percentile for his weight, height, and head size. He will be 3 in Feb. and is only 23 pounds. His weight has always been on the radar but we have not sought out extensive tests. We did blood work at his 2 yr visit to check levels and get a base line in case we wanted to pursue.

He's just going to be a small boy. He never ate more than 5 ounces, or over 23 ounces a day as a baby. Since being on food he never eats very much. If his intake decreases I supplement with a toddler nutrition drink.

I wouldn't worry too much. Just monitor and if things drastically change discuss with your pediatrician.

I would start offering milk or a nutritional substitute drink more regularly, especially if he's willing to drink them. You can add powders to them to increase their caloric content.
Does he give into peer pressure regarding what he'll eat?
I have a daughter who is extremely sensitive to textures. We have had a rough time finding foods she'll eat, but she's always willing to try something new if her friends are eating it. She has discovered many foods she'll eat this way.
Is your son still bottle feeding or nursing? At 18 months that's about the only thing our daughter WANTED to do (we nursed until she was 19 months b/c of her hesitancy with other foods), so, thankfully, we didn't struggle with the weight issue. Could you re-introduce a bottle if he was bottle-fed? I know that would seem like a step backwards, but getting proper nutrition is really important.
Good luck!

Hi there,

My kids (son especially) was the same way. I too was also threatened with CPS by one doctor if he didn't start gaining weight. I then went to the next doctor and they said just let him eat what he wants to eat as long as he wasn't losing weight. He is now 5 and in kinder and as soon as school started, his appetite picked up tremendously. I have no clue what it is, but this kid used to eat a few bites and is now cleaning his plate and asking for more. The only thing I can think is it all the thinking that he does now. He still is not gaining weight, but his appetite is great now. My duaghter is now eating a little here and there. Go figure.

I don't have a whole lot of experience to go off of...BUT....my suggestion is to try to find one thing that he will eat, i.e. Yogurt, Ricotta Cheese, Cereal, Pasta, Rice, Applesauce, etc. Feed it to your child as often as he will eat it. And eventually add a little bit of another food to it, like a veggie or a fruit. Even if you have to puree the food, it's better to be eating pureed than nothing right? Don't feel bad about feeding your child one food, just find something he likes and get him to eat it regularly. Is he still breastfeed? If so, try adding breastmilk to the food. If he's on formula, try adding formula to the food. If he's on milk, try adding milk to the food. There are a bunch of great cereals out there that have iron, DHA, etc. Good luck and don't give up! He will eventually eat. My dad took my brother to the ER because he was so picky and wouldn't eat. My brother is now a great cook who eats a variety of foods.

i think there is therapy for a child who does not want to eat. im sorry but i am not sure what it is called--like behaviour therapy. ask your doctor for a referral because technically it sounds like your child is going down the road to being anorexic(there are some children who go through this-i think it has to do with texture--i have seen specials on it)the sooner you are given professional help, the sooner you can get your child down the road to recovery.

Good luck and God Bless!!

First of all, let me say I am sorry you are going through this with your son. It can be very stressful on you and the family. Not being able to get your child to eat can be a test to your self confidence as a mom. You are not alone and there is help out there.

This may be worth exploring further with a specialist GI doctor. If you google "feeding disorders children" you will learn about the main causes children limit their intake.

We were always told " a child will not starve themselves" . This is in fact not true. About 3% of children are thought to have feeding problems of this nature. Many times they are underpinned by actual undiagnosed, subtle, physical ailments. #1 problem assoc. with this is a gastrointestinal problem. These are easy to miss, and you may say my child does not vomit or otherwise exhibit GI problems. We worked through three pedi GI doctors to finally get the correct testing done. Boy were the docs surprised when the results came in!

Are you in the Houston area? If you are considering a specialist evaluation, I would like to suggest you see a GI MOTILITY specialist. There is one in the Houston area at TCH, Dr Chumpitazi.

Don't assume this is just behavioral. Everyone thought my daughter would grow out of it. We first started seeing the ped about weight before one yr of age and it took until she was 4 yrs old to get appropriate help. I was so tired of the advice on how to make nutrient dense foods. I'm sure you have tried all of that. It was more than that and my mommy instinct knew it. We persevered and got the right help.

If you find your son has got a GI problem there are medications, feeding therapies and dietary strategies which can help. There are specialist centers to help children who don't eat. I would be happy to help you with information.

My daughter is 6 yrs old. We were in the same position at 18 months. My daughter was later diagnosed with silent reflux, esophagitis and delayed gastric emptying. When a child does not seem interested in food to this extent there may be underlying undiagnosed health problems. Get help sooner rather than later. The longer it takes to treat the underlying conditions, the more time your child has to perfect refusal behaviors and it becomes a vicious circle.

check out parent 2 parent reflux for a support group of parents with similar issues. You can post questions and some very experienced moms dealing with this issue will help you
.http://www.parent-2-parent.com/forum/index.php
http://www.parent-2-parent.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=16

Hi I.
Offer the Pedisure more to him- it will at least have the vitamins and nutriunts he needs- and seek the advice of a specialist- he could have some obstruction
good luck and blessings

I.,
perhaps I didn't read your post correctly but it sounds like you're not allowing your child to have anything to drink during his meals. Perhaps after a few bites, he is thirsty and would like something to quench it before he finishes the remainder of his meal. If he's not getting that, then he may not want to finish whatever you're giving him.
My child insists on having something to drink w/ his meal (e.g., milk, juice, water) because he reaches for it after a few bites without fail. I don't put an excessive amount of spices or seasonings in my meals when I prepare them for the family so I think he just needs to help wash down his food. My child is also a slow eater, although I don't know if this has anything to do with it.

Just a thought,
Jen