Kids that won't eat

[atlnewf]

So, my 5.5 yo son is a picky eater. Assuming he'll eat at all. He's not LOSING weight, so the doctor isn't worried (yet). Any suggestions for getting him to eat? He starts Kindergarten in August and I have a feeling he's not going to eat most of what he gets at lunch.

Ashley

 

[onecoolmama]

I just think Kids will eat when they are hungry. I am probably not the best response because I have been told all my life that I am not a big eater.

 

[atlnewf]

I guess part of my worry is that he'll complain for 30 minutes while I'm cooking that he's hungry. Yet as soon as I set it down in front of him, he won't eat. I've tried giving him a small snack (small bowl of grapes, small banana, etc) while I cook to take the edge off of the hunger, but the result is generally the same. He won't eat.

Ashley

 

[MICKEY88]

Originally posted by atlnewf
I guess part of my worry is that he'll complain for 30 minutes while I'm cooking that he's hungry. Yet as soon as I set it down in front of him, he won't eat. I've tried giving him a small snack (small bowl of grapes, small banana, etc) while I cook to take the edge off of the hunger, but the result is generally the same. He won't eat.

Ashley

eliminate the snack right before dinner..

 

[atlnewf]

I have. Snack before dinner (or even an afternoon snack) doesn't affect the end result of dinner.

Ashley

 

[MICKEY88]

my daughter was the same way, her Dr. said don't worry she'll eat when she's hungry..there were days that it seemed she ate next to nothing. other days she ate a lot..it all balanced out....if he's not losing weight I'd listen to the Dr.

after all that's why we pay them to look after the health of our children..

 

[DopeyRN]

I have a 13 yo who was a terrible eater. His diet consisted of chicken tenders, plain hamburgers, eggs, cheese crackers and pizza. Vegetables were a big NO. Forget fruit. He was called our "air fern"...living proof you do not need to eat to live. I got him drinking a Boost every morning, which made me feel better. Last year we went on a Disney cruise...it took our servers about 2 days to figure out he was eating chicken tenders with honey mustard on the side. EVERY NIGHT! They stopped asking him.

Within the last year he has started expanding his diet...then he hit puberty and he found his appetite.Still skinny, always healthy. A few weeks ago he tried fried eggplant ! Go figure.

Anyway...try not to worry. MOST kids eventually expand their diets...at least to a point.

 

[CamColt]

You have my sympathy. My 4 yo eats next to nothing. Each "meal" that he eats takes at least an hour...and Im talking small meals, like a small bowl of cereal and half of banana for breakfast. One day he literally ate 1 munchkin and said he was full.
The only dinners he eats are macaroni(plain or with just cheese), pizza or hotdogs, and lunch every day is bologna, bread, mozzarella cheese and Gerber vegetable crackers. Obviously eating isnt his strong suit. He is slowly gaining weight and growing(hoping for 40 inches by our next trip so he can ride Thunder Mt), and the doctor says hes healthy, so I guess theres not much else to do.
So, I dont have any good advice for you, but if you find out any answers, let me know.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Dinnertime with DS6 and DS4 is a battle each and every day. They generally get up from a late nap, and don't eat any snack, but still won't eat dinner. All the things that kids are supposed to love? Nope. Chicken fingers, fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, very seldom will they eat much of anything. I ask my pediatrician every check up what to do...Here's what he says...He would rather have them skinny than fat. Overweight carries on into adulthood. (They are both in about the 15-20 percentile..When they raise their arms overhead, you can see their ribs and they look like a starving child..) He said to not look at it on a daily basis, but overall during the week. He said if they find something they like, feed it to them until they burn out on it. And make sure they take a vitamin every day. He also said that if he had the answer to our question-he would write a book and retire....

Our pediatrician is a kind of "not worry about things" kind of doctor, which is what I like. So I don't really worry about it too much, I am jealous of parents with kids who just sit down, shut up and eat, though. They weigh 36 and 34 lbs. at 45" and 41".....

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but it is sort of relevant. I had Maury on today (Ok, I'll admit, I watch a little bit occasionaly..) and his show was about obese children. There was a 3 year old on there that weighed 117 lbs. The mother was devastated and worried that he would die in his sleep. Then they brought out a two year old who weighed 60 lbs and the mother was proud of how much food her baby ate...We're talking chicken, steak,fries, when the child was as young as nine months!!!

So we might want to be glad that we don't have the opposite problem. The doctor is right, they will eat when they are hungry..Which is much easier to deal with than trying to stop the child from eating all the time...

Get this, mine like OKRA....

 

[shortbun]

Have your child make a fist. That's the size of their tummy AND
it doesn't feel good to have a full tummy. they'll eat when they
are hungry. My DS was and is a grazer. I put out peas and grapes
then carrots and french fries, then cheese and melon, then a few chicken nuggets and raisins or broccoli with chocolate pudding(a favorite) Never big quantities and never
anything more than sitting it near him. he munches occassionally
and he gets a vitamin and lots of water. When he asks for soda,
I tell him his body needs all it's calories in healthy food with an
occassional nod to the soda. Candy is reserved for parties and
holidays and disappears soon-exception is trick or treat as he
runs for that but it sits in the bag until Christmas and disappears.
again-the size of their clenched fist- not a lot of food at one time.

mimi

 

[trola2]

Also watch what he drinks. Even a little water may take the edge off his appetite. We used to "forget" my DD's drink and leave it on the kitchen counter until she asked for it...usually part way through the meal.

Also, if you allow him to drink on and off during the day, that oculd really do it....

I do believe that when they get hungry, they will eat. You might set a time maybe 3 hours before dinner to allow a small snack, but keep the main eating at meal times.

BTW, my 4yo DD decided she didn't like how red the spaghetti sauce was tonight and said "I'm not going to eat this stuff." So she was excused from the table but there will be no more food for her until 7AM tomorrow morning.

Good luck!

~~Beth

 

[atlnewf]

Thanks. It doesn't normally bother me, but we spent a week at the beach with my husband's parents and they kept pointing out how little he ate, etc. So I've been watching probably too much lately.

Ashley

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by atlnewf
Thanks. It doesn't normally bother me, but we spent a week at the beach with my husband's parents and they kept pointing out how little he ate, etc. So I've been watching probably too much lately.

Ashley

Yes, I get the same thing from DH...Like I'm supposed to have some mystical power over my kids' hunger....Actually, that is part of the reason that I dread dinnertime..not so much with lunch or breakfast, but dinner is when we all try to eat together, and DH gets upset when he sees them eat so little. Next time I am going to offer up shortbun's theory, it makes a lot of sense..

 

[floridaminnie]

DD eats practically nothing expect a few of her "staple foods", so she's been drinking the breakfast carnation drink for breakfast for the past three years at her Dr.'s request. But then I eat when I'm hungry and there are times when I eat practially nothing to eating an elephant.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by floridaminnie
DD eats practically nothing expect a few of her "staple foods", so she's been drinking the breakfast carnation drink for breakfast for the past three years at her Dr.'s request. But then I eat when I'm hungry and there are times when I eat practially nothing to eating an elephant.

We did the Carnation Instant Breakfast from about age 3-5.5...They are very nutritious, and it made me feel really good that at least they were having one nutritious meal. And it is a lot cheaper and better tasting that Ensure...We stopped having those for a while, maybe it is time to reintroduce that back into their diet. I am lucky at least, that they really like milk. Thanks for reminding me about the CIB!!!

 

[debster812]

Mom of a very picky (choosy) eater, fresh from our 7 year old checkup.

DS has still not embraced 'grownup food' his diet is mainly, cereal, toast, peanut butter sandwiches, pizza, pasta, chicken tenders, cheese and crackers, yogurt, and the #1 favorite in our house, GRILLED CHEESE sandwiches. He drinks mainly milk, water, apple and orange juice. He will eat the occasional carrot, and some lettuce, but no real veggies

Our Nurse Practitioner prescribes us a chewable multi vitamin, he is right in the middle for height and weight, and he is clearly thriving and NOT starving.

It will all work out, and as long as your Dr. is not concerned, I would not worry too much. (easier said than done)

Our PNP also said that food is such a hot button, control issue, that it is simply NOT worth fighting over for one second, and I wholeheartedly agree with her.

 

[oogieboogie]

Being a picky child myself and living thru the battles with my mother, I promised myself that I wouldn't do that with my kids. That's just not a battle I want to fight with them.

Both kids are picky eaters. DS6 did a lot better since he started kindergarten. He's willing to try some new stuff, although veggies are still out. The only real rule for him is that he has to drink at least one glass of milk a day.

DS3 is very picky and stubborn to boot. His meals usually consist of chicken nuggets or fish sticks. No beef of any sort for him.

The one thing they do like to eat is fruit. So I try to get them to eat a lot of fruit. Both like to graze throughout the day and have always done this since they were babies.

Each checkup with the doctor they've been in the 50-75% percentile on height and 25-50% percentile on weight. They very seldom get sick and the doctor has always said they're perfectly normal size for their ages.

I definitely agree that kids will eat when they're hungry. I really wouldn't sweat it too much. My mother always says I starve the kids, but you know what, I don't listen to her.... she was the woman who said that I should potty train at 6 months!

BTW, my kids also have their ribs sticking out, and just look at DS6 - bird legs that one.

 

[heart4pooh]

This has been an on going problem for us. My son just turned 6 and he weighs 36 lbs and is 40 inches. He is not a picky eater. He is just never hungry. He will eat veggies, fruit, milk, meats of any kind, just very, very little, if at all. It is very frustrating. He has been tested at Duke university for every known reason to effect growth. Everything came back negative, thank God! He is 15% UNDER the percentile in height and weight. I do not agree that a child will eat when they are hungry. Mine doesn't. He will say he's hungry and three grapes later he is FULL!! He was 9 lbs 3 oz when he was born. He lost over a lb in the hospital before going home and took 2 1/2 months to get back to his birth weight. It is a daily problem, meal after meal. My girlfriend has been spending a lot of time with him this summer and she is frustrated!!! She's never seen anything like it. I do not argue with him to eat, but I feel your pain. We try to get the most calories in him that we can and just keep on going....He is very healthy and bright. If you find something that works, let me know. Have you heard anything about growth hormone injections? It's not even a consideration at his age, but I have a client whose grandson is taking them and it is helping him grow about an inch a month. He's 13 and the size of an 8 yr old. Sorry for the long post...

 

[KimRaye]

Originally posted by hrh_disney_queen
He said to not look at it on a daily basis, but overall during the week. He said if they find something they like, feed it to them until they burn out on it. And make sure they take a vitamin every day.

My pediatrician said the same thing! I've tried for over 3 of her 6+ years to do just this. It isn't always easy, but it does give me some peace of mind.

In that same 3 years (probably a little more), she's consistently had the SAME breakfast, everyday! Micro pancakes and micro bacon. Very seldom, very infrequently, she will vary one day with a bowl of cereal (little if any milk), and some bacon.

Here's an example from yesterday: She said she was HUNGRY while we were out with my cousin and her 3 kids. Her "I'm Full" meal? 1/2 a peanut butter sandwich. NONE of the extras either (goldfish, apples, fruitees). While these 3 other kids, 3 yo thru 7yo, ate a whole sandwich PLUS! (and one of them said he wasn't even hungry) Go figure.

This summer has been especially hard. She seems to only want breakfast, and either a late lunch (3-4:00) or, an early dinner 4-5:00. No actual noontime lunch. She's just too busy to be eating.

I had never heard the "make a fist"-size of their stomach before. Makes me think harder about what the Doc said.

All in all, she's healthy, low percentile, but at least she is IN the percentile.

Sorry so long. Try not to worry too much, you'll make yourself crazy (like me).

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

My son has always been a picky eater. When he was first starting to eat solid foods I mixed every baby food fruit or veggie into whole wheat pancake batter and made little pancakes for him. It was the only way to get him to eat. Sweet potatoes with pumpkin spice, apples or pears with cinnamon...

He went thru a very picky stage at 3 and I had to really try creative ways to get him to eat. I could usually get him to eat little finger foods if I gave him a toothpick or a fruit fork. I used cute little character ones-- pumpkins for Halloween, Santa faces, etc... that you can buy at the party store. He would eat things like cheese, raisins, fruit, deli meat, small veggies, tortellini... anything small that he could pick up with the picks.

He is also big on dipping sauces. Carrot shreds in ranch, meat in BBQ or ketchup, apples with caramel sauce, etc...

The other thing we started doing was making a big deal out of it if he took good bites of food. "Wow, that was a dinosaur bite!" Of course, at 5 that strategy probably won't work.