Needs ideas on how to get ds (7) to gain weight

[SpecialK]

My oldest son hovered between the 50th and 75th percentile when he was that age. He would eat either a peanut butter sandwich, an apple with peanut butter, or cereal before bed. Around middle school age he finally stopped wearing slims. He's now 15,
5'9", and weighs about 125.

My husband was a skinny kid and my son has his body type. Could that be the case with your son?

 

[golfgal]

My dd was on growth hormone and let me tell you that is so wrong.

Kids on growth hormone have problems with overall growth which includes weight. I know it is hard for someone to understand that who has not been through it.

And yes she never said he was dropping his percentage however I am assuming because the doctor was concerned. That would be the only reason a doctor would have concern for a child's weight issue.

YOUR Dd may have needed weight watched but every other child, MY SON, my niece and 3 friends' kids all with growth issues were FINE with their weight and their treatment focused on their height. Weight is important but no dr is going to treat a child with weight issues with GROWTH hormones .

 

[mjkacmom]

My ds8 is one pound away from being underweight for his BMI -you can see every bone and muscle (he wears an 8 slim - he's in the 75th% for height). He's not a big eater, and he's very active. Honestly, I have no problem with it. His twin sister isn't even 50 pounds yet, same height, but very thin (and she eats a lot! She wears a 7 slim). Now, ds12 is on focalin. When he was 6, he wore slims, and then gained 10 pounds a year for several years, and his BMI was close to overweight. In his case, the focalin has been a blessing!

 

[dismichelle]

All 4 of my kids have the same "problem". Each one is/was about 15-25% for weight, but are at least 75% for height. I as well as my brother were the exact same way as kids so I am not really worried at all.

I try to cook fairly healthy, and do not want to change that just so they can gain weight. Per recommendations of our pediatrician, we did change from skim milk to whole milk, buy whole milk yogurt, and offer cheese as a snack.

Other than doing the small changes, I'm not concerned.

 

[sacall]

She never said he was dropping percentiles-it is also not uncommon for a child's weight to move to lower percentiles around this age as they lose their 'baby fat" and start growing. Growth issues are more commonly focused on height, not so much weight. We also had one deal with growth issues and his weight was always fine, just didn't grow at all for 2 1/2 years. Again, this child is NOT all that off base for what he should be.

I also wanted to state that they are very concerned with weight issues not just with height issues. In 4th grade, my dd (now in 9th grade) stopped growing and stopped gaining weight. She continued to lose weight and started falling below her normal growth chart (failure to thrive). They were more concerned with the fact that her BMI was less than 3% (where her BMI was around 18% before this all started) and less concerned that she wasn't growing taller. We didn't figure out what was wrong with her until 6th grade (she has CF).

To answer the orginal question, is your child falling below their growth chart? Is your doctor is concerned? If so, I would ask to see a nutritionist before just giving your child fattening food.

Stacy