WWYD to bulk up a skinny child?

[strokey]

My 5 year old is on the 9th centile for weight. Looking at him running around naked this summer I can see he is actually quite bony.

I am 5.3 and my husband is 5.10, both slim, so we were never going to have a chubby child. He was 6lb at birth.

He is very easy to feed, he will eat absolutely anything, but not a lot of it, so I have so far only given him "food of high nutritional value" since he doesn't have large portions. Also, that's what we eat.

I know he would put on weight if I gave him a donut twice a day, but then he would eat less good food.

He has full fat milk, cheese, yogurt, and the occasional piece of chocolate for calories, but I don't have things like biscuits, crisps or cakes in the house as Im so terrified of getting fat.

Any suggestions as to how I can bulk him up a bit while still giving him a decent diet?

The other thing we were wondering, is, are should we even worry about those weight charts? I know that 1 in 3 children is too fat, so does that mean being on the 50th centile is actually quite chubby, and I should be happy with him being on the ninth and leave his diet alone?

I've got the same issue - dd 10 yrs

She's healthy and very energetic but very skinny. She gets hungry very often but doesn't have a large stomach ifyswim so doc advised little and often - five meals a day.

You don't have to feed them doughnuts to put on weight but how about some home made flapjacks and fruit crumbles? Children need a bit of fat (and sugar in moderation).

In term time she has a "proper" snack when she gets home from school such as home-made pancakes or eggy bread - or cheese on wholemeal toast/croque monsieur, sweetcorn fritters or similar ...

Then supper with a pudding of some sort - home made ice cream/lemon tart etc - in summer we have lots of fruit based puddings - smoothies etc ....

Then snack before bed such as blocks of cheese with oat cakes or peanut butter on oatcake or yoghurt and a digestive biscuit.

In term time she always takes oat cakes to school in case she gets hollow (slow release energy).

It takes a bit of organising/effort but it does work.

And, if it's any consolation, doc said it's far better for dc to be on the slim side than have the opposite prob.

Stop worrying, most of the healthy children I know are like rakes until they hit later teens. I certainly was. I'm not now.

If he's eating well and isn't ill then just leave him be.

You can try foods that are high in healthly fats and high in calories that are still nutrious. Things like nuts, avocados, oils, etc. It's not very filling, but full of good calories. Finely chop some almonds and stir into soup/sauce, add a drizzle of cold pressed rapeseed oil to his spaghetti bolognese. These little things can help increase calories, without being too high in saturated fats and sugars.

Fruit crumbles - Great idea! plenty of butter and sugar, plus the fruit and custard.. Easy peasy to make in the food processor too. Not processed cak either.

Im not much of a baker, but I used to make crumbles a lot.. Id forgotten about them.

Tuna and avocado aswell, Ive actually got a bag of avocados ripening in the fridge (they were reduced to 48p- I was wondering what to do with them)

Thanks for the link to the BBC. Like someone said, you hardly ever see childrens ribs anymore so when you do it can look a bit unhealthy. Better than seeing cellulite though I suppose!

Cabbage - Feel like giving me the recipe you use for the fritters if you get a chance?

Something I heard recently was to put a knob of butter into porridge and tada its no longer a diet food! Tastes lovely actually, really creamy and you can still add sugar.

I also saw a fat bird on secret eaters putting peanut butter into her Weetabix, Im yet to try that one

Gawd as long as he fit and healthy he fine. He doesn't need bulking up, he's not a body builder he is a little boy!

I think you need to stop worrying about this. He sounds like a perfectly normal healthy child to me. They are meant to be skinny! What has give you the idea he needs bulking up? As long as you are not denying him food when he is hungry he will eat what he needs. I think you are at risk of creating an issue where there really isn't one!

I do sympathise. I have a similar small skinny child, and I have had to force myself to back off from obsessing over his size, but overfeeding him will not do either of you any good.

Strokey try half flour/oat flakes in the crumble and using unrefined sugar (less than recipe says) - can also add almonds and nuts etc

You are lucky your ds eats avocados - my dd won't touch them

Definitely don't introduce lots of junk to help him to bulk up. It sounds like he's eating lots of god food, already. Adding in snacks is a good idea, though. 5 or 6 mini meals a day is a lot better than 3 big ones, for many kids.

Mine would eat continually, some days if i let them. DS2 is about 35th centile for BMI and we have finally got DS1 (who has just announced that he's hungry, an hour after lunch!) to a point when he's no longer super skinny. He's looking positively chunky, for him, on the 48th centile for BMI! We found that the key was a big breakfast. With a big breakfast, he eats better through the day. This morning (he's 9, and tall so it will sound a lot) he had a mini hot cross bun, a bowl of cheerios, an egg sandwich and a bowl of strawberries and blueberries. I had to forbid a mid morning snack until after 10am, at which point, he helped himself to a packet of crisps!

keep feeding him as you are why should he bulk up he is the frame he is and he is eating what he needs for fuel - he will soon eat more when he is having a growth spurt.

Don't feed him fat to coat his inner organ with a layer of fat as that is not healthy.

agree with others.
continue as you do now. you should be able to see ribs on children. if you don't they are overweight.
offer a varied healthy diet and he will take what he needs. healthy children will not intentionally starve themselves.

My eldest ds is skinny he's 10 next week. I've been to our gp as been worried. He said ds is perfect size height etc and categorised him as athletic build. He eats like a horse has a high metabolism like his dad. They told me not to worry. Told me its good to see a young healthy boy. Wouldn't worry op. Just keep up what your doing. He will fill out as he gets older. I remember my bro when we were little he was like a twiglet then when he hit teens ended up like a brick sh!t house.

One of our dc is off the scales skinny. We add cheese / butter / oil (depending on food) to bulk up his meals. (You can get supplements from the gp if you have real cause for concern.) I try and make sure he gets a lot of dairy too. And in his case he gets a couple of fruit juices to drink which add another 400 calories or so a day - but then they don't affect his appetite. He does tend to go through phases where he can eat constantly too. Other times snacks affect his appetite at mealtimes. (He'll eat anything.) So it's kind of play it by ear.

My DS was very underweight although normal height at that age but his weight and height are now in proportion.

I do give him snacks - we make fairy cakes quite a lot and he'll eat a couple a day. I think they're pretty healthy compared to a lot of shop bought foods. I have high calorie stuff in the house for him (crisps and chocolate biscuits) which I never touch - it's not that I have enormous amounts of willpower, I just think of them as 'his' food rather than mine so you may find that you're not tempted (I also hate cheese and onion flavour which are his crisps of choice :o)

I've found that as long as there's a good 1.5+ hours between a snack and a meal, he'll eat the meal.

My DS1 is on the first centile for his weight and I'm really concerned about him. I discussed it with a nutritionist friend and she advised adding lots of hidden fats to his food, eg. butter, dressing, oil, cream, full-fat milk, grated cheese. She also said to always serve puddings with sauces, eg. stewed fruit with cream/custard/ice cream. Also what Dione said - plenty of exercise and fresh air to build up appetite. Oh, and not to let him fill up on junk food at the expense of healthier stuff.

Because DS1's appetite is so small, I give him six small meals a day: cooked breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus three snacks. I often give him Complan as well, especially if he is being fussy and hasn't eaten much of his lunch or dinner.

Most importantly, don't let your DS know that you are worried about his weight. Keep it to yourself.

Ds1 is very skinny and eats loads. His gps can't believe how much when he stays with them.

I don't buy biscuits or crisps but we have good meals that are filling and the odd pudding.

I only worry about him when he gets ill and doesn't eat much as he loses weight. Otherwise he's just like I was when little. I'm used to it I think.

The NHS BMI calculator doesn't seem to be working, but I found this instead, which includes a BMI calculator. The accompanying text says that a child is only underweight if he/she is below the 5th percentile, in which case your DS is in the normal range.

I have a skinny one too. No worries about it though - I know he eats plenty for a child of his age, most of it healthy and nutritious, and he's got a huge amount of energy.

I think generally children are larger these days, so those who are leaner tend to look 'bonier' than children of that build did a generation ago. I had a slight build when I was young, but so did the rest of the class with the odd exception (I am looking at my infant class photo now and seeing lots of knobbly knees!).

Yes I do worry but more about his health than what people think (hence me recent thread on here about his protein intake)

His grandparents seem to think that giving him loads of sweets & chocolate is the answer (empty calories) but I worry that will stop him from eating even more

They are quite wrong and you are right, Pictures . What they are doing is exactly what the nutritionist said we mustn't do. As you say, these are 'empty calories'.

I have the same problem with my MIL.

He loves fruit do I'm giving him full fat natural yoghurt with chopped up raspberries & strawberries in. He eats raspberries and grapes like they are sweets.

Not the original suggester of sweetcorn fritters, but find a drop pancake recipe, omit the sugar, and tip in a small tin of drained sweetcorn (or presumably a big handful of frozen). We also have a recipe which suggests grated carrot and finely diced pepper.

Yes to oats in the crumble top. Personally I think you can't beat Hugh's crumble

I was super skinny as a child, I can remember being weighed often through primary and High school. I ate like a horse, my meals where the same size as my Dads. My Mother always said I was " built for speed and not for burden" Don't worry yourself with what people may think. He sounds happy and healthy, as long as he has a balanced diet he will be fine. Porridge with his breakfast maybe.

As Pipsqueak says , once he has stopped growing upwards he will start growing outwards.

mine is 10 years, just above 95th centile for height, & between 9th and 25th for weight. All long legs and protruding bones and ribs you could play percussion on. He eats man sized portions, loves his food, snacks constantly on fruit and things like Soreen and home made cake. He just has an amazingly fast metabolism and never ever stops tearing around. It doesnt matter how much he eats, he doesnt put on weight. He just grows taller.