Help me help the kids put on weight.

[ColdRainAgain]

I weigh and measure the kids every 6 months.
Since I last measured them we have moved country, new school. They are both very keen on school lunches after years of packed lunches, but that is the only change we have made.
They have both grown a couple of cm, but not gained any weight since the spring. On the NHS BMI centile, this brings DS1 down to the 6th centile. DS2 is on the 13th.

Typical day:
Toast and scrambled eggs
Lunch and pudding at school
Cracker, cheese and fruit. Or cake and fruit on getting in from school.
Home cooked evening meal - pasta and mince, sausages and mash and veg, stirfried chicken, veg and rice or noodles sort of stuff. Fruit or yoghurt if they want it.

DS1 then often has yoghurt or fruit before bed.

Both active, both fit and strong. Just pretty slender.

How can I get them to put in a bit of weight as they continue to grow taller? DS1 in particular.

Are you from continental Europe OP?
My European friends/Italian cousins all weigh and measure their DC regularly (I do it too!)

I wouldn't worry about a slight decrease in percentiles if they seem happy and energetic.

Normally the weight and height thing reassures DS1 that he is healthy - and that's exactly what weve told him - slender, healthy, growing, just like he is supposed to be. That is NOT the message he is getting from school, where his new classmates are calling him scrawny and wimpy because he is smaller (read skinnier, because he isnt noticeably shorter) than them.

The Drs in our previous country used to weigh and measure every time you went in - vaccination? weight&height. Annual "fit for school" certificate (yes, I'm serious), weight and height. Ill? Weight and height.

Finding trousers is a nightmare - they just fall off his hips without altering them if they are long enough.
Aged 10, he wore age 6 short to school (they were a bit short, but actually stayed on his hips). Now I have to find trousers, and it's impossible! If he hadn't moved school, he would still be wearing the same pair of PE shorts in Y6 as we bought him in YR - the smallest pair the school shop sell.

But I hear you all. Stop worrying.
I wont stop letting them stand on the scales if they ask to tho. I sure as heck stand on the scales more than once every 6 months!

My son is very skinny (my daughter is a better weight). He's funny with food so if he has a growth spurt or has been poorly with a cold and looks a bit peaky I will try and give him some richer food - more dairy and carbs, good oils, porridge, red meat etc. Just until I forget I was paying a little more attention. I never weigh him or feel very concerned apart from when I spend too much attention on what someone else says!

My first step if I had any true worries would be the doctor. You could try a banana for a snack as soon as you pick them up from school or something.

2 of my DC were always (still are) very slim, particularly in hips/thighs etc. It's just their body shape.

Trousers were a nightmare until they got tall enough to wear ladies so they could were a 6 or 8 despite being 5'6.

Finding trousers is a nightmare - they just fall off his hips without altering them if they are long enough.

That's because so many kids are overweight.

But parents have been altering their kid's trousers/uniforms since the year dot.

We can't all expect everything in the shops to fit them perfectly.

I have the same problem with trousers because mine are tall and slim naturally. I am short and pudgy so they did not get that from me! I can only get them the trousers with adapters or dungarees.

I used to buy school trousers that were years too young and get extra long. Think Asda and M&S both do long and extra long.

Drawstrings, verbaudet slim fit and so on.

The children are not underweight, the clothes are oversized though IYSWIM. They are very sporty and eat heaps, very fit, very healthy, not scrawny. Would have fitted in perfectly in the 60s and maybe looked a little chubby compared to 50s end of rationing era

What do I do in 6 months if they are STILL the same weight and grown even taller??? When does it become a problem? I'd only worry when they are underweight on the NHS BMI calculator, or if they are frequently tired or unwell.

My DS is fairly average, 38th centile for BMI last time I checked, and I still have to look around to find suitable trousers. M&S do longer length school trousers so you can buy the age to fit their waist, then long or extra long for the length.

M&S are pretty marvellous for trousers yes! Wish I could afford to get all my kids trousers in there, but they go through them so fast it gets expensive

DD was similar. She's filled out a little bit at age 9. She is now growing out of the adjustable waist clothes which will be a problem.

I would actually discourage standing on the scales if your child seems to be obsessing about being a healthy size. Maybe take the batteries out or pop them away for a while. I wouldn't want my kids regularly standing on the scales. DD doesn't need to know her weight, she needs to know what's good food choices (a bit of everything) and to be making good activity choices too.

If you record them against the measurement on the poster, did you check it's correctly positioned when you put it back up after moving?