Ideas to help 5 year old gain weight?

[Troublesometooth]

My 5 year old has had a growth spurt recently but is now looking gangly. He hasn’t put any weight on for nearly a year and so shooting upwards has made him look thinner than before.

He is very active, and also very fussy with food (sensory issues). I think his appetite is good (he is always after snacks) but he still doesn’t seem to be putting weight on.

Today he has eaten;
Brioche and a crumpet
Half a banana as school morning snack
Packed lunch of 2 ham sandwiches, 1 rice cake, carrot and cucumber sticks, a small piece of homemade banana cake, watermelon and strawberries
Chicken nuggets as out of school club snack
An apple
1/2 tin of beans on toast
An ice lolly
A yogurt

I think that’s a rather large amount of food for a 5 year old but he isn’t putting on weight so I need to make some replacements. He won’t eat porridge for breakfast to fill him up longer and doesn’t like egg.

He usually has a better cooked evening meal with veg, but I was late home from work so it had to be a quick dinner tonight. I am also aware his sugar intake is higher than would be ideal. But due to his sensory needs there are lots he won’t eat so it’s hard to get a good balance.

Does he like milk? Maybe some full fat milk as a bedtime drink?

Maybe get some actual medical advice to see if this is needed. I have a skinny as a rake 6 year old - he's on the 2nd centile but perfectly healthy.

When he was under a deitian for his allergies they even said someone needs to be on the 2nd centile

He definitely isn’t getting enough calcium.

If he hasn’t gained weight in a year he needs to see a GP.

Gangly or under weight? Primary school children are meant to be skinny! If you put him into the NHS Kids BMI thing, where does he sit?
DS would have had crisps in place of the rice cake at lunch.
The yogurt (or cream, or custard) would be on one of the fruit snacks.
Humous or mashed avocado or sour cream or cheese chunks with the raw vegetables.

Basically, adding fat (or sugar, yes, DS consume a lot) to everything you can.

On that lot, DS sits between 5th and 9th centiles. He's now at secondary.

If you're sure he really needs to put on weight then.... oven chips or mashed potato; cheese rather than ham sandwiches. Ham is not ideal for a few reasons and doesn't provide as many calories as cheese. The fruit and veg intake is impressive but the strawberries,cucumber and watermelon are all good choices for people wanting to lose weight. Mango,avocado and fig are high calorie choices. Nuts? Very high calorie. You can even use ground nuts in baking.

Cheddar sticks.

Make him creamy chicken soup with double cream. Lots of calories in this!

Agree with Ilikecheeseontoast. Maybe add some milk and cheese? Sounds like there aren't much protein in his diet.

Rice cake is not really ideal, if you really want him to gain weight. Maybe change that to something more nutritious like breakfast bar?

My almost 6 year old hasn't put weight on for over a year. Is growing taller though. GP thinks this is normal and told us not to try and "fatten" him up. I think a bigger, more nutritious dinner is needed (appreciate not always possible though!) and more milk/cheese/yoghurt.

Will he eat any of peanut butter, hummus, or cheese? Salami is higher calorie than ham if he'll eat that. Flapjack is a very good calorific snack, you can make with apple puree it mashed banana if you want to keep the sugar down.

For a few other ideas, my youngest is quite picky, he'll eat Yorkshire puddings which with the oil are quite calorific - I make a big batch and then reheat. Will he eat things made with mince, what fat content do you go with?

Smoothies? Chuck in some peanut butter, fruit, whole milk and honey

a basket of snacks a day?

If possible add milk based drinks, milkshakes, smoothies etc.
Where ever possible had butter and cheese.
Crumpets can have melted cheese or peanut butter.
Do school request only fruit based snacks? If so can he manage a full banana?
Rice cakes are rubbish for calories, try oak cakes instead or a packet of crisps but you may need to keep an eye on salt.
If your struggling to get calories in a full fat yoghurt with strawberries would be better than watermelon.
For dinner look for cream, cheesy sauces. Macaroni cheese, lasagne etc. Also if making creamy sauces add egg yolks and cream.
If you can add a dip with veg or chicken nuggets do, Mayo, cream cheese, guacamole all good.
Snacks with peanut butter or nuts are great.

Agree full fat dairy! Just more healthy fats in general. Will he eat porridge? Avocado? and I think more carbs aswell - wholewheat pasta? xo

adding nuts and/or seeds to smoothies, yoghurt, cereal, e.g. hemp seed hearts in yoghurt, milled linseed in smoothies, chia pudding (chia seeds and milk) - you can get various seeds and nuts in Lidl or Aldi pretty cheaply.

Avocado

Adding healthy oils to pasta or mashed potato

Peanut, almond, cashew butters - on toast or bread, with fruit e.g. slices of apple to dip in nut butter of choice, in smoothies or ice creams

Using smoothies or pudding type things to hide healthy but dense foods, eg peanut butter in "nice cream", milled seeds in smoothies

Nice cream - frozen bananas, cocoa, smooth peanut butter, date syrup (optional) - blend until smooth in food processor - it's very similar to chocolate ice cream.

I'd be wary of substituting healthy things for more unhealthy options simply for higher calories or weight gain. e.g. salami - it's a processed meat with health concerns.

Have you checked if he is actually underweight? Because if not and you check and he isn't then leave him be!

IF he is underweight you would be best seeking professional advice as it's actually not that easy to get kids to gain weight healthily.

I had this issue with dd which is due to her disability (didn't know that at the time) generally the advice is increase lean protein, healthy fats

NOT unhealthy fats and sugar!

Greek yoghurt and granola for breakfast?
Sausages
Flapjacks/ granola bars
Macaroni cheese made with cream

Thanks everyone. He is bang on the 50th centile for weight and has tracked 60-70 since birth so has dipped slightly but not considerably.

He does drink milk mid morning at school but I will add it back in at bedtime too. He will eat cheese and weekend lunches are often cheese on toast but will start putting some in his lunchboxes too.

He isn’t a big meat eater so protein isn’t easy and sometimes at dinner will just eat the vegetables and leave the rest!

@AtleastitsnotMonday

If possible add milk based drinks, milkshakes, smoothies etc. Where ever possible had butter and cheese. Crumpets can have melted cheese or peanut butter. Do school request only fruit based snacks? If so can he manage a full banana? Rice cakes are rubbish for calories, try oak cakes instead or a packet of crisps but you may need to keep an eye on salt. If your struggling to get calories in a full fat yoghurt with strawberries would be better than watermelon. For dinner look for cream, cheesy sauces. Macaroni cheese, lasagne etc. Also if making creamy sauces add egg yolks and cream. If you can add a dip with veg or chicken nuggets do, Mayo, cream cheese, guacamole all good. Snacks with peanut butter or nuts are great.

School provide the snack and milk as he is in foundation. It’s usually fruit.

He won’t eat school dinners most days so I send a pack up.

Unless you are going to drop in something about his height being on the 90th centile, he doesn't need fattening up from the 50th centile.
Keep going as you are.

If he’s on the 50th why do you want him to put on weight? Lots of kids that age will be growing taller but not necessarily that much heavier.

Do not worry about it then. Promote healthy eating but do not make a big deal out of it. The fiftieth percentile is nothing to fret/worry about. He is doing fine, health wise.

Isn’t this relatively normal for that age? That they lean out and lose the toddler podge? My DD is not nearly 5 and has gained only 2lbs over the last year or so but has massively shot up in height. Your be DS could probably use more dairy to ensure he’s getting enough calcium and protein but otherwise I wouldn’t be worried unless his BMI actually suggests he’s underweight.

That doesn't sound like he needs to gain weight unless he is extremely tall, and even then they do sometimes shoot up before filling out. They do lose the toddler podge at his age as someone else said and they don't necessarily always track centiles over the course of their childhood. DS1 was born above the 99.6th centile for weight and stayed around there as a toddler but aged 7.5 his BMI now is about the 30th centile for his age. He's all long skinny arms and legs these days!

You are supposed to be able to see their ribs at this age. He doesnt spind underweight unless you tell us he is the height of an 9 year or something! My dd was a very chubby baby but as soon as she got mobile her metabolism took her right down to 15th percentile, and she has never been above 20th percentile weight. Her height has tracked the 75th to 85th percentile line. We used to give her extra milk, but we didnt try to "fatten her up"

If he eats healthy and is just naturally lean, I don't think that's a bad thing.