Underweight 7y/o

[Chattycathydoll]

DD is not exactly a picky eater. She will try most things. However she keeps saying she isn’t hungry, only has a few bites of food at mealtimes, and will only really finish a portion if it’s sweet.

She was always on the low end of the growth charts but now she’s underweight. She’s very skinny & pale and I worry. I don’t really know what I’m asking- just general advice really! I’ve gentle reminders to finish her dinner. I’ve tried completely leaving her alone about it, serving portions and not acknowledging how much or how little she’s eating, and now she’s underweight. We’ve talked about the point of nutrition. I even sought out CAMHS as she has a habit of worrying and wondered if that was affecting her, but they turned her down without assessment. I really don’t know what to do at this point.

if she likes sweet things, & you are worried about weight & nutrition, you could see if she will drink a meal shake? Just tell her it’s a milkshake & make it with full fat milk. They do chocolate flavour too.
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does she help you chop and cook things or bake? Maybe getting her to help in the kitchen will make her more interested in trying things? even if it’s making and trying pizza, cakes or muffins. The library will probably have childrens cook books so you won’t have to buy any but there are loads to (hopefully!) tempt her.
www.amazon.co.uk/First-Cookbook-Usborne-Cookbooks/dp/0746078714/ref=asc_df_0746078714/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310871971371&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13682871340221031867&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007422&hvtargid=pla-537898098923&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

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you could try putting stuff on the table, rather than plating her food, so she can help herself. She may feel happier more in control of what goes on her plate.

it’s so tricky, such a worry for you.

@TooHotTooGreedy she cooks with me 3 times a week and is actually really good at it! I let her sniff the spices & herbs and choose which ones go in, and she’s got a good instinct for flavour combinations. She just doesn’t eat more than a few mouthfuls- even if she says it’s yummy. She always looks forward to cooking. She does often angle toward asking to bake sweets and cakes instead though- I remind her you can’t have cake instead of dinner, and we only bake on weekends.

Meal shakes are a great idea, as is letting her serve herself. At the moment she does cook then goes off to play once it’s in the oven and I’m in charge of plating up etc- maybe setting it out on the table first would allow her to feel like that’s an extension of the cooking part…

She could be suffering with anxiety. I look back at pictures of my daughter and realise she was too thin and at 14 her anxiety became worse and had to start medication. Now she is a normal healthy weight.

Did you go via GP?
She has a habit of worrying which I think is excessive. She says ‘what if’ all the time and gets hung up on really peculiar things such as worrying she will hurt herself if she does certain activities (if she does the activity she might fall over, get paper cuts, swallow small parts by accident). I’d like to get her some counselling but NHS turned her down and I can’t afford private since I lost my job (single parent).

I know people with primary school age children who have councilling at school- could this be an option?

It must be hard. I'd recommend lots of smoothies with higher calorie ingredients (full fat milk, peanut butter and banana smoothie etc).

Hope it gets sorted soon.

Are you trying to keep her to 3 meals a day? Mine was similar and it later emerged was at least partly due to a medical condition that even now (she's an adult now) means she can't manage a "full meal" but instead needs to eat spread across the day to get the cals and nutrition she needs

It's really hard.

Yes also to ensuring that the food she does eat is calorie dense

If she is loosing weight then take her to the gp for a blood test to rule out things like celiac. I don't personally think that anxiety wouid allow a 7 year old to actually lose weight.

in the meantime high calorific foods - full fat milk in everything, smoothies, etc

My 7yr old DS is also quite skinny, he weighs 19.8kgs and is underweight, if he gets to 21kgs he will be within the normal weight range. he is a really picky eater. only eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hates trying new things, not a sweet tooth, I have to force him to have fruit or smoothies. he also has a few bites and says he's full. his dad or I have to feed him every night to make sure he eats and that even takes like an hour. Yes I know we shouldn't be literally spoon feeding a 7yr old, but I'd rather that n make sure he finishes all his supper than having a few bites and leaving the rest.
Also looking for ideas to get him to eat more and put on weight.

What does your DD weigh @Chattycathydoll Chatty

Eggs can be a good source of calories and the Rolo Desserts, for such a small pot they're high in calories. Switch milk to full fat, use butter? Make her a milkshake with a blob of ice cream in.
I have a ds with Asd so been through all of this when his diet was restricted and weight was an issue.

If she can eat decent quantities of sweet foods it does sound like she prefers them and just isn't as keen on savoury foods. It may be a flavour or texture thing, but could you be over-facing her with off-puttingly large portions at mealtimes?

Could you try placing food on the table for her to help herself to, meals that you assemble at the table like fajitas, tacos, jacket potatoes, etc. We serve most things this way – stir fry comes to the table as noodles, cooked veg, and nuts and tofu to sprinkle as toppings for example. Picnic meals are also good for this, and you can have them at the table or outdoors, on a rug on the floor.

If you're worried about her weight, make the foods she does eat well count. As someone else said use only full fat foods (especially dairy). Full fat greek yohgurt with fruit/honey/oat/nut/seeds to sprinkle is really high calorie and nutritious. Hummus and breadsticks, avocado or egg on toast, etc.

Smaller more frequent meals may help too. Snacks can be nutritious things like cheese and crackers, apple with peanut butter, etc.

I too have a very fussy 7yo with a sweet tooth. Also barely eats anything from actual meals. As everyone else says we give her full fat everything - greek yoghurt is good - with porridge oats for breakfast, made into smoothies or ice lollies.