my 6 yr old son refuses to eat meals and is always very run down

[lewisbear]

i have a 6 yr old who refuses to eat meals with the rest of the family, he will not try anything new his diet consists of:
breakfast cereal, bread, dry pasta,rice,smiley faces, chicken nuggets, corn on the cob, apples, grapes and the usual crisps, choc and buscuits.

I know i shouldnt give him the rubbish but he will refuse to eat anything else, he is so little for his age i will give him anything he will eat.

he is even getting fed up of eating pasta now but totally refuses to even try anything else, the doc has given him vitamin drops, he also had a blood test which shows slightly ememic. He just looks so pale and run down all the time people are always comenting on how pale he is.

I'm just not sure what to do anymore, i have 2 other children age 5 and 16mths who eat really well.

help!!!

Have you tried Spatone, it is an iron supplement in water form, it comes in sachets from Boots etc. You put it in orange juice, they hardly notice, hope he drinks juice! Might help with his paleness and lethagy.

Me eldest DS, now 7, was a bit like this about aged 5-6, had a specific bunch of foods he would only eat. He called it a 'picnic platter' it had ham, crackers, grapes, raisins, cheese etc.

My DS has a Spatone sachet everyday, we are all pale, sometimes when ill practically see-through, teachers have commented in the past about it, but his bloods have always been fine.

He used to eat with us, we just got on with eating not making any comment about what he was eating, then got bored of not having the same thing and eventually ate what we ate.

Have you got him involved with the shopping and cooking etc?

Did the docs say he was otherwise healthy?

apart from being slightly enemic the bloods didnt show anything else,i have taken him recently because he always seems breathless they are testing him to see if he has asthma.

Thankyou for your help i will try him with Spatone and yes he does like orange juice, i hope it will help, do you know if he can have the multi vitamin drops with it?

does he drink alot during the day

I should think so, maybe do one at the start and one at the end of the day.

Dyslexia? I know my son, who has moderate dyslexia works so hard at school, his brain works five times as hard, trying to decifer stuff, some days it totally exhausts him, he looks like someone who has been at a computer desk for hours. A long shot I know, but just a thought. He just wants to flop in front of the TV and chill.