Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

I need DS9 to bulk up!

69 replies

FusionChefGeoff · 25/10/2021 07:53

Having watched DS9 play both cricket and rugby recently I've realised just how tiny he is compared to his team mates. He's pretty good at both sports but currently is definitely on the back foot due to his size. He was born at 37 weeks and has always been very slim but eats really well - I don't know where he puts it!!

What can I try to bulk him up a bit???

He has porridge made with full fat milk and we add ground nuts and syrup.

Lunch is hot school dinners.

Sometimes takes malt loaf or sugar snap peas as snack, sometimes doesn't want one / comes back uneaten.

After school snack toast or fruit - definitely mileage for something better here I think

Dinner - normal stuff but with generous use of olive oil / fatty meat / butter. No pudding as standard but sometimes has Greek yog with granola and honey.

I've just got him into cashews so am shoving those in front of his nose as often as I can.

He's not a big fan of cheese but I try to add a handful of grated to wraps / pasta etc.

He doesn't like cream but I can get away with squirty cream but I don't like the sugar content.

Doesn't like bananas - so ideas for how to make nice but low sugar smoothies would be appreciated as I think this could be one Avenue.

Is there anything I'm missing??

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Hboo31 · 25/10/2021 07:54

9 year olds should be skinny

Holly60 · 25/10/2021 07:57

You sound very over-invested and a bit controlling. Your son is the size he is. As long as he is not hungry, you shouldn’t be forcing him to eat excessively.

He will grow, or he won’t. I would be very careful not to draw attention to his size because it would be awful if he started to feel bad about it.

yikesanotherbooboo · 25/10/2021 07:57

Is he underweight for his height? If not , I wouldn't press food onto him that his natural appetite isn't requesting.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

9 year olds Families General food General parenting

ftw163532 · 25/10/2021 07:59

Is there anything I'm missing??

A reality check.

DockOTheBay · 25/10/2021 08:01

You don't "need" your son to change his body type to be good at cricket. Grow up

InTheLabyrinth · 25/10/2021 08:02

He's 9. He is supposed to be skinny.
My normal sized 10 yr old is tiny compared to many of his peers.
My skinny 12 yr old is tiny (tiny enough that trouser shopping is problematic, and rugby has just had to be stopped, as the others cause too much damage at nearly twice his weight in some cases). But he is still perfectly healthy, and eats like a horse.

All you can do is let him eat a healthy, balanced diet, and excerise. But skinny is normal. Dont force him into overweight.

MissyB1 · 25/10/2021 08:02

Eh? Why are you trying to “bulk him up”? I’m sure his body is the frame it’s meant to be, and as pp said 9 year old boys should look “skinny”. It’s just that we’ve lost sight of what’s normal when it comes to weight and size.
If you are worried about his sporting prowess please do not start trying to make him bigger to so he performs better on the field.

Iluvfriends · 25/10/2021 08:03

My ds has always been really thin and now at 16 that hasn't changed. He has grown in height but hasn't gained any weight....it's how he is.
I would be careful you don't give your ds weight issues later in life.

Mintlegs · 25/10/2021 08:05

It sounds like he has a balanced diet. Try not to worry about it, we are all different.

ManicPixie · 25/10/2021 08:05

He’ll have a growth spurt in 2-3 years. Until then chill the hell out or you’ll give him body image issues.

rattlemehearties · 25/10/2021 08:06

Is this for real? He will naturally "bulk up" when we grows in line with his normal development (puberty). For now as others said, 9yo are not meant to be chubby...

daretodenim · 25/10/2021 08:06

My friend's DD was short and skinny - very - and was referred to a kids' nutritionalist. They did lots of food diaries etc and then monitored how much sport (gymnastics) she was doing. They increased quantities of things like peanut butter ie the healthy foods she already ate and liked, but she remained underweight - and didn't want to reduce the sport.

Solution was she had to eat an ice cream every day! I can tell you that was one happy kid!

She never became fat, obviously has a F1 metabolism, but she did gain just a little bit extra.

So if he's underweight - as in medically - then look at the amount of activity he does and see the GP about it (if you can get an appointment).

WakeUpLockie · 25/10/2021 08:06

Maybe the bigger kids are in sports clubs partially because their parents are worried they AREN’T skinnny, and looking at your kid the same way you’re looking at theirs? As PP said, 9year olds are meant to be skinny and you can’t change his genes anyway.

LizzieBet14 · 25/10/2021 08:07

My DS14 has always been skinny and never stops eating. He is what he is.

cheeseismydownfall · 25/10/2021 08:08

Honestly I don't think this is something you can influence through diet. I also have a DS9 who is short for his age and incredibly lean. Fortunately he has fallen into a sport where his physique is an advantage, but it didn't occur to me that I could change it by feeding him more. His older brother it a totally different shape - tall and broad. DS might grow more like him as he gets older, but he might not.

Make sure your son is getting enough iron in diet, but apart from that, I think you need to accept it

KateTheEighth · 25/10/2021 08:10

He's fine. Skinny at 9 is how it should be.

My ds2 was short and skinny right up until he was 13 when he grew like a weed and thickened out. He's still slim (rather than skinny) but the same height as his mates now.

Stringsnthings · 25/10/2021 08:11

Is he underweight? Children can be underweight

Interesting about a child that is potentially underweight and it's all grow up, leave him as he is, his frame is how it's meant to be. A child that was overnight or verging on overweight would get very different replies

ParmigianoReggiano · 25/10/2021 08:11

My DS is skinny and always has been. He's now 15yo, 6'1" and still weighs under 9 stone!

He's a great eater, eats everything and lots of it. He's also very good at sport (football and cricket), so it hasn't held him back at all.

Please leave your DS as he is.

R0tational · 25/10/2021 08:12

Ridiculous! Leave him alone!

onelittlefrog · 25/10/2021 08:13

Your son is the size he is.

You need to stop and question yourself here and why you feel your son needs to "bulk up". Where does that come from?

Would you feel the same if he were female? What kind of gender ideals are you projecting onto your child here, by telling him that his body type is not good enough, just because he's a little smaller than some of the other kids?

If he's a healthy weight and eating well then there is no problem. At all.

If you are projecting these strange ideas onto him in any way you need to stop, because you are likely to cause him to develop some serious complex about his size.

He may already be noticing if his peers are a little bigger than him. Your role as his parent is to reinforce that he is good enough exactly how he is. Children grow at different rates and he will probably catch up anyway - I never heard of "bulking up" a 9 year old, how absolutely ridiculous.

onelittlefrog · 25/10/2021 08:16

@Stringsnthings

Is he underweight? Children can be underweight

OP said that he eats well and has not mentioned that he is underweight, only that he's small compared to his team mates.

Even if he is underweight, the way she is talking about "bulking him up" is awful.

If you are really concerned that your child is underweight then you take them to the GP.

You don't post on mumsnet talking about how they compare in sports and that you need to bulk them up by shoving cashews in front of their nose at every opportunity. It's a pretty vile post.

SilverGlassHare · 25/10/2021 08:18

I do get where you’re coming from, OP. I have a skinny seven year old who’s always been lighter and less solid than his friends, and it used to worry me quite a lot watching him be knocked over in rugby etc. Last year he had a growth spurt, and as well as getting taller than most of them, he also bulked out a bit (from 25th percentile to 50th) and I was quite happy about it because he didn’t seem so willowy in contact sports. But you can’t engineer it - that way lies disordered eating. Just feed him a healthy diet with no restrictions on portion size and let him self-regulate.

name532 · 25/10/2021 08:18

You don't "bulk up" a 9 year old

latte101 · 25/10/2021 08:19

He doesn't need bulking up. Don't put that complex on a 9 year old ffs.

Couldhavebeenme3 · 25/10/2021 08:20

Still got his red book? Check his height/weight in there for a start. Are you and dad slim? Genes have a huge part to play - my ex is 10st and 5'8" so my ds is never going to be anything other than slightly built.

Do NOT give him any sort of body image worries. 9yo boys are absolutely supposed to be skinny, they shouldn't have 'meat on their bones', they absolutely should be consuming calories by general running about and growing.

I'd be more worried if there are lots of erm 'solid' kids at his sports groups - at 9 it is parents who have sole influence over kids' diets, and they really shouldn't be overweight at 9.

Flip

1 2 3