Anyone else with a kid who isn’t really interested in food?

[Caramelhoneygold]

Mine isn’t and it’s really hard work trying to make sure he doesn’t drop off the face of the earth (facetious but you get the idea.) He is looking very skinny and it worries me a bit

Little and often?
High calorie snacks?
My DD has never been underweight but is definitely an eat to live type. She's in her teens now and is beginning to enjoy food more.

I try - problem with little and often is it turns into little and not very often! He just doesn’t seem to have a big appetite and eats so slowly as well.

Mine was. He's over 30 now and to be honest is still very picky but turns out to have some sensory issues/mild autistic traits. Fully functioning though. But it made my life a misery. He wasn't hungry, and didn't like a lot of stuff.

Looking back I'd say don't let it rule your life. When he was older we had a deal that if he tried something knew he got a reward, and if he didnt like it there was no comeback. We found a few more foods that way.

Mine was. She has never had a huge appetite and had a slim build all the way through childhood.

She's nearly 15 now, very active and fit, a healthy weight but still with a small appetite.

Some people are just like that.

My practically two year old is picky sometimes. I've learnt to just offer him food and if he doesn't eat it then he can't be that hungry. It's really hard not to get stressed over it 🤦🏻‍♀️

Some kids do seem to live on fresh air and little else.
You can get fortified drinks if you think he's really not getting the basics in his diet. Maybe check with your GP and see if you could get a referral to a dietician if you're concerned.

My 2 year old is like that. He doesn't have a big appetite and just grazes throughout the day.

Mine isn’t picky really as he eats most things, just mouse sized portions and isn’t particularly interested in snacks.

My Dd was like that. A very small appetite. As soon as she said she was hungry I would offer her chopped carrot/cucumber/baby tomatoes/apple etc as ‘something to getting on with’ while I did her some food. That way I got some veg into her most meals.

As she wasn’t very interested in food generally it was difficult to get her to try to lots of different things, and I let her eat the same things over and over. She didnt have a massively sweet tooth so it wasn’t a case of her filling herself up on sugar.

When she was about 10, her cousin was diagnosed as a coeliac. It then turned out my brother and a sister was. I’m not, and although she hasn’t been tested yet, she feels tons better if she avoids gluten.

she is now adult and eats well and widely. She says that as a child she thought it was normal to always have a tummy ache when eating.

I feel awful when I remember that one of her favourite meals was Heinz spaghetti hoops on toast. There’s a double helping of gluten in one small meal.

I don't have a kid like this but I was a kid like this. Just not motivated by food at all and found meal times with family stressful as I always felt like I and the amount I was eating was being observed. I had a few safe meals but if I was given anything else I'd become internally quite distressed and just pick at it.

My advice would be to take the pressure off as much as humanly possible.

Mine was like that but I decided that as long as he was growing and had energy then it wasn’t too big an issue. I tried to give him things like peanut butter to get the calories in. Now he is older he eats more but is still very good at knowing when he is full.