Dr says ds 5 needs to put weight on,how do I do this healthily and do I need to?

[MilaMae]

He is the spit of dp and his dad who are small, slim, wiry and superfit (fil is 75 and regularly cycles 16 miles). Dp and fil have washboard stomaches not an inch of fat .

Both never put weight on whatever they eat. They eat healthily most of the time but enjoy treats as much as anybody else.

Ds eats whatever I give him so he has a healthy diet(w/m bread loads of fruit/veg etc with the normal treats cookies after school,sweets on Sat,fishfingers and chips once a week.

I'm just thinking whatever I do he won't put on weight as he's like his dad. I have no idea how to get any weight on healthily. I'm not going to give him chips more than once a week because of his twin brother and sister and also because his cholestral level when he's older could be crap whatever his weight iykwim.

He's not a milk fan which doesn't help. What healthy foods can add on weight and do I need to bother?

I was advised by GP to cut down on the wholemeal bread/rice/pasta I was giving DS1, and mix in more white, as it was filling him up without giving enough calories.

Smoothies are good as a drink (but contain lots of natural sugars). I started adding more butter to mash, etc, and offering puddings. I'm veggie, but I've started giving him more meat.

He is still really skinny though. I'm not too concerned as he has lots of energy. He just seems to MOVE a lot more than other children. Does your son run about a lot?

My DS is 109cm and about 17.5kg. I think he is about 25th centile for weight and 50th for height, so is "skinny" as he is about average height and lower than average for weight.

He is also 5 and had a full height and weight and eyesight and hearing check at school a couple of months ago. No one suggested there are any problems with his weight - he is skinny but completely full of energy so I really don't worry.

I used to be the same. Now, again after two children I am not .

DD on the other hand is on 50th centile for both height and weight so to me she looks rounder than DS, although she is actually more in proportion.

Yes ds is very active just not in class says he's tired all the time work avoidance I thought.

It's quite ironic as his twin (non identical) is the fussiest eater on the planet and eats half that his brother eats but is a lot bigger, taller,fuller etc. My little twin eats more but maybe the wrong stuff as has been suggested not enough fats. Because I don't serve the trash my bigger twin wants he often refuses to eat his tea etc . The smaller one often woofs the lot but is smaller. My bigger twin is more stocky like my side of the family. It's interesting.

Re the w/m bread my hv told me to only ever buy w/m as it's hard to get kids off white onto w/m. She also said it would stop constipation which happily none of them have ever suffered from. I do find it all confusing. We only have white pasta and rice though.

Many thanks again for all your thoughts and advice,have found it all really helpful

I do this 'diet ' with my active skinny boys

• full fat milkshake hot choc

-snacks are philadelphia and crackers -pancakes and nutella lots of olive oil in cooking (ie wedges, drizzled in pizzas)

everything is full fat, plenty of protein too, cheese, meat etc.

And buttered white toast always goes down well!

Why don't you ask for a referral to a dietician. He's probably fine and the GP is talking a bit of nonsense - but if he does need some fattening up she could give you good advice. Personally I don't think shoveling in the sugar is very sensible.

w/m bread is fine if everything else is white. The problem is if everything is wholemeal. I've always given my 3yo w/m bread because we all hate the white stuff and her paed's fine with that. She eats far more rice and pasta than bread anyway and that's mainly white.

I don't understand what's wrong with being on the 25th centile. Someone has to be there.

But if he is tired at school maybe it's because he doesn't eat enough breakfast specifically. My DS used to say he got really really hungry by lunchtime at school until he started eating more breakfast.

What about more protein-y things for breakfast that "last longer"? Eggs, bacon etc? Or even a banana instead of an apple.

(I say all this but my DS only eats Special K, sigh...)

I'd say that being on the 25th centile is fine - someone has to be there as everyone doesn't weigh the same. But it is the combination of height and weight centiles that will show whether someone is over or under weight for their height - you could be on the 25th centile for weight and the 9th for height and be overweight.

Could you try buttered scones/crumpets with a favourite jam? Equally wholegrain toast with butter and jam? Full fat milk and yoghurts?

You seem to give him plenty of veg and fruit, which is good, but as the others say, not fatty enough. He needs fat and dairy to build his bones and muscle.

He seems to eat healthily - but for a dieting adult, not a growing child.

I give my sons ice cream nearly every day for pudding, full fat creamy ice creams.... with strawberries, bananas, sprinkling of hundreds and thousands, chocolate syrup...... That sort of stuff. Iced cupcakes or brownies from Sainsbos are sure favourites!

am I correct in thinking that 18.2 kg is just under 3 stone? If so my ds is 4.2 and 109cm and 2 stone 12lbs and noone has suggested he is seriously underweight ... mind you he hasn't been to see anyone!

on the breakfast front - how about something like beans on toast, cheese on toast, scrambled eggs or omlette - that will give him a good start to the day. I do that with mine - not every day but a few times a week maybe.

No helpful advice to add but I've got Bodiddly's matching set. My ds is a marginally taller, a month younger but the same weight. Needs 6 year old clothes for length and still wearing shorts (now more like hot-pants) that say 12-18 months on the label. Very skinny but very healthy.

The problem can be getting them to eat more. Mine is still at the dry cereal stage. He ate 6 pieces of spaghetti and one biscuit for dinner tonight and went to bed apparently full and happy. Sometimes it's just the way they are. I don't think I could do anything to get him to fatten up except feed him a chocolate diet.

It doesn't sound to me as though he's particularly devoid of fats in his diet. In one day he's having

-- milk
-- peanut butter
-- cream cheese
-- yogurt
-- biscuits

and lasagne, curry and fish are not exactly fat-free.

If his father and grandfather both have a skinny build then personally I wouldn't worry. For the tiredness I'd focus more on getting him to eat slower-release foods and including protein in every meal -- so maybe an egg for breakfast if you could persuade him, or give him some cheese to eat with the apple, and again try to incorporate some protein in when he has his after-school biscuits.

eclipse .. glad to hear mine isnt the only one .. but mine eats and eats, at least when it is something he likes! His Sunday lunch consisted of roast beef, 2 yorkshire puddings, 4 roast potatoes, broccoli and a few carrots ... followed by yoghurt for pudding. He then announced he was hungry 2 hours later! I can see a growth spurt coming ... his height is all in the body and relatively short legs but finding trousers that fit is sooooo difficult. He grows out of them in the length - they NEVER fit in the waist!

Ds is 6, 116cm and 20kg. He is lean and long like I was until my twenties and like dh still is (small beer gut excepted).

However as he eats:
2 bits of toast with butter and honey and may have a bowl of cereal for breakfast.
2 homemade cookies for morning tea
2 slices wholemeal bread thick cut with pesto and cream cheese, a slice of cake, some raisins and carrot sticks
An apple and more biscuits for afternoon tea
A full plate of whatever we are having with extra veg and a bowl of ice cream at weekends.

I don't exactly think that extra calories are needed. I know kids that eat like sparrows and weigh more.

i am late to this, so possibly what i am saying is repeats
my dc are also tall and skinny. but they have healthy skin, good muscle tone, are full of energy, run around like loonies etc etc. finding clothes for them is a nightmare, as the obiseity epicemic means that all clothes are for chubny kids. but, i dont think my kids are unhealthily underewight, andmine do eat chips more than once a week.

I think also lots of exercise and fresh air will build a good appetite for food!

for those of you with skinny kids - I wandered into primark the other day (never been there before), and picked up lots of jeans that were skinny fit. They have elastic adjustments on the waistband. On the normal (ie the one they came with) they fell off my two - but with a little adjustment they fit well. It makes a change - normally they just fall off them. I have got used to my kids running round holding their trousers up with one hand as they go

His weight, doesn't seem that bad to me. DS1 is a little taller than that, and only about 1kg heavier. He is skinny, all children in our family are skinny naturally. We get bigger as we get older.

Ds's school blazer are a case of how much bigger children have got. He wears a second hand one which is pretty much the style the original school had in 1923. Very slim cut. The "new" blazers are now made in a very boxy style to fit even the widest boy, leaving those long lean boys (of which at this school there are far more) looking like they borrowed dad's suit.

How about an egg for breakfast a couple of times a week, with lovely buttery soldiers.

Then some cheese mid morning - how about 1/2 an apple and a chunk of cheese for his snack.

Then lunch sounds fine.

Afternoon snack sounds yum but could you make it a couple of slices of bread with jam?

Dinner I'm sure is lovely and then how about a flapjack or something for pudding?

Would he have milk if it was a milkshake?

Or how about a smoothie with his breakfast with some berries and yogurt whizzed together?

Last time ds was weightef (just over age 5) Dr said he was underweight for his height. she asked how he ate and then just told me to keep an eye on him. I pointed out that both dp and I were the same at his age. I wouldn't go down the sugar route personally as its not just the weight gain, its making the body used to certain food which is difficult to kick later. I wouldn't worry too much, just make sure he is eating well. Have a friend whose 9 year old is literally skin and bone (like her dp) and is very physically active and eats well. If you are really concerned ask to see a peaditrician who will have a better handle on children's health generally (think some drs rely far to much on those bl**dy charts which represent averages...)

I agree with you thirty - my DS1 is not skinny at all but he still has to run holding his trousers up I think a lot of the manufacturers must be cutting the kids clothes wider.

My dd was recently assessed by the Dr, she is underweight also

She is 6, weighs around 14kg and is around 110cm

The Dr however wasn't concerned at all, she considered my dd to be full of energy and took in to consideration genetics, father's side of family all very slight

the only time I worry is when she is ill and doesn't eat, then she looks skeletal