FEEDinc. Canberra Dietitians & Nutritionists
  • CANBERRA NUTRITION
  • The FEED Team
    • Lisa Donaldson
    • Jenelle Croatto
    • ShienEe Tan
  • Locations
  • Services & Fees
  • Appointments
  • Recipes
    • SHOP
    • Blog

How to feed an UNDERWEIGHT child

4/19/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
By Jelena Puskarica
​

We all know about the disease of modern age-obesity. It is crippling us at an alarming rate. We worry about our kids and tackle this issue on every single level. After all, every fourth Australian kid is overweight or obese.

But it seems to me that their “thinner’ “peers have often been forgotten. And that many don’t even consider this as a problem, even though these kids have equal risks of developing nutrition-related health issues.  If you have an underweight child, as I do, you know exactly what I’m talking about. 

Have you been told... it’s just the way your child is? 
Or that they should simply eat more food? 
 

Seems easy, right? All I must do is provide healthy nutritious food and motivate my boy to eat it. Even easier for me, I’m trained to do this stuff!

✓ I know how to feed my family
✓ Our diet is abundant in vegetables and wholegrain foods
✓ We have a good mealtime routine and my kids don’t graze on snacks between meals
✓ We don’t keep many energy-dense foods in our pantry and hardly ever do takeaways

Sounds like good advice I would give to any parent of a young kid who is trying to establish healthy eating habits. EAT. MORE. FOOD. It worked for my other three children...

But not for my son... 
Instead of thriving, he was just surviving. 

Let me be clear - my son does eat his food.  He is not even fussy about trying new food and ironically vegetables are on the top of his list of favourite foods. But he simply can’t have much of it.  After a bowl of side salad his belly is too full to contemplate the main meal. 

Food doesn’t rate highly on his agenda and he often forgets to eat if I’m not around, so I worry whether he is getting all the nutrients he needs.  I had to find a way to feed my boy without feeding the rest of the family with extra calories they didn’t need. 

This meant providing small portions of energy-dense, yet nutritious food packed with healthy fats and protein, several times a day. This gives him the opportunity to eat whenever he feels hungry and not make a fuss when he doesn’t. 
​

EASY CHANGES

  • Morning cereals are made with full cream milk and topped with extra nuts and nut butter
  • Salad coated with extra olive oil
  • ​His main meals are packed with protein-rich food
  • An extra snack before bedtime

I might add, the ‘extra snack’ before bedtime was the cause of many “it’s not fair” exclamations from his siblings! 

BUT, more than food, my boy needs constant encouragement, support and reminders to eat.  It is a work in progress and requires time and patience. 

So while you may be celebrating an occasion when your child tries a new vegetable previously rejected many times, I consider a victory when my son asks, “Mum, can I have a second piece of chocolate cake?” 
​

… because cakes can sometimes be healthy too! 
1 Comment
Linda Lindsell
4/19/2020 08:36:09 pm

What an insightful and informative article. Thank you!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    News FEED

    Fitness, Energy, Education & Diet

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    Allergy
    Baby
    Bones
    Bread
    Breastfeeding
    Calcium
    Calories
    Candida
    Carbohydrates
    Carbophobe
    Cholesterol
    Coconut Oil
    Coeliac
    Constipation
    Fibre
    Fitness
    Gluten Free
    Gut Health
    Healthy Fat
    Heartburn
    Immunity
    Intolerance
    Irritable Bowel
    Kilojoules
    Menopause
    Mother
    Nutrition
    Osteoporosis
    Paleo
    Paleo Diet
    Pete Evans
    Probiotics
    Quinoa
    Saturated Fat
    Sleep
    Slow Food
    Summer
    Weight Loss
    Winter
    Yeast

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US: [email protected]
  • CANBERRA NUTRITION
  • The FEED Team
    • Lisa Donaldson
    • Jenelle Croatto
    • ShienEe Tan
  • Locations
  • Services & Fees
  • Appointments
  • Recipes
    • SHOP
    • Blog