no weight gain in 4 year old

[Ryan&HollysMom]

hi all,
first off, let me say that i am NOT concerned about my son's health, and that i know that he's genetically made this way and just little and that there's nothing wrong with that.
ryan is 4 1/4 and weighs 30 pounds. the last 18 months have only brought on about 1 pound. he doesn't eat very much, unless it's pasta and cheese, or something he really loves. his appetite isn't the greatest, though he CAN eat a lot some days (i guess like most people). part of our "problem" is that he likes healthy foods, like veggies, whole wheat bread, etc. he could munch on raw veggies for the majority of the meal. sometimes he eats his veggies and says he's full. i try and push peanutbutter as it's high in fat, and he used to love avocado, but doesn't anymore.
what other high fat foods are there, and/or what other things can i do to promote weight gain? there is a lot of information out there to help overweight kids, but underweight kids are vastly ignored, lol.
he's now noticing his friends graduating to boosterseats, and he's faaaaar away from that. at this point, like i said, i'm not concerned about his health, but i'm starting to get a bit concerned about his emotional welfare, i don't want him to be soooo little compared to his peers.
any ideas? also, feel free to move this if it's not in the right spot ( i know he's not a toddler anymore, lol).
thanks!

[JayLeigh]

My niece is coming up on a year and is badly underweight, I know this flies in the face of everything you were taught about nutrition and babies, but she actually went to a nutritionist and feeding specialist who recommended mixing butter or olive oil in all of her foods. Have you thought about putting butter on steamed veggies or things like that? I would just be sneaky if I were you and try and sneak fattier foods in the mix! Is he still drinking whole milk or a reduced fat version?

Also, for my son who is a total independant eater, in order to help him eat greens I serve them first, because side by side with perhaps pasta, he will always eat the pasta, ignore the veggies and wait for more. When I start with what I want him to consume, he eats it happily and I follow with the carbs or fattier food.  My point I guess, is could you try the opposite? Get some fattier foods in him first and then offer the leaner half of the meal?

[Mum-of-Two]

I have a 4 year old and totally get the 4 and 40 pound thing -- aka, booster seat time.  I think offering the foods you want him to eat first is a good idea and no harm done, nothing out of the ordinary.  Not a lot to add other than a quick hug to say I get it and I wouldn't worry too much yet about the booster seat.  Because my 4 yr old just hit 40 pounds she can go on a bus.  There are still a large amount of kids in her class who need to ride in a van and a car seat yet.  Its not an issue for the kids, they don't seem to care or notice who goes on the bus verses the van.

My only other thought are those shakes... usually for old folks, know what I'm talking about?  They were intended for use in hospitals for those who couldn't eat but have been marketed as nutritional supplements for every age imaginable.  I'd probably talk to a doctor to make sure there isn't anything in there you don't want but those might be an option too.

Best of luck!

[~*Nicole*~]

Yeah, those shake type things. They make pediasure and whatnot for kids. Also, probably something like a carnation instant breakfast type mix may have varieties for kids with more calories to add to his milk or make smoothies or milkshakes with some extra vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmmm

[shivi]

I have gone back to full fat at the advice of the paed here for milk etc for Oscar. He was always 90-97th for both weight and height but his weight has dropped consistently and at the 4 yr check it was on 50-75th....so he is long and skinny. I was the same (as a child unfortunately) and DH was always the shortest and lightest in his group till the very end of secondary school so DH is delighted Oz has the height gene from me at least!!!

Oz is good with PB for now but is one of those kids who would live on water and air given the choice LOL!

 Hugs xxx

S x

[Ryan&HollysMom]

thank you for the quick responses. i can try and feed him the fattier things first. as long as he doesn't think that there's something wrong with veggies. i'll have to try the shake idea. i have a smoothie (homemade) every morning, and he's going through the stage of not wanting anything new (seems like a very looong stage, lol) - anyway, he won't try it. maybe if i make it more chocolate based and he sees me adding icecream... that's a great idea! i also do add becel margarine (the full fat variety - it still has much less sat. fat) do a lot of his food - i sometimes wonder if i'm creating a monster by doing that. don't want him to grow up and need butter on everything. i think i just gained a pound just thinking about that, lol. with my dd graduating to milk soon, i wondered about just giving him the homo milk again - see what he thinks...
normally the booster seat thing wouldn't have come up, but i had two of his friends in my van and we drove by a combine, and his friends turned around and checked it out, and ryan craned his neck but couldn't see it... he was almost in tears...:-(

[shivi]

Oz will be in a full-bodied/backed carseat till he is 130cm (or at least till he asks for the back to be removed) which is from 9 to 36 kilo I think so around 20 pounds upwards....

But he wasn't in this I suppose till more like 15 kilo which is more like 30 pounds....

S x