My 3 year old is under weight, she eats, 2 eat yokes with a little beans plus a quater class of soya milk for breakfast
For lunch, she has a chicken leg or equivalent in terms of meat, plus a little veg, and a little fruit
For dinner, she has again similar quantities as lunch.
Is this enough for her? It probably isn't as she is 3 years old and weight 11kg, which is under weight according to the red box.
How much should she be eating? I can't understand calories, protein etc, so if this is not enough, if we could use the above as an example, how many chicken legs should she be eating daily for example to gain weight?
Any reason she is on soya milk? I had fantastic health visitor when my girls were little - the older one was a fussy eater, but not desperately underweight - but she never ate what I thought was adequate quantities. The HV said that she would never starve, and that I should relax and stop trying to force her to eat stuff - told me to stop loading up her plate at mealtimes, so that we ended up with a confrontation! She also said that as long as she was drinking water, squash and milk (cows - full fat) that she would be getting adequate protein.
I started putting food into bowls in the middle of the table, and called it 'grown up supper' - and she took what she wanted, invariably going back for more. Mealtimes stopped being an 'issue' and even though her helpings were small, I knew what she was taking in. Also reassured when our GP told me I had to remember that the childs stomach was only as big as her hand!
If you have any concerns, talk to your local Health Visitor - they are generally very helpful and eager to reassure.
Hi, Oshirowanen,
Yes, she does seem a little underweight for her age, but the charts can be misleading - was she premature, is she small-boned? I agree with Jabba that a Health Visitor can help, and would also recommend full-fat cow's milk unless that is not an option.
Does she have snacks? Cheese is nutritious and good for bones and teeth - sometimes children of that age love having a choice of finger foods such as nuts (as long as not allergic), cubes or sticks of cheese, raisins or sultanas, carrot sticks - anything she'll eat, really. Eggs are good - boiled, scrambled on toast.
If all else fails, don't be afraid to try the good old staples of fish fingers or baked beans - kids usually love them and if she'll eat them it can't do any harm!
Good luck! 🙂
>> Any reason she is on soya milk?
Yes, although not confirmed, she seems to have allergies with cow's milk, i.e. stomach cramps, skin rash and itchiness.
>> was she premature
She was over by a few days and was just 5lbs when born.
>> is she small-boned?
As far as I know, no. Even though she was underweight when born, she was above average height. Today, she is a little below average height for her age.
>> Does she have snacks?
Yes, we started with cheese/yogurt type snakes, but had to cut back because of similar reactions from the cow's milk.
At the moment, we give her soya milkshakes for snakes, she loves veg, but I doubt she will get much weight gain from veg.
So basically, on a good day, she has the equivalent of I would think:
2 chicken legs
200ml of soya milk
a slice of bread
2 egg yokes
table spoon of beans
That's on a good day.
For snakes, she might have half a small sized tomato, maybe an inch thick slice of cucumber, 2 strawberries, a grape or 2, half a crisps packet (walkers ready-salted for example).
Looking at her weight, I can only assume this is not enough calories to get her to gain some weight?
Please talk to a health visitor! No two children are alike - this may be adequate nutrition for her, but a HV will have advice. Also, talk to a nutritionist too, who may be able to advise on ways of making calorie dense snacks more 'fun'.
Why no egg whites? Was the allergic reaction confirmed by a doctor or did it coincide with recent intake of problem food stuff? Have you tried re-introducing items such as full fat cheese/yoghurt?
Briefly I agree with Jabba, speak to the HV - but I expect she is doing fine. The 'normal' includes an average of children of all sizes including those grossly overweight - very few these days are very thin in this country, so the 'average' is getting heavier. Good advice from Jabba!
Oh and many children are unable to eat egg white or milk products - they are a common cause of eczema. There are plenty of other foods to choose from. Just make it fun - and let her choose some thing from the shop herself (other than processed foods which I note you avoid) 🙂
Have you looked at JuicePlus as a wholefood nutrition? Children aged 3 to 18 get it free with adult participation... its 26 raw fruits & veg in capsule form or yummy gummy sweets, kids love them and would have no idea it was just fruits & veg unless you told them!