My 4 year old is 15kgs. I'm not at all worried about him. He's a very physical, happy healthy little man. He eats and drinks and uses the toilet like any other child his age so that's why I'm not at all concerned about his weight, but his diet SUCKS! I think he's the fussiest kid I've ever some across (which is why I slip vitamins into his daily juice to make sure he's getting enough good stuff ).
If you are concerned, give your health nurse a call. They'll be able to lay your fears to rest or send you on to someone else for some help.
I second what the others have said, please see your MCHN or GP if you are worried
My DS is about 19kg at 3.5 and not sure of height, probably around 102 I would guess as has shot up a lot and was 97 in Jan.
DH took him to see a dr 2 weeks ago. A famous chinese kids dr who said DS has too muchy heat and put him on a diet on rice, vege and egg with just alittle tofu/ soy. Also gave as us some medicine for him but he wont eat the medicine- to take the heat out of his body. We did the diet for 10 days- we inc plain pasta bread and marmite cause he wasnt eating anything.
I dont see this helping and the drs here are not helpful either. On his last stay in hospital a month ago they said he had a weak immune system and gave him a booster, said he needs to eat more and exercise more. Exercise I am on to, talk him for a walk most days- my thinking is the more he does the more he'll eat- but its a fine line between enough and too tired, if he gets too tired he gets sick and then he wont eat for days and loses more weight and the cycle continues.
I wish we were home in au!
To help our DS' through winter we give them a daily dose of inner health plus for kids in their yoghurt & the kids vitamin pentevite. They say a healthy immune system starts in the gut & so far DS1 has only had one lot of runny nose & cough. DS2 on the other hand gets it back every month. We are just starting again but he's just turned one and building his immune system. I am not sure if you can get something like that where you are (probiotic) it may help.
Does he prefer cold food to hot food? What sort of foods does he like to eat? Can you get a vitamin supplement like Pentevite? Sorry I am not much help the above suggestions are what I would think of for my boys as a starting point. If he is low in vitamins & minerals he will get tired more quickly & take longer to get better. I am sorry you can't get the answers you need where you are. do you have any plans for holiday back here?
My almost 3yr old is about 15ish kg. He's also about 98-100cm tall. My 4yr old is 16kg and 102cm. My DS1 is a fairly fussy eater too and some days eats and eats but most days he just picks at his food. While I do worry about it because he is so active, he is happy and sleeps well, wees and poos as normal, so it seems to the logical side of me that he's healthy. I don't think you DS's weight should be too much of a concern, but if you're worried about his health, then maybe take him to see a paediatrician if the GP is no help to you. The diet he was prescribed sounds very limiting, and if you're worried about his health I wouldn't be limiting his diet at all. Lean meats and protiens are a healthy and important part of a persons diet. Do you give him vitamins, maybe a child-friendly vitamin will help? Sometimes it help increase appetite if they have added vitamins.
3LM Thats what I have thought- limit the diet of a fussy eater just seems weird to me and he doesnt eat vege! fruit till the cows come home but no vege that he can see or taste
Our next trip home is a year away. Sigh, I wanna come home now but cant
Guess we'll just soldier on. there is no miracle cure and hope he suddenly wants to start eating when kindy goes back in september.
Will get back into he probiotics- Thanks for that , had forgotten about those.
Hes not allowed eat or drink anything cold- and DH is really strict on that (its a real chinese thing)
Its nice to air this problem out and get a bit of support
Thank you ladies
That's really hard - my DD1 was 13kg at 3yo and DD2 is now 2.5 and already weighs 14kg but they are both very different body types.
Funnily enough DD2 won't drink anything warm (it has to be cold) and prefers to eat cold things - she hates soup and things like that. If your DS isn't allowed to eat cold things can they be room temperature? It might be that he doesn't like warm things? Another thought - my kids like to prepare the food with me and then snack on it - maybe if you help get him involved with the food he might be more inclined to eat it.
Hi doubletrouble,
My DS1 is 12 kgs (one week ago). He is a March 08 baby. He's skinny. He is offered lots to eat, but is rarely interested in food. It's not a big motivation for him. Every so often he'll surprise us and eat a 'big' meal but usually not. He's not fussed on fruit - but i have a PhD in hiding veges in a meal, so he gets a good variety in his diet. He'll eat mince, but seems to dislike chewing up chunks of meat. Like Nai's DD, my DS1 dislikes hot food - he prefers everything cold. He waits until everything has gone cold before he starts to eat. I take his dinner out 5 mins before i dish everyone elses up - otherwise he has a huge moan and blows on it for hours!
He eats about two thirds of what his 18 month old brother eats (who is also breastfeed). Breakfast is almost always a winner, then he eats progressively less and less through the day.
I am no longer concerned about my DS1 like i once was, because he's always been like this. He isn't getting worse, and keeps up with his peers in many other ways (except size).
I would be concerned if he seemed to be losing weight, or became lethargic or unwell. The "raising children" website has some interesting things on nutrition.
My DD at 3+3 is still around 12 kgs - fluctuates from about 11.5 to 12kg. She is 96cm. She is an appalling eater - extremely fussy and simply won't eat if she doesn't like something. I've got to the point with her now that if she has had a few days of exceptionally bad eating, I don't really care what she eats, so long as she eats something.
We are seeing a paed with her regularly for an unrelated issue, and he has no real concerns about her weight. Says she is obviously a skinny minny, but is otherwise mentally and physically healthy - she is very active.
I really can't give you any advice on how to encourage eating because I fail with my little girl too. I do worry about her when I know she is growing so much taller, but not gaining any weight at all, but the paed being happy with her has put my mind at ease a bit. It is definitely worth a trip to your GP or better yet a paed to discuss your concerns.
What things does he like to eat? When I was little I was so tiny and so fussy, my mum gave me egg & bacon pies every day because it was one of the only things I would eat. Is there something he loves to eat that could help fatten him up a bit? What about hiding healthy foods etc inside other foods? Finely grated carrot and zucchini in a bolognese sauce etc? I remember hearing about a book that makes recipes using different vegie mash and apparently the kids love them, maybe you could google it and give it a try?
My little big girl is 3y2m and she weighs 11 kgs. We also see assorted specialists on a regular basis for other reasons and they would prefer she weighed more but it is not a big deal just yet. We have seen a dietican which suggested we use polyjoule to add calories to her meals/drinks. She also said to add as many fattening foods to DD's diet as possible, extra butter in pasta etc, cream to cereal, avocado on sandwiches. DD had vanilla icecream daily for quiet some time. But I don't think it matters what my DD eats or how much she is just a skinny minny I agree that if he seems happy and healthy I wouldn't be concerned, as Lenny said I would be concerned if he seemed to be losing weight, or became lethargic or unwell.
If you would like professional advise ask your GP for a referral to see a dietican (for children), they will be able to advise what is an acceptable weight for his age and put together a food plan that will suit him if it is required, it might help you to feel a little more at ease .
Last edited by DaintreeDream; August 1st, 2011 at 05:26 PM.
My DD1 is 3.5 as well and she is very skinny too. Her last weigh in was 15kg and she is 100cm tall.
I agree with the others to see your GP to put your mind at ease.
Reply With Quote
Registered User
How heavy is your 3yr old
).
Bookmarks