Before increasing caloric intake for your child, consult with your physician. Growth spurts can cause children to appear underweight. But when they catch up to their height, some seemingly underweight children become overweight as they get older, warns Stephen R. Daniels, MD., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on nutrition. If your doctor determines that your child does need more calories, adopt healthy strategies to encourage her to eat more.
Add Unsaturated Fats
Feeding children high-calorie junk food to help them gain weight only develops lifelong tastes for these overly sugared and salted foods and does nothing to help your child's health. Instead, increase the calorie content of healthy food by adding healthy unsaturated fats, which do not contribute to heart disease risk factors later in life, reports the American Heart Association. Add one to two tablespoons of peanut butter--or sunbutter if your child is allergic to peanuts--to toast and smoothies to add 100 to 200 calories. Toss pasta with a tablespoon of olive oil before topping with marinara, lean turkey meatballs and parmesan for another 120 calories. Mash 60 grams of avocado and spread it on a turkey sandwich for a 100-calorie boost.
Enhance Favorite Foods
Getting your child to try new foods can be challenging, so increase the calorie content of things he already eats. Stir 2 ½ tablespoons of whole dry milk into each cup of milk to add 75 calories---flavor the milk with strawberry or chocolate syrup if you have trouble getting your child to enjoy it. Add cheese to eggs, sandwiches, pasta and soups--just one ounce equals about 110 calories. Add protein powder or frozen yogurt to fresh fruit smoothies, or make them with a meal supplement like Ensure or Boost, suggests St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
Small Meals
Encourage small meals often instead of three formal, large meals. Children have smaller appetites, so asking them to eat more at one sitting may make mealtime uncomfortable, resulting in a reluctance to eat. Go shopping with your child and help her pick out foods to enjoy throughout the day. Have your child eat seven or eight times a day, and choose foods like a small bowl of granola, natural energy bars, string cheese, a container of yogurt, a serving of dried fruit, ham and cheese rolled together, a smoothie and whole wheat crackers with nut butter. Your child may respond better to eating if she does not have to follow convention.
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