Encouraging your underweight child to eat larger servings is a strategy that can help her gain weight. But if your child has a small appetite and cannot tolerate large portions, this strategy is ineffective. Being underweight can put kids at risk for poor growth and development, illness and teasing. You can help your child gain weight by offering naturally high-calorie foods often.
Weight Gain
A child may need to gain weight due to illness or a because of he has a naturally slight frame. To help your child gain weight, you need to increase your child's calorie intake above what he burns daily. A 500-calorie increase per day should result in a 1-lb. per week gain. Before starting a weight-gain program with your child, consult with your pediatrician.
Types of Food
Instead of trying to feed your child larger servings, choose quality foods that have a high number of calories per serving. Peanut butter, eggs, cheese, nuts, full-fat dairy and bean dips are good choices. Provide highly nutritious, calorie-dense foods at every meal or snack. Your child can still enjoy vegetables and fruits, but emphasize options such as baked white or sweet potatoes, corn, peas, raisins, dates and dried apricots, which offer high nutrition but more calories per serving than broccoli or carrot sticks.
Strategies
Let go of of the concept of three square meals per day. Allow your child to graze often and take in calories when her appetite allows. Eating six to eight small meals of high-calorie foods is an effective way to get her all the calories she needs for weight gain. If your child simply will not eat, offer full-fat milk mixed with dry milk powder or 100 percent juice between meals to add calories. Moderate physical activity also can help stimulate your child's appetite; try taking a walk or heading to the playground. You also might have to reduce your expectations about the rate of the weight gain. Instead of 500 calories a day, 250 calories might be a more manageable goal.
Calorie-Boosting Ideas
Add whole milk, instant breakfast drink powder, bananas, flax seed oil and nut butter to smoothies to boost calories. Offer peanut butter with all-fruit spread on whole wheat toast as a sweet high-calorie snack. Add cheese to scrambled eggs or noodles. Make homemade trail mix by stirring together raisins, peanuts or almonds and dark chocolate chips. Allow your child to have dessert, but make it an option that offers some nutrition, such as ice cream, pudding or flavored full-fat yogurt. Cheese sticks, buttered popcorn and granola bars are convenient, high-calorie snacks to pack in your child's backpack.
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