My kid will not eat

[Kknight85]

My son will never eat. He is so picky that I’m going insane. Only wants to eat disgusting chicken nuggets and it has to be in the shape of a chicken nugget. He is 5 years 10 months and only weight 38 lbs. He has always been in the bottom 5% for weight. The Cyproheptadine does not work anymore. How can I get my kid to eat anything besides chicken nuggets and cookies?

[555jms]

Hi there,

I completely hear you and totally understand what you are going through. My son use to be the same way. All he use to eat was pineapple, cheese and toast! He is now almost 7 and practically eats everything.

Like you I tried everything and I was going absolutely nuts. I could barely sleep at night, all I thought about was him and his eating.

Then we got help from an OT who specializes in eating disorders. We also took him to a naturopath.

The OT explained to me that kids are smart and they will eat when they are hungry. Unless they have a serious illness that requires feeding tubes they will always inevitably eat.

I followed her protocol and this is what it was.....

We started by making eating fun. At first I would bring meals to him while he played on the ground. No strict table habits at first because the goal was to simply get him eating. In the beginning I fed him.

The deal was he would get a small (inexpensive) new toy, one that I knew he would love. I would show him the toy first. Yes I bribed him in exchange for eating. Sometimes we would put on a video instead. It was done calmly with no stress and no begging from my end. If he refused to eat no toy and no food till the next meal. This was also done with ease and love just a simple ok and we moved on. It took time and patience. By the second meal he almost always ate something. Eventually it was every meal. Some meals could take an hour and that was ok. As long as it was an enjoyable experience for both of us.

I used three different foods at each meal in case he did not like one. This also helped him feel impowered if he passed on one. In the beginning one of the food choices was something I knew he would eat just to get the appetite juices flowing.

There were no snacks in between and I had to take him outside or to a play gym before practically every meal. Yes every meal.

As we slowly started making headway I would have a mom friend come over once in a while with her child, one I knew was a good eater. The kids would eat the same meal together. Continued the encouragement as children learn from other children.

With the naturopath we worked on balancing his minerals and vitamins to encourage a healthy and natural appetite. No more appetite pills. (He told me they don’t work well on children and does not encourage the body to naturally eat) The doc also worked on me to help balance my stress and hormones. When we as mothers stress our children stress and the cycle is viscous. They also see our stress as a form of attention or a rise. It’s an unhealthy relationship.

The goal at first is to get him to simply taste the food. I cooked homemade chicken fingers, homemade french fries in olive oil or coconut oil, stir fried rice with small diced veggies and chicken, pasta with butter and sprinkled parmesan, apples with peanut butter dip, homemade banana bread. I kept it simple but flavorful. The goal was to get him to taste the food and to create a new and positive relationship with it. Lots and lots of praise and smiles. We would do a happy dance together when he did indeed eat.

It took about 3- 4 months. So much patience and trust.

The most invaluable thing I learned was to not stress and TRUST. I had to learn patience and to not let my fears take over. This was and still is a huge lesson for me. I know it sounds easier said than done. This is my story and it worked out in the end.

Please try not to follow the percentiles as the end all. They can cause unnecessary grief every child and body type is different. All humans grow in different ways and different stages inside and out.

I wish you the best success, stay positive, you are a great mom ❤️❤️❤️

[Susandize]

You are not alone. It sounds like you described my son to a T. Following in case anyone has any ideas.

[MunchkinMommy537]

What about nutrition shakes, like ensure or carnation instant breakfast with protein? It’s not the best solution but it would get some calories in him.

[rachel5428]

My son has been a picky picky eater also he is almost 8 and hes finally almost 47lbs. We started doing no thank you bites. where he has to try one bite of the food and then if he does not like it he says no thank you. He actually realized that he like 's a lot more stuff and hes finally gained weight he was stuck at 43lbs it does not help that my son is very tall like his father so that makes him look thin. I also do pedisure twice daily and that helps too.