Kids Nutrition....

Iam a mother of 47 month old boy......Iam 5'2 & my husband is 5'5......my son was always between 5th & 10th percentile from birth. I am worried about his weight... He is very small for his age. Iam trying to feed him the best nutrtion but in vain. He is not a picky eater but does not feel hungry most of the time. He is otherwise very active, sleeps well, good physical activities, afternoon naps. Please provide me with tips for my son to gain atleast 5 pounds.....We are vegeterians (no chicken / meat / fish).......i give him one egg a day...2 cups of milk...breakfast (2 slices of whole wheat bread & cheese)........some fruits after an hour of breakfast...lunch (1/2 cup white rice with some vegetables & 1/2 cup yougurt)........evening snacks with milk........dinner (he likes yougurt & rice)........sometimes milk before night sleep. he likes pizza, donuts, pan cakes, cup cakes (all but small quantity)....is there any medicine which can help him to feel hungry.....please help

[Renee Radenberg]

His weight and height are both on the 5th percentile for his age. Based on his weight / age, he should be consuming approximately 1600-1800 calories per day as recommended the following; Fruits (limit fruit juices) = 1.5 cups; Vegetables 2.5 cups; Grains (cereals, breads) = 6oz equivalents; Meat & beans = 5oz equivalents; Dairy products (milk, yogurt) = 3 cups; Oils = 5 tsp; Additional calories to be used discretionary = 195. This food needs to be divided up between 3 meals and snacks between meals daily. Sounds like he does not eat much per meal, as you wrote, so make sure he is eating a protein food each meal (egg, cheese, yogurt, or protein combos-rice and beans, pasta and beans, peanut butter sandwich to name a few). Try milkshakes instead of milk to help give him additional calories and protein for weight gain. Suggest a chewable children daily multi-vitamin for vitamins and minerals, especially B12 vitamin. Look at www.vrg.org for more information on vegetarian eating. Hoped this helped you.