Help for my underweight 13 yr old

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  • jenbunboo
    jenbunboo Posts: 90 Member
    just a thought, checkout

    http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

    they have some great ideas, and their cookbooks are fun too! at 13, she may be old enough to step away from some of the kid only type dishes and into the adult foods too!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    what about a thermos with some soup or pasta in it?? keeps it warm and tasty :) sandwiches are nasty, i agree with her >< or a tupaware container with a salad in it? or pita bread with spinach and humus in it :) very tasty and doest get all limp and gross!

    Yep. Even without microwave access, food stays plenty hot in a thermos. My mom used to pack Spaghettios and Mini Raviolis (yeah, I know, not health food, but I was skinny too and she wanted to get some meat on my bones) for me and it was often too hot at lunch!
  • beccadaniixox
    beccadaniixox Posts: 542 Member
    I know she doesn't like sandwiches after they've sat in a lunch box, but maybe she could pack the sandwich supplies separately to make the sandwich at lunch.

    ^ This!
  • Mama_CAEI
    Mama_CAEI Posts: 235
    Here's our story....

    My daughter is also underweight from birth. We have used a nutritionist off and on so let me tell you what I think was the most important thing I learned.

    It is you job as a parent to provide good nutritional choices- it is her job to eat them. Pushing- fighting and over controlling food just leads to eating disorders and unhappy parents and children.

    What we do is add healthy calories to her breakfast/snacks and dinners and she controls lunch. We explain healthy eating to all our kids- the importance of ..... (all those things we already know). Ultimately that have to learn to make their own choices.


    She eats a lot of nuts, we let her make her own trail mix and she snacks on it at school!

    Good luck!

    ^^ This! Right from the start, it is our job as parents to provide WHAT they eat, their job to choose the amount. So if 2 out of 3 meals you have control/input, I would say don't stress it.
    My 6 1/2 year old son is "underweight" by definition but eats 3 solid meals and many snacks during the day. It's just the way he is, his metabolism, genetics, etc (not my genes, though! lol)
    Does her doctor have concerns about her weight? What is "slightly" underweight? If she is otherwise healthy, I'd say pick your battles: make sure she has healthy options, but you can't force her to eat them.

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