Foods high in calories for kids?

If you can make her smoothies with peanut butter, banana, even avocado (she doesn't have to know), that will get her some nutrition and calories. You can use almond or rice milk if you want non-dairy.

Maybe some home baked blueberry muffins, pasta (whole grain) with a creamy sauce. Full fat yogurts, pudding, or purchase some of that Pediasure.

Have you checked with her pediatrician to see what's up?

We started with her pediatrician when she started having issues with her stomach they ruled out what they could then they sent us on to a Gastroenterologist who did more testing and in the end we still don't have a reason as to why her tummy hurts. There is another test we can do but I've been putting it off since she's been through so much testing lately and that is to actually scope her stomach but thats pretty invasive and she's freaked out by the thought of it and her dad is convinced it's just a nervous stomach. With the weight loss issue now a factor I might concider it after we get back from vacation since that is a new development.

My son had similar issues, we were referrred to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist and he had both a stomach scope and a colonoscopy (yes, scary to go through but he was in so much pain we had to figure it out) Anyway....through that testing he was diagneosed as Lactose Intolerant. I would never believe that LI could cause so much discomfort, but for him it did. Now that we know he takes Lactaid before having dairy and he is doing really well.

I'd suggest looking into gluten intolerance, like lactose it can be tricky and detrimental to weight loss/gain, stomach issues, etc you name it.

Lol you beat me to it. Anyway with Celiscs disease there is almost always a negative, tests super unreliable from what I've read

My son used to get bad tummy pains in the afternoon at school, I gave him mild fruit antacids (always read the label first) and after a while it seemed to clear up. We think he was kind of stressed out a bit at school.

He is now 18, and eats constantly but is also very sporty, he's nearly 6 foot and has 5% body fat!
I give my children noodles, baked potatoes and cheesy beans, pasta bakes and they are all skinny!
The reason I'm not worried is because I used to be very thin too, I'm 5 foot 10 and was 8 stone at 20 years old! But now 27 years later I'm here trying to lose weight and get fit again!

I try to limit the amount of refined sugar they get, but they eat lots of fruit and they make their own smoothies.
My daughter will be 11 soon and has gone very long and stringy, she eats mounds of rice and is seldom ill, If your daughter is eating regularly and a variety of food she has a good foundation. Don't forget girls hit puberty earlier than boys too so all of a sudden she'll start changing shape anyway!

Yeah, I have two skinny skinny kids (one now adult) too. 98% height/5% weight: BMI 16-19.

First, they're healthy because they do eat good food. Calcium is critical because they need that bone mass more than anything. Especially when they grow so fast.

Avocados, brown rice, eggs, lean meat, beans. They love red lentil salad (it has a sweet/savory dressing).

Cheese. Good brown bread.

If they're getting good nutrition, they really will be healthy.

My nephew has abdominal migraines. They cause stomach pains rather than a headache. They put him on meds for it. Hormones are often a trigger for migraines so maybe puberty has triggered something like that in her...

My son was diagnosed with the same, poor guy gets the headaches too, we've seen two specialists and are now keeping logs so we can find out what the triggers are

I too was thinking it may be more of an intolerance than an allergy. Do some research and talk to your doctor about the best way to test for these. The easiest way I know of is to elimiate certain food categories for a period of time and then make note of the reaction. I'm not sure how long a period of time this takes but would think a week would be sufficient.

I'm a big fan of adding olive oil or canola oil to as much of her foods as you can. This way, you are adding healthy calories without adding extra food. This way, once she has gained an appropriate amount, she shouldn't notice the drop in food. Otherwise, once she has gained the weight she needs, she may feel deprived having to cut out the extra food. You could also do nuts as they are very calorie dense and she won't need a lot to get a lot of calories.

My youngest DD was way underweight at 4, 6 and 9 months, and I started adding oil to her food (if we had veggies, I'd just pour a little on hers, scrambled eggs, same thing) and even to her smoothies (she loves them, too, but don't use EVOO for this!). She went from not even on the chart for height/weight at 9 months to 50% for height/weight at 13 months. She was born at 75% for height/weight, so it was very concerning when she was so far down. We are learning that she needs A LOT of calories for such a little person.

I am glad to see this topic. I'll keep an eye out to see what other options are posted. I have an 11 year old son who weighs 65 pounds. It bothers him that he is so small. He has just never been interested in eating. He eats the smallest amount that we will let him, and almost never wants seconds. He says eating is boring, and is always trying to get out of it. He does not complain of any stomach issues- he had many doctor visits for something unrelated, and there doesn't seem to be any medical condition that would attribute. He is very active- I created another account to get a look at his intake and once I add in his activities, he's used up all the calories he's eaten and then much more.

I would run out right now and purchase a blender to make smoothies- I really like the idea of being able to add all kinds of stuff without him being aware- but I don't think he'd go for it.

I know (really, really know) how frustrating it is to have a kid with these troubles. He missed days and days of school either because he'd throw up and I wouldn't send him or he'd throw up there and they'd send him home. After every test you can think of (including a surgical sampling of stomach and esophogial cells) they found nothing.

Elimination diets (which we tried, of course) are very hard and frustrating for everyone. If the doctor tested her for it and says she isn't sensitive, trust that she isn't. Same with celiac. Those tests are pretty good.

I would pay attention, though, to see if combinations of things set her off. Each little thing may not cause an allergic (or even sensitive) reaction. But they might increase her sensitivity to other things. That is incredibly frustrating because it makes it hard to pinpoint. For example, when my eldest was a baby, he started getting hives. He was only nursing and eating like 3 solids, so that didn't make sense. I did the whole elimination diet. He ate a banana and started crying and got hives. NO ONE is allergic to bananas! It turns out that his skin was sensitive to our new detergent (baby Dreft). That didn't cause a reaction but that and anything else set him off. So you'll just have to be vigilent.

I am a developmental (not clinical) psychologist who studies adolescents. This age is really hard on kids because of multiple simultaneous changes. Your daughter has puberty, a move, probably a school change (elementary/middle), etc. etc. That's going to be stressful, just as a straight adjustment issue. It was stressful for you! Stress comes out in our most vulnerable spot. For her sounds like her stomach.

Sounds like you're doing everything right - supporting her finding and maintaining friends, doing things with family, all that good sensible stuff. Making sure she's eating lots of high quality food and pushing high cal healthy food (whole grains, cheeses, whatever) will keep her healthy. As I said, my eldest had a BMI of 16.8 at that age but is healthy as a horse.

I really did find that for my son teaching him some relaxation techniques helped. I tried to help him help me figure out what helped. We wound up with some deep breathing and visualization things he could do with no one else noticing. He did learn to go to dark rooms and close his eyes. Taking control of feeling sick and learning to manage it was also very empowering for him.

I keep hoping my youngest son will grow out of it when he gets through this massive hormone surge that seem to trigger his migraines. It never would have occurred to me he had migraines, because he never complained of headaches. But once I realized what was going on, I remembered that I had awful headaches and chronic nauseau at that age. And lots of other kids do too. And I realized he got sick with weather changes - also a sign of migraines. My problems disappeared two years after puberty. I hope his do too.

Does he like things with stronger flavors more? Or really salty or bitter or or spicy or stinky (like cheese)?

Quite the opposite. He doesn't like anything the slightest bit spicy or hot. He has taken some allergy medicine in the past, but I never paid any attention to whether or not a clear nose affects his eating. Interesting.