Foods high in calories for kids?

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  • islandmonkey
    islandmonkey Posts: 546 Member
    I'm not JUST trying to make her gain weight and we recently moved to a new neighborhood (a year ago) and she hasn't made a lot of friends so she hasn't been out "playing" as much as she use to.


    Sounds to me like you need to first look at the source of the stomach pains before trying to induce weight gain. I'm sorry you're getting so frustrated and not getting answers on this. Given your comment here, I wonder if she could have some anxiety issues around the move and lack of friends?

    As well, it's pretty common for pre-teen girls to lean out around this age. Does your pediatrician agree that she needs to gain weight...? Is it nutrients she needs? This isn't really a question for amateurs on the internet, there are so many factors going on here. Is her pediatrician aware of this change in location and lack of friends? That's a LONG time for a girl her age to feel like she doesn't have a bestie (their worlds are so small at this age, and girls gravitate towards forming dyads).

    What about going to see a naturopath? I would actually suggest having a session with a counsellor, but that can also be intimidating and there can be stigma attached - a naturopath may be able to do some of that without the stigma.


    It's great that you're reaching out for information and assistance from as many sources as possible. She's a lucky girl to have such a caring mom.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    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.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    She said in her post that she didn't want to go into too much detail and just asked about some high calorie and high fat healthy food options that kids might like. I'm pretty sure she knows what is going on with her own child, and has been to a doctor. She was just asking a very simple question. She was not asking everyone to be her child's doctor or to become her psychotherapist. She is probably trying to do the right thing and respect her pre-teen's privacy while asking a simple food question, so she can incorporate some new options into her meal making (since she is probably eating lower in cals for herself). And don't mind me if I misunderstood some of the comments, I did read through it quickly. And just wanted to remind people what she was asking.
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
    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.
  • thisisjl
    thisisjl Posts: 1,074 Member
    She said in her post that she didn't want to go into too much detail and just asked about some high calorie and high fat healthy food options that kids might like. I'm pretty sure she knows what is going on with her own child, and has been to a doctor. She was just asking a very simple question. She was not asking everyone to be her child's doctor or to become her psychotherapist. She is probably trying to do the right thing and respect her pre-teen's privacy while asking a simple food question, so she can incorporate some new options into her meal making (since she is probably eating lower in cals for herself). And don't mind me if I misunderstood some of the comments, I did read through it quickly. And just wanted to remind people what she was asking.

    ^^ this

    I am glad for some of the comments in regards to other people having gone through this, if you dont' have a child with stomach issues please don't yell at me without knowing the situtation completely. I could sit here and write out a 4 page detailed report about everything we've done I didn't want to do that.

    If you have help suggestions here is a little more info. Her stomach issues didn't start when we moved but seemed to worsen again. She had issues around the age of 7(?) and we were told she was constipated we put her on mild lax and it seemed to help for a while, then her stomach started hurtign about 18 months ago so I thought it was the same thing again and tried what we did before and it didn't do anything. So we started another round of dr. visits (several within 4 months). Yes she's already hit puberty right around the time we moved as well and started all that fun stuff girls start, so maybe some of it could be hormonal. I did not know that the test the gasteroenterologist did for celiacs often came back negative something I need to look into so thanks for that. I will try to take out milk it's not like she really likes the stuff anyways (well ice cream is always a favorite but she doesn't like drinking it nor does she like cheese). I just assumed if the dr. said it wasn't lactose intolerence or celiacs then it wasn't....I too thought it was school related but it's went through the summer and hasn't gotten better and we've done lots of fun stuff with family and her old friends, she has been talking with a couple new friends on FB and on the phone and has kept in contact with her friends from our old neighborhood so she hasn't been completely without friends just not in our current neighborhood.
  • 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.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    OP, it sounds like she could have IBS. IBS, in general, is more difficult to diagnose by simple blood tests, etc.

    What does she eat regularly?

    Also, you could try taking her to a Naturopath (which can get expensive) and they can do a stool test.

    EDIT: Also, after reading many of the comments: I was very anxious as a younger child and would often eat oddly, and have the worst bowel movements. Much of it was due to anxiety from school, but I also ended up having a serious thyroid issue that resulted in me getting surgery at 13.

    It's rare, but it might not hurt to get her thyroid levels checked (again, it all comes back to hormones!).
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    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.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Dreaminaway - Some kids (and adults) don't like to eat because they simply aren't very sensitive to taste or have chronically stuffy noses so can't smell. So nothing TASTES good. (The opposite of my problem, but one my dad has now that he's older.)

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

    Just a thought.
  • 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.
  • Kadinh
    Kadinh Posts: 6 Member
    NO ONE is allergic to bananas!

    My husband is. He's a nurse and has developed a latex allergy. There's a small amount of latex in bananas and they make his mouth break out in sores. He loves bananas so it sucks.

    My nephew, with the abdominal miagranes, also has ADHD and when he's on meds for that in the school months he eats very little. I try to make things that he likes that aren't full of sugar and let him have as much as he wants. I babysit them. Most ADHD kids crave sugar the same way diabetics do. He loves peanut butter, string cheese (although he can't have much dairy daily), pork chops, etc.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    Subject to allergies... nuts! A handful contains about 150calories. I would also consider Complan and other high energy nutritional supplements that the old and infirm take.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 792 Member
    as horrible as this may sound we used pastas and the like to give extra weight to my step siblings and step mom (naturally about the size of a stick lord i was jealous) chicken and broccoli casserole is also a good option if there isnt a dairy allergy (my version is mostly home made mac n chs with pan fried chicken and frozen broccoli)
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Funny, I was just talking to my mom about how put weight on my father, who is on dialysis and quite ill.

    We came up with making yoghurt from cream, serving mashed potatoes with sour cream and butter, adding cream cheese to eggs, and serving fried sausage.

    Oh, and leaving plates of cookies and cheese, crackers, and salami sitting on the table next to the tv.

    And then I told my mom NOT to eat any of it as she has a serious weight problem. Poor lady!
  • MelMena
    MelMena Posts: 152 Member
    I don't have a lot to add but wish you the best of luck. I have a skinny kid that I have been trying to put weight on (his meds cause a lack of appetite) and it is tough. I have gastro issues myself and the one thing that has helped is eating 2-3 servings of yogurt each day. Without it I am a mess.
  • BubbleGumKisses
    BubbleGumKisses Posts: 156 Member
    BUMP
  • danifo0811
    danifo0811 Posts: 544 Member
    I would just look at what she likes to eat and see how you can make that higher calorie. My oldest daughter only likes to eat a certain volume of food so I try to give caloric dense food as snacks. She likes cheese and I used to give her peanut butter balls. I also used to put avocado in lots of her food. She would never drink a smoothie.

    Please, before you judge someone for "bulking" up their kids wait until you have the details. My mom thought I was nuts because "it is better to be thin as a girl ". I wasn't trying to fatten her up, I was just trying to get her the nutrition she needed! we were being followed by a doctor and a dietitian so it wasn't like I was making it up!
  • kwin91
    kwin91 Posts: 128
    Edit:
    bump
  • jessimurph
    jessimurph Posts: 50 Member
    I would put her on an elimination diet excluding all the common food allergies (lactose, dairy protein, nuts, gluten, soy, oats, eggs). My kids have food allergies, but are young so it's easier. A 12 year old may take issue eliminating things especially if she's picky. I really sounds like a food allergy to me which can not always be detected in blood. I would do research.