Useful Tips To Help Your Skinny Kid Gain Weight

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months and continued breastfeeding for as long as possible. Growing up milks are formulated to meet nutrition needs of healthy young children older than 1 year and should not be fed to infants.

On the surface, it doesn’t look like your skinny kid suffers from any health problem, but him being underweight can indicate otherwise. Read on for healthy, effective ways to help your kid gain weight with these instructions and advice.

• Make sure that your child doesn’t skip any meals so he doesn’t miss out on the chance of absorbing additional calories, which might lead to an increase in weight.
• Enrich your child’s diet with protein, a macronutrient effective in weight-gain —some good protein sources are eggs, peanut butter (in case your kid isn’t allergic), chickpeas, and full fat dairy.Good carbohydrates are also key to a well balanced diet. Choose whole-wheat bread and pasta, mashed potato and cereals. Sources of healthy fats include avocado and nuts.   
• Add sour cream to your child’s soup and stew. Serve it as a side dip to fruit, grilled potato, and other starchy vegetables.
• Add cheese to all of your child’s dishes, especially scrambled egg, pasta, pizza, vegetables including grilled potato, and salads. 
• Use milk instead of water to prepare soup or hot cereal-based meals for your child.
• Quench your child’s thirst with fresh juices and low fat milk instead of water.
• Try to increase the quantity your child eats in one sitting. For example, add meat to his sandwiches or give him milk in a bigger glass. 
• Add meatballs to your child’s pasta, pizza and soup.
• For your child’s fruit smoothies, mimic a milkshake recipe. Milk shakes are higher in calories and rich in nutrients. For example, make strawberry orange smoothie with yogurt, or pineapple coconut smoothie with yogurt. 
• Turn drinking milk or fresh juice with every meal into a habit.
• Enrich your child’s snacks with good fat, such as whole-wheat crackers and peanut butter.
• Make sure your child is physically active, which might increase his appetite and encourage him to eat more and drink liquids and juices rich in calories. 

Remember to be patient and flexible in planning each meal. Avoid fast and processed foods that contain a lot of empty calories and lack the essential nutrients for body and health. 

Read More: Essential Nutrients Every Child Needs!