I have a 9 year old daughter who is only 39 pounds. I have tried everything to get this child to eat.?
Answer:
No more focusing on food. Period. You just give all your kids their normal meal and let them eat it. Talk about everything else at the dinner table. Then everyone cleans the table and off they go.
You've created a monster. Now you have to disarm it. Like someone else said about attention, now she has all she could ever want.
some kids are like that, don't worry, just make sure she eats here daily required vitamins and that is good enough for her to thrive and be a lovely adult with a healthy mind and body later in life .
At this point you have to take her to a doctor! She either has a very overactive thyroid or there is something else going on. Hopefully they will refer you to a Nutritionist!
Has her doctor told you that they are worried about her weight? If not do not force her to eat. Trying to make kids eat when they are not hungry will end up with them being over-weight in the long run.
You need to take her to a doctor now personally I'd have gone to the emergency room well before now, at this weight she is far too light for her age and desperately needs to put weight on. She may need some sort of counselling to change her attitude to food before she damages her insides any more than she has already.
I would make sure to give her an age appropriate vitamin.. I would also talk to her, and see if she has a reason for not eating often, or in small amounts..
She is using it to get attention and she is succeeding.
My cousin was like that. Her older brother was a chubby child and ate nearly-adult-size portions - which adults commented on. The girl resorted to not eating, being fussy with food, and using food and mealtimes to get the attention she (wrongly) felt she was missing.
Do you notice how she is eating? Does she eat healthy meals, is she snacking through out the day? Is she eating witht he family at dinner time?
If she is hardly eating then she probably has a eating disorder. It is hard to talk to children about this. I would suggest taking to her and she how she feels about eating. And to see about her feelings about weight, say hey do you want to go get a new outfit, and while you are there feel it out...look for words like no that will make me look fat and things like that.
If you do suspect she has an eating disorder take her to the dr. Talk to the dr with her not in the room, so you can express your feelings. The dr may suggest her going to a pyschologist to see if she does have one.
There are people out there who help teens with eating disorders.
If you don't suspect it is an eating disorder then maybe she just isn't a hungry person. Some people can eat only a few times a day and be full. Just make sure she is eating healthy and not just junk if she is only going to eat a few times a day.
And start giving her a vit this will make up for anything that she is missing through food.
Some kids don't eat much and some are smaller than others, but that sounds extreme to me. She needs to be evaluated by a doctor - have her blood mineral levels checked and bone density tested and especially her thyroid checked. It could be hyperthyroidism which would require medication. For 39 pounds to be a healthy weight she would have to be shorter than 3'10" or 46 inches. If your daughter is less than 46 inches they will probably want to run these tests anyway because that is too far below the lowest average of children her age (49-56 inches and 50-90 pounds respectively). At full grown that would put her at about 4'9" on a growth chart and about 90 pounds.
Offer her healthy food choices and leave her the heck alone. Nagging, bribing, etc only make food into a control issue. Equating not eating with controlling ones life is how eating disorders start. Also I don't think sneaking high fat, high calorie foods into her is a good example.
It could be that she is the right weight for her, is her doctor concerned?
If you are at all concerned that your daugher has low self esteem, bad self image, control issues, or an actual eating disorder seek medical attention immediately.
Mind you I say that and my 11 month old weighs 9 lbs less than your daughter. So I will admit I may not understand. I do know that my mom telling me I was fat (when I was about 12, and my grandma will attest to this you could see my ribs, I just have large breasts and hips and wore baggy clothes) did cause some serious eating problems.
I can completely understand how stressful it can be.
My son is 5 and weighs 30 pounds. If I added up all of his percentages on the growth chart for the last 5 years he may make the 10th percentile 1 time. I would suggest going to an Endocrinologist. They will take a hand X-ray to measure his bone growth if they believe anything to be wrong and will do any other test they believe will help. I would specifically ask to have her checked for malabsorption though. I have stressed for 5 years straight and finally after many visits to the Endocrinologist I am learning to let it go. He has been given a clean bill of health and there is absolutely nothing I can do that I haven't tried already to make him grow any faster. He is not a candidate for growth hormones so as an adult more than likely he will be short and skinny but I will still love him just the same.
geeesse even i weiged more than that and i was tiny at that age. dont force her to eat though cause that will lead to weight problems later on. take her toa docter and have cheched out, maby she just has a very high metabolizm...
That is very underweight for a 9 year old. You should schedule an appointment with her pediatrician. They will probably run test to see if she is absorbing fats. She could have a wheat allergy or another problem like that. My daughter was very underweight like that and she had to have a feeding tube for a couple of years. It seemed kind of drastic but it is the only thing that worked. She's doing great now, still very slender, but not underweight. People will give you all kinds of advice on how to get her to eat, but some kids just won't and you cannot force them. They will tell you that kids will eat when they are hungry and for most kids that is true, but some kids still won't eat. No amount of pleading, yelling, sitting at the table, grounding or spanking will work. My daughter was not able to recognize that she was hungry. For her, when she was hungry her stomach hurt and she wouldn't eat. You can try having her drink Pediasure, since she is 9 it would be all right to let her drink regular Ensure. It doesn't cost as much. I would definitely take her to the doctor. Good luck.
How tall is she?
You can't be serious.39lbs is the size of a 2 year old. If a 9y/o weighs that much then she is seriously sick. Maybe she has an eating disorder or something...it is possible at this age.
See if she likes Nestle instant breakfast. That is packed with the nutrients she needs, plus she can drink it with her regular meals. Explain to her that food is fuel and without it, the body will not work. It is also important to know the warning signs of eating disorders. Good luck.
I have the opposite problem, my stepdaughter is 6 and weighs 75 pounds. she is always eating and I dont think she even knows what hungry is or feels like. you could try giving her ensure or the pedia drink stuff to make sure she gets her nutrients
Your child is in need of serious medical attention. If her pediatrician is not listening to your concerns then you need to change to a different one immediately! There may be a medical issue interfering with her hunger cycle as well as interfering with her growth. She also could have an oral sensitivity which is treatable by a Pediatric Occupational Therapist
there are some meds that her doctor can prescribe for her to make her apetite more
and she will have more interest in food
maybe she's depressed and lonely?
isshe happy
take her to a phsychologist
see a doctor..they know more than anyone on the internet
Take this child to the Dr. 39 pounds is many pounds underweight for a 9 year old, she may have a medical problem that makes her not want to eat, get it checked out ASAP! My daughter is 9 and weighs 80 pounds.
THATS NOT NORMAL AT ALL! Go to a doctor immediatly and consult them on what to do... 39 pounds?!?
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