i think my son is underweight for his age.?

Question

he's 6 years old. very active. mostly normal. i want him to gain a little weight. help.

Answer 1

A way to help a young child gain weight is to have him drink two glasses a day of whole milk. Eventually you will see an increase in his weight. Plus its good for him and it'll help him grow. Also make sure that he eats all his food that you put on his plate. Heres a link to a BMI child calculater, It will tell you if he is underweight or normal.

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/bmicalculator.html?years=NaN&months=NaN&gender=NaN&feet=NaN&inches=NaN&inches_percent=NaN£s_100=NaN£s_10=NaN£s=NaN£s_percent=NaN&start=1&page=2

Answer 2

How much does he weigh? My 6 year old is very under weight(33 lbs) but she was born 9 weeks early so had just never caught up. If there is no medical reason for underweight so things you can do to pump calories is Pedisure, extra butter in vegtables, protein bars for snacks. Whole milk not 2% or skim. How many times does he eat my daughter gets 3 meals and about 4 snacks. She even has a doctors note for 2nds at school and an extra snack. The best thing to do though is to talk to your ped and rule out any med problem and that you are concerned

Answer 3

Being slightly underweight is NOT something to worry about. I know several people who have been underweight all their lives, but who are and have been perfectly healthy and eat normally. At age 6, I wouldn't start playing with his weight as long as he is healthy. Talk to your doctor about it- an active little boy uses a lot of energy, and is growing quickly. If you try to get him to gain weight now, it could come back to bite you when he gets older and stops growing- his weight could increase so much that he is then overweight. If he's eating normally and is healthy, just leave him alone!!!!!

Answer 4

what does he weigh/how tall is he? My 4 year old daughter is 46 inches and 36 pounds-much taller than her 5 1/2 year old sister but is all muscle not an ounce of fat on her. I was over 5 feet tall and 45 pounds at age 8-so it runs in the family!! If he has plenty of energy it is not a big deal at all-underweight is much better than overweight for kids, they will not starve themselves. Don't feed him junk food to make him gain weight-be sure he drinks a lot of milk if he is tall to support growing bones as well.

Answer 5

I can't tell you if he's too skinny, but I can tell you that a boy at age six is at the leanest he will be in his whole life. His body fat percentage is the lowest it will ever be. I know this because I have a son who is slender to begin with and my doctor explained this to me at his 6 year old checkup and I was fretting about him being all skin and bones.

Only your doctor can tell you if he is a good weight or not---so ask. :)

Keep in mind that many kids today are OVER weight and I think as a society we are getting used to seeing chunky kids everywhere so when we see a healthy, normal, slender kid we think he's too skinny.

Answer 6

I would not worry as long as you can get him to sit down and eat , and of course that he is eating healthy well balanced meals . You say that he is active so he probably has a higher metabolism than the other kids and hopefully he don't eat a bunch of junk like most. Did you bring up your concerns with your Dr. yet If not when he goes in for his school checkup you should make sure he is in range with where he should be .
Hope this helps

Answer 7

It may come. It might not.

I'm 54, and been underweight my whole life. If his strength and activity level are normal, relax. Feed him healthy foods.

I thought I could eat anything, and did. I had a triple bypass last year, doctors said I was lucky to be alive, since all my cardiac arteries were near totally blocked.

Answer 8

Make sure that there's food around when he's hungry. Otherwise, don't worry about it unless his pediatrician is concerned.

P.S. I was an underweight child, who, since about age 25, has been on a constant mission to lose 5 pounds.

Answer 9

How much does he weigh now? What is his bone structure like. You say he is very active which is a good sign of his general health. Make sure he eats well and get all the fresh veggies and fruit to maintain a good health and don't worry to much.

Answer 10

i think he'll be okay. my nephew for the longest of time was very thin and small. just in a few months he's gotten a lot taller and put on a lot of weight. if your son is eating healthy and staying active, he's fine. if your concerns really bother you, see the doctor about it. you can also start him on vitamins if he already isn't on it. good luck.