I came home from a dietitian appointment recently with a new parenting strategy:
Add oil to lunch, dinner, and whatever food my child will happily eat.
So apparently, when you're trying to help a child gain weight, sometimes the answer isn't eat more. It's figuring out how to make what they're already eating work a little harder.
I just realised this is one of those parenting things I never thought I'd know need to put into practice.
For the past few months, we've been working with a dietitian to help our youngest kiddo with his growth. He's always been on the smaller side, so we're trying to help him gain weight steadily and, hopefully, support his height growth along the way.
The good news from our latest appointment is that he has gained some weight.
Although not a drastic increase, it was enough for the dietitian to mention that whatever we're doing, keep doing it.
So next, we add oil.
One of the things I've learnt is that helping a child gain weight doesn't necessarily mean piling more food onto his plate.
Because if your child already doesn't eat very much, staring at an even bigger mountain of food isn't exactly going to inspire him.
Instead, we're learning to increase the calorie density of the food he's already eating.
Hence: oil (e.g., olive oil, butter).
And we're also encouraged to add things like fried shallots, fried garlic, and fried ikan bilis to his meals; basically foods that add more oil, protein, and calories without significantly increasing the amount of food he has to finish.
Vegetables require a different strategy.
This is another thing I liked from the dietitian.
Instead of constantly introducing vegetables as a separate 'you must eat this because it's good for you' item, we can introduce them through something he already likes.
He loves tom yum, for example.
So rather than saying, "Here is a new veggie. Eat it." It can be, "Here's your tom yum. There's a nice veggie in it." 😂
He's already started accepting a few vegetables, so the idea now is to keep those consistent while slowly expanding the selection.
Sleep is not for the weak.
This one is probably going to be harder than adding oil.
The dietitian also reminded us that nutrition is only one part of growth; sleep matters too.
So we're now working towards an earlier and more consistent bedtime, which means my child's growth plan involves not only what happens at the dining table, but also what time he needs to be in bed.
Wish me luck!
Small progress is still progress.
I think that's probably my biggest takeaway from these appointments.
When you're watching a child's growth over time, progress doesn't always look dramatic. Sometimes it's simply seeing that the gap on the growth chart has become a little smaller.
And for now, that's enough to make me happy.
We have another few months before the next check-in, so the plan is pretty simple:
- Keep doing what seems to be working.
- Keep making his snacks more substantial.
- Keep introducing food, including veggies, without turning every meal into a battle.
- Get him to bed earlier.
- And of course, add oil to his food.
Wish me luck!
