Hi everyone
I have an 8yo daughter than is extremely thin, almost anorexic to look at. My problem is she is a very very fussy and finicky eater. She refuses to eat anything green,yellow or anthing other than mashed or roasted potato, carrot, beans and on occassion cucumber. She retches when I try to get her to eat peas and sweetcorn from the tin, refuses to try corn on the cob and so on. I'm concerned about her and her weight. She was born with 3 heart defects although the more serious of the 3 has been corrected. She also gets extremely bad eczema, I think that it's because she doesn't eat right. I even tried to get her to eat broccoli, cauliflower and a few different things tonight and all she ate was the carrots.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm currently waiting for an appointment for her to see an immunologist and hopefully a dietician.
Dear Mum don't be too concerned if your daughter is eating the things you say i'm a mum of 4 and granmum of 9 and i have found that the more you try to force food on to them the more they jack up, speak to your doctor etc to rule out medical problems such as thyroid .be assured she will eat all these foods when she is ready,best wishes for a great christmas from honeymum
Up til now I have been just letting her go believing that she will voluntarily try new things as she gets older, such as today, she tried her first ever fruit mince pie and loved it. I'm more worried because she is super skinny, some ppl have suggested she may have a high metabolism so I think when I take her to the dr's I'll get him to check that as well.. Perhaps a full blood workup is in order to see what's going on inside that tiny body of hers.
She does like the yakult drinks so perhap's thats another thing I can try. It's becoming expensive to shop because I have to buy things that I know she'll eat and ask the other kids not to touch them which in some cases is really unfair.
Seems like I'm going to be a very busy mum in the new year lol
Anyway, thanks for all the advice and please don't hesitate to add to it if you think of anything else.
Have a Safe and Merry Christmas and a Wonderfully Prosperous New Year to you all. May all our challenges seem so much easier in 2007 =)
Hi, I think when it comes to everyone with some vegetables they arent to enticing. I actually get every vege known and boil it all up ((Boil heavy veges first then add peas etc at the end) So its not too mushy. A bit of butter, milk and an egg, roll them into balls and pan fried. My sons devours them and wouldnt know they are all the veges that are so good for him all in one go! He also had a rash round the elbows and was advised to try Ukult. We have it every day and its been a help I think. He is rarely sick and his elbows are managable.
My story is similar to Izzy's, except that I was anorexic for a while. I never ate vegetables either and now I can't imagine life without them. Sometimes the food issues are also control issues. With me, I wanted to decide when I wanted to eat and how I wanted to eat. If you are really concerned about her, be sure to check with a medical professional. But you can always try vitamin supplement drinks such as Ensure or Boost that have every possible vitamin known to man in them. They are also really high in protein and don't taste awful. Good luck!
Just a slightly different take on things. My oldest daughter was the pickiest eater, so terribly thin. .. and we could not get her to eat other than the very few things she 'liked'. She is now 22 years old, healthy as anything. . .. .but after fighting the problem for about 8 years, we found out - through trial and error and an excellent doctor, that she had several allergies that made her feel uncomfortable (stomach aches) (itchy throat), that sort of allergy - none significant enough to notice (hives, etc)....once we switched to foods she could eat, started eating (and has never stopped) lol! She's a healthy normal weight adult now that is careful with her diet. I just thought it might be an idea because of the eczema. ...maybe there's more going on than you know.
hi there if you are in australia there is this juice you can buy called v8 can get it at coles or woolies. it has all your daily vegetable intake in 1 or 2 glasses and tastes pretty good. maybe you could try her with that?
Make sure she gets vitamins, also her greens. There is some pills(vitamins) for the vegetables that she doesn't want to eat. If she finds the excuses of not being able to swallow the pills than dissolve them in a milkshake or a orange juice whip in blender. She needs something to boost her immune system before it gets worse.
Hi, have you tried making tuna patties with creamed corn, and grated vegies? They are great and it is hard to determine the exact vegies in them. Perhaps start a vegie garden and get her to tend to it. This may give her some incentive to try different foods.
In regards to her eczema new research shows that foods are not likely to trigger it, instead of using steroid based creams try using Dermaveen from the chemist. Use it on it's own several times a day. It has worked wonders for my little one who had ezcema since birth, now her skin is radiant. Good Luck!
I really have no practical advice on this, but I just want to offer up my story.
I was a very very picky eater as a child and ate very little. I didn't vegetables. The only thing I ate was hotdog, and a particular brand at that. My grandmother (she raised me) had a hell of a time getting me to eat. She offered me everything from veggies to other healthy foods but i just refused to. One day I even refused to eat for 3 days with the excuse that I was full from the party we attended days ago. Suffice it to say, I was skinny...and at one time suffered from anemia.
My grandmother did the only thing she could and kept giving me the things I did eat and gave me supplements. I was on all sorts of vitamins and nutrient drinks and anything and everythign that will stimulate appetite.
I was this way until one day in high-school, I thought I can't keep on eating the way I did and just decided to try veggies. I now eat veggies - my grandmother I'm sure is doing a happy dance in heaven!
Anyway, as a parent, all you can do is KEEP offering up healthy foods and making them available to her. Get her on a multivitamin. Also, it wouldn't hurt to consult a doctor to make sure she is not suffering from anorexia.
Does she eat spaghetti? If so try adding grated carrot, zuccini, mushrooms and things like that. You can disguise alot of vegetables in spaghetti.
Also if she eats muffins, try adding apple or grated pumpkin or carrot in them. Orange and chocolate bits are nice. I dont know if this will help otherwise, milkshakes are great too. You can add almost any fruit into them with a little icecream or honey and they taste great. I hope this helps. Let me know how she goes. Also for the Ezcema have you tried "Alpha Keri" Oil. You can get it at the chemist, it goes in the bath. It is water dispersable, so it doesnt leave you oily. You can also rub it on after shower. Also Bepanthem antiseptic cream from the chemist is great to clear up any sores from ezcema.
Hi Hannah
Yep she eats spaghetti but believe me, she has a keen eye and picks everything she doesn't like out and leaves it on the side of her plate. She eats apples and most fruits but they have to be peeled. I tried her on Banana Pikelets and Blueberry Pikelets last week. She liked the banana but not the Blueberry ones as she has never tried them before. Unfortunately, getting her to try new foods is almost impossible she outright refuses. I try to get her to eat as much of what she does like and let her drink more milk than any of the other kids ever did to try and combat her deficiencies. I've even tried over the counter vitamin supplements but she wont even take them if they smell "funny" or look yuk so it's so hard. She is on a government script of Elecon for her eczema and goes through tubes of it like it's going out of fashion She refuses to have baths and will only have showers. I'll try the Bepanthem cream and see how it goes as well as the Alph Keri as I use the Alpha Keri hand cream
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She refuses to have baths and will only have showers. I'll try the Bepanthem cream and see how it goes as well as the Alph Keri as I use the Alpha Keri hand cream
