how do you get a 23month old to gain weight

Melissa - posted on 10/21/2010

I had this problem with my oldest. The peditrician suggested cutting out juice (she drank apple mostly) even though I diluted it and she didn't have more than a cup a day it contains sorbital, which can cause some reaction in some people that it keeps them from absorbing the nutrients in their food (ps i am not a professional so don't think it's a dire emergency or horribly bad) anyways, i did cut it out and decreased the drinking of fluids in general and she put on 2 pounds in a month! Good Luck!

Lorra - posted on 10/21/2010

My daughter is 25 months old and weighs 22.6 lbs and I am not concerned at all. She eats when she's hungry. She eats veggies, dairy, protein. We do not do a lot of processed or junk food so I know that when she is eating she's getting the good stuff.

A lot of kids after 2 slow down on eating because they don't need to gain us much weight add that into being way more active and it does lead to not as much weight gain in the 2nd year. Plus, she's only 32 inches tall. We just don't have big people in our family. :)

You really cannot force a kid to eat, so when he is eating, just make sure to fill him up on nutritious foods!

Sara - posted on 10/21/2010

my daughter will be 3 in january and is 25-26 lbs almost 3ft tall just 1/2 inch shy of it. her dr at her 2 year check up wasnt worried at all. shes always put wieght on slow. but that also how i was growing up, skinny and tall. my mom said shes doing just what i did at that age. im not worried, shes eats healthy, very active, hitting her milestones at the right time if not early. he may just be a small kid. i wouldnt worry about it to much

Michelle - posted on 10/21/2010

I have 3 children at or below the 5th percentile in weight. My 3 year old weighs 24lbs. You can speak with a nutritionist, but generally they have you increasing calories with real butter, and adding olive oil to their foods to start. Make sure their diet is rich, plenty of dairy and protein. Children who eat a lot can be undersized if the foods they are eating are nutritionally deficient. Make sure he is taking a vitamin. I have seen numerous GI specialists and my youngest is on a feeding tube, I am telling you that 24lbs at 23mo is not an issue. Just add in some more fat to keep up an even height and weight ratio and you are fine.

Gwen - posted on 10/20/2010

My daughter is over 31 months old and weighs 29 lbs, so I wouldn't get too freaked out. As long as his weight has been consistent it's probably not a big deal. Usually the time for concern comes when they have a sudden, unexplained drop (or gain) in weight.

Tiffany - posted on 10/19/2010

Try not to worry too much. My daughter is the EXACT same way. At over 3 years old and over 3 feet tall she is only 27 pounds! She eats like crazy, drinks well, she just has a high metabolism. The doctor would obviously like to see more weight on her, but as long as she (or in your case he....) is eating and drinking, then you will be fine!!



If he likes chocolate milk, I recommend the Carnation Breakfast Essentials chocolate powder. It has a lot of REALLY good vitamins in it.

Bernadine - posted on 10/18/2010

Did your doctors explain WHY they think he should gain weight? As many of the other mothers pointed out, each child is different. My 2 1/2 year old looks like a 3 - 4 year old, for example. She was a normal birth weight, but grew very quickly. At 2 months the drs said she was the size of a 4 month old. If the doctors can give a specific reason for trying to get your baby to gain weight, let THEM tell you what you can do. Otherwise, just make sure he eats a healthy variety of foods.



If you still want to try to get your child to gain weight, you might want to try to find a product called "Milo." If you can get to a store with a Caribbean foods section you should be able to find it. It's chocolate flavored, so if you want to wait a while before introducing chocolate to your son, you might want to try something called "Horlicks" instead -- that's vanilla flavored. These can be added to milk occasionally (not every time he drinks milk) to add some calories.

Katie - posted on 10/18/2010

yes, my son is 23 months old and he weighs 22 lbs. Our pediatrician recommended Carnation instant breakfast and Pediasure. He still hasn't been gaining much though. He is apicky eater and won't always eat well

Vikki - posted on 10/17/2010

Please don't worry. Every child is different. I have a friend who's 5 yr is the same weight as my 2yr old lol. Is he small in general? In smaller clothes than his age, my daughter is very tall for her age i.e .97mtr and wearing size 3-4 and she is only 2 but she was also 9lb when she was born! Sometimes drs don't think of things like, he's obviously active and toddling around everywhere, he probably doesn't stop from the moment he gets up in the morning till he goes to bed, I sometimes find my daughter is better snacking through the day and then having a proper meal mid afternoon, she loves fruit and yogurts and is always chomping on chopped banana and sucking a yogurt out of a tube lol x

Raquel - posted on 10/15/2010

Note that dairy products are highly allergenic. I suggest sticking to avocados and the other non-dairy suggestions here. Also, if your child is active and happy and healthy, don't worry about it!

Sarah - posted on 10/15/2010

My 2 yo was only 23 pounds at her well check up. Her doctor wasn't worried because she had gained 4 pounds since her 1 year well check. My daughter eats everything under the sun (except meat, but she doing better with that) and is still tiny. She was born 6 weeks early & has always been really tiny. She's developing normally & continues to grow & thrive.

Bri - posted on 10/14/2010

Our daughter just turned 4 last month, and finally weighs 32# after being 28# for the last almost 18 months.

She's happy, healthy, full of energy, eats a relatively balanced diet of nutritious foods, eats a very small quantity of "junk" (rarely gets chips, pastries, ice cream, etc). Drinks milk, 1 glass juice per day and water the rest of the time (even asks for water).

Dr says don't sweat it! She's obviously fine.
And genetics do play a role- my mom says I weighed less than 40# when I started kindergarten!

Darby - posted on 10/14/2010

My daughter has been between the 5th and 15th percentile for most of her life. She just turned four years old and is now 31 pounds. Her pediatrician does a complete blood panel workup every year just to make sure she is healthy and it comes back normal, so as long as there isn't a drastic weight loss or weight gain, and he is healthy and happy, he should be fine. He'll grow. It just takes time.

Heather - posted on 10/14/2010

I am a mother of two premature boys that were small and this is what the doctor had us do... At the age of two my boys started 1 chewable multi vitiman a day. (like flinstones) They were on whole milk. With every meal they received about 5 oz of milk. My doctor had me fee my child a lot of protien. Lots of meat! By two years of age your child can have peanut butter. My kids are peanut butter lovers! If your child will eat baby cereal still, keep it up! If not oatmeal in the mornings with added wheat germ is very good. Pediasure makes an excellent childrens nutritional supplement drink. There are several out there. Good luck and keep us in the loop!

Christy - posted on 10/13/2010

My daughter is going to be 3 in Jan and she weighs 26 im really worried but the docters dont seem to think that its to much to worry about she has been off the charts since she was 6 months when she was born she was 5 lb. 11 oz. and doubled her birthweight by 2 months but I have to force her to eat and if she gors a long time w/o eating she will eat a lot by herself but it really worries me too

Sarah - posted on 10/12/2010

I have a daughter but her weight gain is off the charts, she's the size of a two yr old at 12 months, including height. She is not the one with the weight problem. I have a neice however, who's weight gain is real iffy she's in the 12th percentile for weight at her age and she has had a weight problem since she was born.. she'd lost the normal weight after her birth weight and when they took her in for her 1 week checkup she'd lost another pound, putting her down 2 lbs from where she was born, her mother "(my sister) with a little help from friends and family got her up to her birth weight at a month old, she was just going to be small for her age, she is now 12 lbs at 5 months old! They started giving her rice and baby foods to help her put on weight. Maybe your son will just be small, sometimes it happens. I had a cousin who was like 4 ft most of his life and REALLY skinny, he now at 15 is still only like 5 ft and really light!! So your little boy may just be growing slowly or he could be small most of his life!!!

Nathaly - posted on 10/12/2010

Hi, I may have part of your answer...Try giving him "Avena oat meal drink" you can buy it at your local grocery store it costs about $1 per individual drink or you can buy a big jug...comes in different falvors. I'm sure he will like it cause it taste good and he can have some for breakfast and before bed. Hope it helps!

Debs - posted on 10/12/2010

Like the other ladies suggested encourage him to eat more dairy and drink more milk. Use full fat items instead of low fat. It sounds as though he eats well! That said i don't understand why they are wanting him to put more weight on. My daughter weighted 24lb at her 2yr check, shes always had an issue with weight gain. The health visitor and Dr have no concerns with her weight. She's happy healthy and developing ahead for her age, and she's the pickest eater out of my three children, won't eat meat and would eat just fruit and yogarts all day if she could. Don't stress about it just enjoy him! hugs xx

Kathryn - posted on 10/12/2010

Try adding foods like chopped meat, nuts, beans, cheese, or wheat germ into your recipes to add calories. Olives and avocado's are a great way to gain healthy weight. You can puree them in food and smoothies. Try geting whole milk yogurt instead of low fat/no fat.

I don't recomend adding butter/margarine because most of them contain unhealthy fats.

Also some things to think about are the factors of comparison. Family genetics, some children are genetically smaller than other children. Generation changes, if you look back to when we were children our weights at that age are (on average) a lot smaller. Every child is different, some children are just smaller than others. Don't worry too much, as long as you son eats well, plays well, and is on track on the devlopment scale, worrying about. Also if your son gains just 2 more pounds the would be in the 50%, the only difference between low percentiles and average are just a small amount. One last thing, how is his weight curve? As long as he keeps on his own curve and isn't dropping, no worries.

P.S. At 24 months my son was 25.5 The doctor said he was just fine and healthy.