My 11 year old son doenst like eating, he only like playing, even at teatime and its making me stressed. Help!
Answers:
What's the problem? He'll be healthy, unlike all the fat-as-hell kids I see around these days.
consult his pediatrician. if you don't like his answer, consult another one.
Relax. He'll eat when he gets hungry. :) it's not like he's going to starve himself to death.
Then don't let him play.
Don't let him play till he has sat down and had his tea.
Not enough info. Is he significantly underweight? Is he hyperactive?
When I was 11, I would rather read and write poetry than eat.
It could be perfectly normal, or there may be a problem. Ask a doctor, or provide more info here for better answers.
You are the parent, not your son. You need to establish rules in your home. Eat first, play later.
I waz 11 2 years ago and i only ate when i waz hungry so w8 for dat, he is progressing into the moody teenager stage
Don't stress. Kids that age are like snakes . they seem to go for days eating nothing at all, then one day they eat an entire pie, two melons, and a half a roasted lamb and demand dessert.
Consider yourself fortunate and enjoy the hiatus . in a year or two, when he hits his growth spurt, there will be no satisfying his appetite.
You could try serving him food he can eat with his hands, having him participate in meal preparation/serving and don't show anger when he doesn't eat. He will only resist more. Relax its just a stage.
Anyway,you should try to force him to eat,make sure he eat before he play,because is very dangerous to his health ,if he continue like that.
If he refused to eat again,after you might have force him,then try to visit your physcian for advice on what to do,they can prescibe some drugs for you that will make him to hungry for food.
sometimes kids get so caught up in their playing that they don't think about eating. try putting him on a schedule.especially if you do family meals. give him time limits on how long he can play and that if he isn't hungry he still needs to sit at the table with the family. he may be trying to be the boss of you. tell him you can play until ?:00 and then you have to come in and join me at teatime. even if he doesn't eat at mealtime or drink at teatime he still must sit with you until you say he can go
Hmmm, guess dad has never established boundaries for this 11 year old. Kids will try every trick in the book with avoiding foods and the parent(s) need to out smart them. Try adapting a schedule for each day that includes eating and then some time for playing any games he wants to play. If you don't start now, you will never get him interested in food and when they become teenagers, trust me, it gets worse. Good luck and also giving him a good vitamin will not hurt either. I take Flintstone vitamins myself.
More like he has a different time table. Think is you go on holiday do you like having to stop what you are doing to eat at set times missing out. Or finish what you are doing then eating?
Thats what microwaves are for.
Could be what you are cooking too.
If not eating at all thats a problem
You cant force him to eat, you'll turn it into a battle ground, he'll eat when he's hungry, if you're worried speak to your doctor and check he isnt underweight
Don't give snacks or let him buy snacks. He will eat when he feels hungry. Don't stress too much.
Firstly try not to let him see that it is stressing you out as maybe this is all about attention seeking. Me personally after ruling out any medical reason for him not eating, i would put his meals on the table for him and let him decide wether he wants it or not and leave it at that because if he can see that you are no longer going to react to him not eating then he will start to eat again.
Honestly if there is no health issues involved i wouldn't worry he will want food when he is hungry my oldest hasn't a big appetite but he is fit and healthy my youngest would eat for both of them tho if i let him
dont worry to much no child will starve themself he will eat enuf to stay healthy as long as he has energy and is not too skinny should be fine good luck
I'm 13 now but 2 yrs ago i used 2 play a lot wen i and diddnt really wanna eat but my mum was rly strict wif me, let me play a lot before i ate and gave me my food fairly late.
I have three children and my oldest had a problem with food for a while.
I felt that meal times had become a battle ground.
I took some good advice from an older midwife.
In the morning I would put a glass of juice and some toast fingers on a plate. I didn't mention food at all. I would leave them there for her. At the beginning she just took the top off the juice and didn't even look at the toast.
At lunchtime I prepared a plate full of cheese, crackers, tomatoes, chopped cucumber, etc. and left it on the table with a glass of juice. I just mentioned to her that it was there and said nothing else. Sometimes she wouldn't have any of it. After about an hour I would say ' shall I take this away now, have you finished'.
At dinner I would make her a plate and put it on the table and then ignore her totally.
After about two weeks of not discussing food at all with her she slowly started clearing more of the plates. After about 4 weeks she just sat down and ate everything. We didn't ever mention food again.
I think children start using mealtimes as a power thing. The more you get distressed over them not eating the more they enjoy the power.
It's really hard - but, I promise you, they really do just start eating.
Good luck - I know it's really hard and you always worry about them.
OK he doesn't like eating, but he plays He's getting the energy from somewhere! Small boys have the metabolic rate of a freight train generally speaking. My son is just the same as yours
I think maybe the problem is what he's eating or how he's eating it rather than him not getting the right calorific intake.
Try to make sure he's not snacking when you arn't looking, especially sugary stuff. If you do not buy it, he cannot eat it. I just don't bother buying sweet stuff beyond fruit these days. That way I know that should he raid the kitchen while I'm not around he can't go off on a day long sugar rush.
Insist he eats at the table with you and your family. He might moan and whine about this but if he is starving and has not been allowed to snack his options are logically limited.
You have to be firm with him, if you allow these habits to continue it's going to effect his concentration at school and maybe effect his sleeping habits badly too.
good luck
S
x
my 4 yr old is very fussy eater the doctor says dont force the issue you will get stressed as long as they are healthy dont worry about it
oh my god if you are that concern about it take him to the dr to see what is up. but other than that he is a little boy he will eat when he get hunger
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