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He is 2 years and 1 month old and weighs 10.5 kg, which is underweight for his age. We consulted the doctor: he said that he is active, so he thinks there's no problem. He drinks around 500 ml of milk with a health drink powder added, and he eats currants, bananas, mangoes and biscuits, but no rice.

We think he'll gain weight if he starts eating properly, but he has suddenly stopped eating rice. Please advise us on how we can encourage him to eat so that he can achieve a healthy weight for his age?

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  • Hi, and welcome. I don't know if we will be able to help you; this might be better discussed with your doctor. When you say, "he stops eating like undigest motions", can you explain what that means? Is milk his only source of protein? Is rice the only thing he won't eat? Thanks.
    – anongoodnurse
    Jul 3, 2015 at 4:28
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    @anongoodnurse, I've made the question a little bit more readable. also: rice is the staple food in much of India, so refusing to eat rice might lead to him getting underweight, because there's not much else a child of that age can consume in substantial amounts AFAIK.
    – Soham Chowdhury
    Jul 3, 2015 at 12:41
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    I had a nephew with about the same problem, not underweight but really thin and not eating much, quickly satisfied. then his parents realized he was lactose intolerant and from this time, with the right (and easy) treatment, you better not fall in his plate :-)
    – Laurent S.
    Jul 3, 2015 at 13:57

3 Answers 3

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First of all, Kids this age go through growth sprouts. For a certain period say 1-3months they won't eat properly and lose weight big time. Then they suddenly change.

Secondly, rice is not the only best food you can give your child. I would also recommend trying few other items in the list below:

  1. Egg White - boiled
  2. Different varirty of pressure cooked whoel grains such as Kala Channa, Whole Moong, etc
  3. Raagi(Millet) idli, dosa, cereal mix with milk
  4. Atta (Wheat) halwason etc The kid will grow well if he eats on same time everyday and sleep well (12hours a day for your kids age). Consistwncy is very important.
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  • Add nuts and fruits to the kids diet. The staple food in our house is rice too, and grandparents get really worried that the kids do not eat much rice. What if kid eats pasta (only wheat) instead of rice? As long as the kid is eating nutritious (minimally processed, not junky) food, being active, and hitting all growth milestones, its fine.
    – user61034
    May 15, 2018 at 15:22
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Check whether a vitamin supplement is (medically) appropriate for his age. It was the usual solution when I was a kid, but I'm not sure whether it is accepted practice in the USA. Something else is to lower the milk consumption (but not liquids overall).

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  • Welcome to the site! Please note: This is an international forum, so feel free to post what you think or know to be a good solution, no need to wonder about US standards. (And I guess OP is from India anyway...)
    – Stephie ♦
    Jul 12, 2015 at 19:53
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When I don't understand where I am going wrong when my kid's eating and I feel that even the doctors advice is not working then I am very quick in changing the doctor. I keep changing the doctors until I find a doctor who has solution for the child's problem. Try to change the doctor/s if necessary.

It is not your doctor is a good/bad doctor but it seems to me that some doctors have the knack of finding a solution for some problems sooner than others.

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