Hi Jennty,

My first question is-why do you feel as though your child needs to gain this much weight?  Are you comparing your child to his classmates or did your pediatrician say this to you?  If you pediatrician did advise that your child gain weight, did he/she not have any recommendations for you?

A lot of things should be taken into consideration when you speak of a "healthy" weight for your child.  Height, bone structure, current diet and nutrition levels, level of activity.

For example:  In my teenage years, I had a friend who was very slender and her mother felt as though that her weight was effecting her figure, so the mother would take extreme measures to get my friend to gain weight, including milkshakes mixed with high calorie mix (like weight lifters use), lots of high calorie junk food.  When we graduated school, my friend had indeed gained weight, but it didn't change her shape/figure in a positive way.  Many years had passed, but the last time I had a reunion with this girl, which is now a woman, she is considerably overweight.  I wondered then, if what her mother fed her in high school as an attempt to make her "prettier" didn't backfire in the later years, and just simply make her "fat".

Please seek professional advice before you change your 8 year old's diet and discuss your child's current meals and habits to see if you should make any changes, and if so, you should have a professional to design an appropriate plan for you.  Don't make your child feel inferior because you think he/she is "underweight".

Best wishes to you & your child!

Has the weight gain been advised by your son's health care provider?  If so, contact a nutritionist to help your son with a healthy and age-appropriate weigh gain.  Your child's regular health care provider should be able to suggest one in your area.

Best regards.