please help

Hi Andy and all,
my 6yrs old son is a fussy eater.He has to be forced to eat every time.he takes long time to finish a small helping of rice.Only thing he likes is prawns.Is prawns rich in iron?Can a hbE beta thal[interm] child have prawns everyday?He on exjade and has tea[indian style] after lunch and dinner.Please help.
                                                                                         Sah.

Prawns are high in iron, similar to the iron content of red meats. Drinking tea with the meal does help reduce iron absorption, so keep him drinking tea. I think you should watch his ferritin levels. If exjade does a good job, then his diet won't be much of a problem concerning iron. However, please continue to try different foods with him, as a variety of foods will do more to provide proper nutrition.

Hi Sah,

A lot of thals I know, including myself, were fussy eaters as kids. I do not think it is the case with all thals. You would not guess by looking at me today, that I ever used to be a thin child ... 

I remember, I used to love drinking fruit juices. So, try liquids like fresh fruit juices, and soups. These are easy to digest and nourishing. Try giving orange juice mostly while taking desferal, as it is high in Vitamin C which effects iron absorption.  Avoid apple juice because of high iron content.

Fish is often better than prawns as it's not high in iron and is 'brain food' with good proteins. White portions of chicken is also not as high in iron. Milk/yoghurt is almost essential in order to get calcium and it has nil iron.

Some vitamins improve the appetite and aid digestion too, and it is necessary to have folic acid (w/o iron) 5 mg daily. 

A very important thing I have noticed is that appetitie of thals is effected if the HB drops. If the Hb is allowed to fall below  7-8 gm, the child may feel too sickish to eat properly.

 I recall a thal friend of mine, Ashish and me, when we used to take transfusions, we would get quite hungry and think of food, as the blood used to flow in ...lol...the appetite would improve with transfusions. 
We would joke about it.

Anyway, take care. I hope this helps.
 
 

Hi Shilpa,
Thank you very much for your concern.My son is always a fussy eater whether pre or post transfusion.As far his food habits are concern he drives me crazy.I  am so depressed-thal plus so much of related problems.Please pray for my son.
With best regards,
Sah.

Story of our life. My son is a fussy eater to the extent that sometimes we feel he is living off air. He is only 34lbs at the age of five. We try to give him atleast 900-1100 calories per day which is still far less than recommended. We offer him everything in our power but in vain.

hi Sah,

I know how you can feel when the child does not eat anything.But many children your son's age are very fussy with food, even with regular hemoglobin.Just keep experimenting and trying with different food and menus.
'
I dont know yet how thal will effect my daughter's eating, but at 2 and 1/2 months I sometimes feel that she is not nursing enough with the hemoglobin drop. I am just trying not to get very worried and am observing her.

But dont be depressed, surely things will be better.Yesterday, an acquaintance of mine before leaving for India just mentioned, 'Dont worry-God is kind hearted, he will take care of everyone'. A simple line, but I felt so much better.

We will pray for him.

best regards.

Yeah, Kids are picky eaters anyway. When my sister and I were little all we liked were cereal and scrambled eggs. We are both Thal Intermedias.  She's never had a blood transfusion though. I was the more sick one. 

Today my 18month old son only like juice, Apples and cheese. He's not even a Thal. 

Just keep allowing him to try new things, maybe something will stick. Good Luck.

Hi Sah
My son is just 2 years and it is easy for me to deviate his attention whilst eating. Sometimes he eats watching the birds on the window sill, at times I give him little cups and water to play with, do peek a boo etc... etc...but make sure he eats.
My daughter who is not a thal was more fussy. I used to press rice in moulds and turn it over on a plate. So she had stars, hearts and flowers for lunch. Once I had moulded in the shape of an elephant and she refused to eat. She had said she will not eat elephants, so I settled for non animal shapes. This worked most of the time.
take care
maha

 

Reminds me of my own childhood when I used to moved around in my trike and come to the table to fill up the tank on each bite.

Reminds me of my own childhood when I used to moved around in my trike and come to the table to fill up the tank on each bite.

I just had a visual of that and now I'm laughing, Sajid.   

Just don't visualize it in my current age. I would really look stupid.

HAHAHAHAHA.  OMG, now that I think about it, I was!    I guess because I didn't have a visual of what you looked like as a kid, so I just visualized you as an adult on a trike.   

Hi sah

I wish there was some solution.  I also have the same problem with my 6 yr old daughter.  She is  way below the min normal weight.  A  toddler of 1yr weighs more than she does.  I stopped looking at her weight.  I do my best, i sit with her for almost 2 hrs at dinner time and most of the time she never finishes what has been given to her.  she does not even eat cakes.  She likes it when I buy cakes for her but she only carries it everywhere but never eats any of it.  She also like prawns and briani(mauritian cuisine).  It is very difficult to have her eat other things.  To have her eat vegetables, i must tell her how it will benefit her.  For eg, i tell her that carrots are good for her eyes, green leaves are good for her hair etc. 

From birth to 3 months old, her weight was normal and she drank her milk normally.  After that I resumed duty and things went downhill from then on.  At 6 months she vomitted after each feed be it cereal with milk or her puree.  When she was 1 yr old i decided to stop working bcos I was pregnant with my 2nd child and i felt that the work was depriving me of time with my daughter.  So I stayed at home and fed her myself.  i would spend hours making her eat what other children eat in at most 15 mins and by the end she would vomit everything.  I brought her to doctors but they could not explain.  So by that time i made her eat, she vomits and I bring another bowl.  After some time with this method she stopped vomitting.  gosh, how hard it was, I was feeling so down. she stopped vomitting, thank God for that but eating is still difficult. 

I give her vit. bcomplex everyday otherwise she will not eat at all.  If you get to know of anything else which can boost children's appetite without harming them, pls let me know.

Jade

Hi Jade

Actually both my children are terrible eaters and both are far below normal weight for their age, but my expierence with my daughter ( non thal) is that she started to be better when she became 8 because she started understanding the importance of food and  how a balanced diet could help her have a long hair , pink cheeks and lips... you know this girly stuff

Concerning Ahmad, i tried a strategy with him and to some extent if succeded in a way... normally he doesn't eat any kind of vegetables ... until one day i insisted that he finishes his food and that i will not offer him any kind of food except the plate in front of him, he was so stubborn and me too, he didn't have lunch or dinner and the second day i offered the same plate and told him that this will be his food forever  until he finishes what is infront of him.... Actually at the end he ate it and it took him four or three times doing the same thing when i offered him cooked vegetables, but later it became part of the things he wants and he totally forgot that he didn't like them. 

What was annoying me is that he used to refuse vegetables without even trying them though they tasted good. Now he eats almost all kinds except two or three kinds that he really doesn't like their taste which is okay with me.

I also try to show my kids beggars and homless in the streets to show them how they wish to have food and they can not find and the privilage they have and how they should be grateful to God that they are not in their place by appreciating what God gave them and others don't .... actually this work but for a while.

Children are so smart and once they feel that you are desperate if they don't finish , they play on this. Also timing a meal is very important, like saying i will take the food after 15 minutes and you have nothing to eat after this, sometimes works........ also eating with other kids gives them the sense of competitons .......... so try to use different planes and may be anything will work

I know that it is hard but i am suffering from this everday , three times a day to the extent that i hate food time ........... but we should keep trying

hope this helps

manal

Manal,
Thank you for the tips.  I also HATE eating time.  It is so hard but I keep on. I will try your ideas.

Yeah the girly stuff works a little bit (to make her eat vegetables).

I pray that God may give you and your children good health.

Jade