Skinny 12 month old

I have a 12 month old who weighs 19 lbs and is 29 inches. He adds about 1lb/month, so he's running on the skinny side. He eats 3 hearty adult meals and drinks plenty of whole milk. What kinds of foods will add weight on?

Looking at a growth chart, your son is 25% for height and 5% for weight. While 5% is at the bottom of the growth chart it is usually not a problem. One in twenty children are at or below 5th percentile.

If your son has lost weight, has a significant decrease in percentiles or steadily decreasing percentiles than his weight should be addressed by your health care provider.

If your son’s weight has tracked in a similar position for the last several visits, than it is his normal weight. It would be common for a child’s weight percentile to range from about 30% to 3%. These weight percentiles should be up and down, but around a common average.

Foods that will add weight are simply foods with high fat content. Toddlers need foods like chicken fingers, eggs, french fries, whole milk and butter. All children between 12 to 24 months should be offered high fat foods as part of a healthy diet. After 2 years, they should be transitioned to an adult diet with less high fat foods.

Feeding / 12 month old

Getting Children to Eat Vegetables

Extended Breast Feeding

Written January 2011 by
Dr. Gordon, Orlando Pediatrician