Has Anyone Ever Given Their Child PediaSure?

Updated on February 03, 2011
J.V. asks from Raleigh, NC
12 answers

My daughter is 15 months old and I just took her to her check-up and her doctor said she is a little underweight. She eats but she is VERY picky. She really doesn't like meats. And there are certain things she really likes, like mac & cheese & lasagna that she could eat every day. I try to get her to eat new things and either she really, really, likes it or she just turns her head when you try to feed it to her and then she will throw it on the floor. I just went and got some PediaSure for her. Now I know you're not supposed to substitute that for meals but if anyone has ever given it to their child, how often did you give it to them, with meals, once a day???? Thanks in advance!!!

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G.T.

answers from Modesto on

I would blend her up some home made juice from fresh fruits and veggies and add some milk. Canned suppliments have added ingredients that would be healthier to bypass. Some kids just have a super high metabolism and utilize what you feed them quite efficiently..
It's amazing what you can put into a smoothie and they think it's a treat when it's nothing but wonderful things for them to digest. You can even put fresh spinach in and they never know its there! Lots of ice added to it and it will blend out like a creamy icy dessert.

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

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S.K.

answers from Denver on

PediaSure is very expensive and some kids dont take to the taste very well from what I've heard. Look at the comparison between pediasure and ovaltine. Ovaltine is a lot cheaper and is pretty similar and you can just add it to her milk if you are wanting to increase the calories. It also comes with the vitamins and stuff. Ovaltine might have a little more sugar but I don't think it is significantly different. I give my kids Ovaltine in the morning for their hot cocoa or after sledding or even when they are wanting cold chocolate milk.

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E.H.

answers from Portland on

My daughter is underweight and always has been. She eats A LOT of food with great variety. We were very confused as to why she was so thin. The Dr suggested Pedia sure and it has worked great. My daughter ahs gained a some weight with it. She has one bottle first thing in the morning and she loves it. It does cost a lot but we buy the generic brand which helps a little. We are also thinking about only gviong her half a bottle a day now.

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P.O.

answers from Harrisburg on

I used it for a period of time until my child gained some weight. I served it with food and I stopped because it was too costly to maintain!

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K.M.

answers from Chicago on

I gave my kiddo pedia sure for a while, actually we used the WalMart brand same stuff. I gave it to him when he was going thru his finikey stage too! He had to have two bites of what it was I offered him before he could have it. I made one meal a week as a tester to see if he would like it or not and if not then he would get it. All kids go thru this stage some at diff ages ... just use it as a tool but not a replacement.

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E.B.

answers from New York on

I started giving my very picky eater son a Chocolate PediaSure Sidekick every morning with his breakfast. He loves it and thinks he is getting a milkshake with his fruit! (he's 2 1/2, so easy to fool).

Anyway, I make it part of the meal, I don't give it as his meal.

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K.M.

answers from Kansas City on

My son is also underweight and I tried PediaSure. He hated it! A friend of mine's son would drink 2 or 3 a day.

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D.M.

answers from Joplin on

it helped my picky eater out alot....helped him out until he started eating better for sure.

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J.D.

answers from Raleigh on

I give my daughter who is 4 pediasure as a vitamin supplement. She is right at 40 pounds right now so she is underweight too. If she hasn't eaten a good meal all day and I know she won't eat dinner, I will sometimes give her a pediasure with dinner instead of milk or juice. I am not supplementing, but I want her to have the calories.

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L.J.

answers from Lexington on

Your daughter sounds a little young for PediaSure. All of my kids were just a little underweight at this age and now they're big strong guys.

One of mine did have a poor appetite when he was 7 or 8 so I bought him PediaSure then just to jumpstart his appetite. After a few months it did work and now, at age 21, he's a good eater. So it can be helpful but I think your daughter may be too young.

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F.K.

answers from Charlotte on

Many pediatricians think that giving a young child pediasure or anything similar just teaches them bad eating habits. It's somewhat acceptable if the child has been sick and unable to get nutrition from food but too often it becomes a substitute for eating healthy food and it's counterproductive.

The weight chart is just an average of what other children weigh. With the tremendous rise in overweight children, why do we worry when our toddler is underweight? I often wonder who they are comparing my children to when they keep coming up underweight at their well checks until I see extremely overweight children at the supermarket, (funny, I never see those overweight children at the park, hmmm, I wonder why?)

Right now your daughter is learning her eating habits. It's up to you to decide what eating habits you are going to teach her. Most toddlers are picky eaters but if you keep offering her a variety of foods, she will eventually become a good eater. If you cater to her food choices, you will be doing that for the rest of your life. Keep offering her a variety of healthy foods often, five times a day if you have to. When she gets hungry, she will eat. If she fills up on milk, or "nutritional shakes" like pediasure, she will never develop an appetite for food. She's only 15 months old so she is still learning how to get her nutrition from food since she probably received most of her nourishment from formula or breastmilk until 12 months old. It can take a long time to make that transition. Just be patient. Don't give up.

Since she doesn't like meat (my four year old still isn't a fan but will eat it now) try giving her greek yogurt which has a lot of protein. You can add cut up fresh fruit or maple syrup or honey for flavor. Be sure to give her a grain with it to make it a complete protein since yogurt alone isn't enough.

Be patient and good luck.

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