Lunch time ideas for no appetite | ADHD Information

My nephew takes the Carnation Instant Breakfast for lunch, the one in a can. He does well with that, an apple, and yogurt. He has never been a big eater, but has to have something during the day or his BS goes way low.

My DD has the same issue.  Rather than send her a full lunch, we just send her more of a snack.  Anything to give her a little energy to get through the day.  She also will drink her juice box.  We send stuff like a Slim Jim and a cup of yogurt OR a fruit cup and a Granola Bar OR a couple of peanut butter crackers and a pudding cup.  She usually will eat something small like that, but always brings lunch back if we pack a half a sandwich, chips, and a fruit cup.  She eats well the rest of the day and weight hasn't been a concern so far!

Instead of the lemonade, do you think he would drink a nice cold can of Ensure or Boost?  You could put in the freezer for half an hour or so before school and pack an ice pack w/ it so it will be good and cold....Kind of like a chocolate shake. 

Good luck! 

MamaBear39335.8085300926My 7 yo, 2nd grade son has been on Daytrana for a year and it works very well for his ADHD, however he does not eat lunch at school.  I have not contacted the school yet to see if they can somehow intercede on my behalf to encourage him to eat something???  Has anyone else had this same problem and what did you do? I pack his lunch everyday (he will not buy) and everyday he brings home his full lunch minus his drink (lemonade).  On his last visit the dr said he has gained weight and he is growing, he is very, very skinny (my father always was too so it is also somewhat hereditary)  I am just so concerned about him not eating during the day - he usually will eat a piece of french toast in the morning with some chocolate milk and we make him eat his dinner which he usually does with no problem......ANYONE WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS OR IDEAS??? 2boyz1339335.7273148148

Thank you all so much for all your ideas - i will put some of them to use - Recently, I have been giving my7yo son lunch money for him to buy lunch and he has been buying and although he doesn't eat it all he will tell me he ate one chicken nugget and some of the corn etc.....so I am glad he is at least eating something and I think the lunch ladies make sure he eats something before discarding his lunch!

Thank you - this message board always makes me feel like I am not alone - I appreciate the support so much!

Mom2ADHDboy -

I see in your message at the bottom you have your son takes metadate and guanfacine - What is the guanfacine for?  Who prescribed it his ped or other doctor?

Thank you~

We have the same problem with our 7 yo DS. He won't eat much at school. I
pack him a gogurt and cheese stick for lunch. He will eat that at least. I
don't fight it anymore. He just isn't hungry due to the medication (Daytrana
15 mg). He eats a big breakfast and snack afterschool. He will eat a decent
dinner as well. I would pack nutritional small snacks for your child. Let him
pick it out in the morning or night before. Cheese sticks, peanut butter
crackers, granola bars, protein bars (Kelloggs', etc), yogurt, fruit/raisins,
Quaker breakfast oatmeal cookies, Quaker muffin bars, etc. My ds likes the
Yoplait smoothies as well. Start with 2 snacks and make sure he has
something to eat afterschool. Homemade muffins are a hit as well.Pediasure or a protein drink?Have you considered a rewards system?  I am a teacher that has ADHD, and with one of my students, if he eats a small snack at lunch, he is allowed to skip two math homework problems.  Since I started this with him, he has eaten something at lunch time every day (I teach at a small private school, and the kids eat lunch in the classroom).

I also make sure that I am leading by example.  Even though I have absolutely no desire to eat from my adderall, I make sure he sees me eating something more than a cookie or only drinking a diet coke. 

We too do the snack lunch! Camden takes things he likes only, I let him help me pack it in the mornings. He takes things like a Hi C juice box or capri sun...cheeze nips, sliced apples, a banana...sometimes he takes chips or fritos. He is very thin and I feel if he will just eat something it is ok to eat chips. Also fruit roll ups and fruit snacks. He likes to take jello or yogurt sometimes. After his med wears off he eats well..He always has an after school snack and eats well at dinner. Good Luck!

I'm new to this forum & I actually came here for this reason, my son who is in Kindergarten barely eats lunch at school because of his meds, he eats a good breakfast, snack & dinner...I feel so much better now after reading all your responses & suggestions too!  I think part of the problem is that the cafeteria is way too overstimulating
and distracting. My 8 year old will say just didn't have time to eat. Because
his behavior is absolutely terrible if he doesn't eat, I have had to ask the
lunchroom supervisor to check in with him and remind him that he needs to
eat before going out. This seems to be working.
I also feed him a balance snack after school.I make sure that our son gets good protien base for breakfast and dinner.  He tends to each little during the day - juice, soy milk drink and a packet of crackers is all he'll usually have.  Sometimes  puree fruit or a sweet slice.  I find that if he has this protien he is alot more stable.  Afternoon tea and dinner are normally his catch up times.

I live with a VERY, VERY PICKY eater. For years, my son would only eat pretzels and a drink for his lunch. Later, I was able to find single servings of peanut butter to add to his lunch. Also, I always put something sweet such as a cookie (advice from the doctor) in lunch bag. It was not very big lunch, more like a snack but he would eat it.

I agree, the cafeterias are very overstimulating for our children. I live in Florida and would have lunch with my son 1-2 days a week. We were able to go into the courtyard and sit at the picnic tables and enjoy a quiet lunch all year long. My son became very popular because we would take one other student with us outside.

My son is 12 now and still we struggle with eating. I still have to remind him to eat in the mornings. We are homeschoolers, so I try to get him to eat several small snacks during the day to keep his blood sugar relatively stable. I will say he can put away the food in the evenings when he gets hungry. He loves buffets because he can eat as much of what he likes.

It's total calories that counts, not when you get them.  If growth patterns are OK, don't worry about missing lunch. 

Here is an article I just rceived in my ail box about meds and side effects.

http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/features/reduce-side-effects-a dhd-medications

Dear ppmharley;

Please call his doctor immediately, the problem may not be his meds but something else. Your son needs to be evaluated for other things like celiac disease or some other health issue. 

Also, I worry that you might have HRS coming after you because he is so thin and thinking you are mistreating him. I don't always think HRS uses logic in their actions.

Tell the doctor that you think your son is starving to death, make them understand you are very frightened for your son's health.

I agree time to stop that med. The point of meds it to have symptom relief with little to no side effects. Not eating anything is a significant side effect. There are other med options out there.

Diane V39357.558275463My concern is the meds are masking something far worse. This child needs an evaluation immediately. I would rather be proven wrong erring on the side of caution than the alternative.  This child could be seriously ill.

My son has no will to eat anything ! That's the problem. He will eat very small amounts and mostly not at all, to the point of being skin and bones now and he has us all worried for his health.

I've tried and am trying everyone's advise. Cut down to small amounts on a saucer, only telling him he has to eat at least 1 item on his plate, making him sit for hrs on end till bedtime, until he eats something (but doesn't), you name it !

He will ask for certain foods and then not eat them at all. My son doesn't even like McDonald's anymore. Won't touch a thing from there. Nothing we've tried he'll eat and I don't know what else to do.

 

To ppmharley:

I would immediately tell his ped and they should switch his med.  My son eats a banana milkshake before bed every night - vanilla ice cream, milk and a real banana - you can always use ensure or boost in place of milk...try that too.

How old is he and what med is he on?

My son Matt also never eats all of his lunch. He just picks at it here and there. Most of it comes home untouched. I like the idea of the protein drinks. I think i may try that route. I mostly just send snacks now too because every day his sandwich was coming home.

I am a diabetic and always carry protein bars with me, incase my sugar goes low. The bars are full of vitamins and minerals. I may see if he likes those too.

My son is tall and quite skinny so his weight gain is a big issue with me. Anything i can get him to eat...anytime....is a bonus.

Matt'smom
Cody doesnt eat much at all during lunch but i normally pack him some healthy snacks the school allows him to eat after lunch if he is hungry...we pack peanut better crackers, cheese, grapes...and when he gets a little hungry he can go into "his corner office" and eat it. I would ask the school if you packed something if he could eat it when he got a little snack attack. I also love the protein bar idea, they make some really yummy ones I might have to go get some of those to put in his snack bag.[QUOTE=2boyz13]

Mom2ADHDboy -

I see in your message at the bottom you have your son takes metadate and guanfacine - What is the guanfacine for?  Who prescribed it his ped or other doctor?

Thank you~

[/QUOTE]

The developmental ped. prescribed guanfacine to help with the stimulant wearing off.  Our nights had been intolerable.  Now, the evening isn't as smooth as when the stimulant is in his system, but things are tolerable.  No more out of control impulsivity and hyperactivity, but some issues.  Also, w/ the guanfacine, we were able to discontinue the melatonin b/c the guanfacine gets the ADHD under control enough to sleep.  We didn't have the option of a PM booster dose of the stimulant b/c it suppresses his appetite too much, and he catches up on lost calories at night.

BTW, he started taking the guanfacine when he was on Focalin XR (now on Metadate CD, which is going much better.  No more periods during the day where he's too subdued! ).  Dr. prescribed it for 2x/day.  That's allowed us to stay on a lower dose of the stimulant, and it's also increased his appetite during the day.  So, now he eats some betw. breakfast and dinner, though still typically not a lot.