Helping children with ADHD eat well

Why do some children with ADHD not grow or put on weight as well as expected?

A healthy diet is important for everyone, as it gives us energy and nutrients to repair injuries and to fight off illness. Children also need it to help them grow.

How much children grow is partly determined by how tall their parents are. Children’s growth and weight gain is also related to how much they eat, and how much of this food they burn off in their daily activities. If children burn off all the calories they eat, there is nothing left to make them grow. For children with ADHD, this can sometimes be a problem because:

• Hyperactive children can burn off a lot of calories. So they may need to eat more to grow and be healthy.
• Children with ADHD are often too busy to eat a ‘proper’ meal or are easily distracted and lose interest.
• Some medications that help control ADHD symptoms can also reduce children’s appetites.

This can make feeding your child quite a challenge, but it is important that it does not become a battle. Eating is an enjoyable activity! We hope that the ideas below will help with this.

Does breakfast really matter?

Yes, breakfast does matter. This is an important meal for all children, but especially for children with ADHD. Some medications need food to help them work. Often children eat less well during the school day, so a good breakfast will get them off to a good start. Having a good morning routine, and a set place to sit and eat will help your child get into the habit of eating a proper breakfast. Mornings can be stressful times for many parents, so choose a quick and easy option.

How can I get my child to eat at school?

Children eat more when they are hungry, so whenever possible, try to time meals around your child’s appetite patterns. If your child is not hungry during the school day, they may do better with a small lunch and a morning and afternoon snack, rather than just 1 big meal.

Your doctor or nurse will be happy to write a letter to school explaining why it is important for your child to have extra snacks and to be encouraged with their lunch.

Why is my child so hungry in the evenings?

For many children, the time between coming home from school and going to bed is when they will eat the most. If they have not eaten so much during the day their body will try to catch up in the evening, so stock up on some of their favourite snacks. A nutritious snack when they get home will keep them going until tea, and a supper before they go to bed is another way to get in some extra calories.

What can I do to stop my child getting bored after the first few mouthfuls?

Eating at a table is not essential for children to grow, but sharing a meal is an important part of your child’s social development. So try to make meal times fun as children will eat more if they are enjoying themselves. If possible, sit down as a family. You could play a game or do a quiz to keep everyone interested.

Make food look interesting:

• sausage and mash can be made into a hedgehog
• food can be arranged into a face with spaghetti, grated cheese or carrots as hair, cherry tomatoes as eyes
• sandwiches can be made into fun shapes with cookie cutters

Bath time can also be an opportunity to give young children an extra snack. Not only is it fun, but you do not have to worry about the mess.

What should I give my child to drink?

It is important that your child drinks well, but drinking at meal times can fill your child up, leaving less room for food. Fizzy drinks in particular are best avoided for this reason.

Some children tend to gulp down a drink at the beginning of a meal because they have been too busy to notice they were thirstier earlier. If this is a problem, try giving them a drink at least an hour before they eat, or only giving them a half cup at the beginning of a meal and the rest when they have finished eating.

On the other hand, if your child is not hungry, a milky drink is a good way to give them extra calories. Always use full fat milk, add ice cream or some instant desert mix to thicken and make it richer, and fruit or syrup to add flavour.

Is snacking bad for my child?

No, snacking is not bad for your child. Snacks can be a good way to increase how much food your child eats and will eventually make them have more of an appetite. It is important the snacks are part of a varied and nutritious diet.

Easy breakfasts

• Microwave porridge or individual rice pudding with fruit and cream
• Full fat yoghurts
• Toast, crumpets or pancakes with full fat spread and jam, chocolate spread, peanut butter. They will soak up more butter when they are hot
• Cereal and full fat milk
• Milk, milkshake or hot chocolate to drink

Things to consider with your main meal

• choose things you know your child likes
• keep portion sizes to what you know they can eat so they are not put off by too much food on their plate
• make a batch of their favourite and freeze in single microwaveable portions
• vegetables can be ‘hidden’ by liquidising and adding to homemade stews and soups
• add extra calories to potatoes with butter, cream or grated cheese
• add grated cheese to baked beans, spaghetti, omelettes, scrambled eggs and pasta dishes
• add cream to soups and sauces
• fry food instead of grilling
• offer a pudding after a main meal. If they are full, wait for half an hour and offer it to them again

An example food diary

Breakfast

• full fat yoghurt
• pancakes spread with peanut butter or chocolate spread and sliced banana
• orange juice

Morning snack

• small cheese portion
• 6 grapes

Lunch

• cheese and ham sandwich with full fat butter or vegetable spread
• 3 cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks, celery sticks
• small full fat fromage frais

Afternoon Snack

• 2 cocktail sausages

After school snack

• celery or carrot sticks with hummus or peanut butter dip

Evening meal

• jacket potato with butter, baked beans and cheese
• steamed broccoli
• apple slices with chocolate spread

Supper

• milky drink
• toasted crumpet with butter and jam