Question:
I need your help. My 16 years old son would not eat vegetables or fruits…. He is always constipated and complaining of stomach pains… he feels tired all the time… feeding him a meal is the biggest chore of the day for me. I work and am not home until 6 p.m. All he eats when he comes from school is cookies – if that is not available he wouldn’t eat anything – when asked “what did you eat in school?” he would say “nothing because I don’t like school food at all.” I have offered him to take food to school but he wouldn’t … I need to know how to handle this problem. Please help.Answer:
ParentingTeensOnline expert Kendrin Sonneville, M.S., R.D., L.D.N. is a clinical dietician specialist at Childrens' Hospital Boston. She answers:
It is no secret that getting a teen to eat the way you think he should is easier said than done. It is especially frustrating when you see your teen's eating habits affecting him physically. As you know, your son should be eating more fiber to reverse his constipation and needs to be eating more regularly throughout the day to get his energy level up, but attempts to encourage your son to make these changes have not proved successful. Many teens don't choose to adopt changes unless they've come up with the idea themselves. When your son complains of stomach pains, ask him why he thinks his stomach is hurting. Casually ask him what he thinks he can do to change the problem and what might motivate him to make these changes. It may also be helpful to enlist a dietitian trained in motivational interviewing (a technique that helps individuals come up with their own solutions based on their own motivators) if your son doesn't want to budge.
In the meantime, try to sneak fiber into the foods he does eat by buying high-fiber breakfast cereals, stocking up on whole wheat bread products, including whole wheat pasta or brown rice in family meals, and serving meals that contain beans. I'd also suggest keep grab-and-go foods at home that your soon may consider picking up on his way out the door. Even if he won't eat a packed meal, he may consider having a portable snack such as granola bar or energy bar, peanut butter crackers, or a chocolate milk. Getting anything in his stomach during the day is better than nothing!