2 Questions: My Son's Pediatrican Told Me to Put 1 Teaspoon...

while olive oil is a heart healthy oil for adults I have no idea about it for children. and I don't think I would do it. Especially not vegetable oil! I think your pediatrician is a little off their rocker. There are other ways to help with weight issues. How old is your son? You can add things like avocado, wheat germ, lean proteins, whole wheat pastas to his diet

My son was a preemie and never on the charts until he was well over 2 and now he is a perfectly healthy normal weight child. Unless my child was severely underweight and malnourished (based on bloodwork findings) I would just offer a healthy, balanced diet. You might consider consulting a pediatric dietician.

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I would highly recommend NOT to give fluoride to your son. It impacts the brain (memory loss) and joints after a while...just read the fine lines in the regular toothpastes. As for the oil, I am not sure it is going to help him gain weight -- would go for olive oil instead of corn or other vegetable oils. Does he really need to gain weight? If he is healthy and has a balanced diet I wouldn't worry to much about it.

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I can't really address the vitamin/flouride issue. It is controversial, so do your homework; you can google flouride and find quite an array of opinion and scientific studies. Read enough, ask questions, and you will gradually find you have an informed opinion.

But I'm surprised that your ped would be advising a few teaspoons of vegetable oil a day. Olive oil, in particular, is very healthy, but that much of it would give most adults I know a bad case of heartburn. A few drops per meal, maybe.

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I heard to put a little flax seed oil in their bottle. Super nutritous.

Not "all" pediatricians recommend putting added oil in children's food. But from your previous posts, it seems your son has some eating issues, so he may not be consistently gaining weight. Olive oil is healthy oil compared to most (better than dairy fat like butter), so you might want to try it.

I can tell you that I, and my siblings and classmates, who grew up on well water with no flouride have a mouthfull of fillings. As soon as flouride was added to the town water (that we drank at school) most of us had no more cavaties. I would do some more research, but I would probably use the flouride. There are also mouth rinses with flouride, but with your son's aversion to new tastes, that might be tricky.

the oil just sounds unappetizing to me. all 3 of my kids are underweight and i give them full-fat (whole milk) yourt--Stoneyfield makes one and with soup i give them butter sandwiches also keep them on whole milk for a bit longer. good luck!

I'm not a fan of the fluoride pills, personally. Is there a reason he doesn't drink tap water? You might consider investing in a filter so that he can - we drink Pur water in our house, which filters more than Brita but not the fluoride. I agree with the previous poster that before you add oil to his food, you might try higher good-fat foods like avocados, whole-milk cheese or yogurt, etc., but I don't think olive oil would hurt your son. I know that many 3rd-stage baby foods have canola oil mixed in.

we have the 5 gallon jugs of sparkeletts delived to our home that have fluroide in the drinking water.. just ask for that kind of water.

Hi K.,
Everyone needs some fat in their diet, just be sure the oil you're using isn't high in saturated fat. A teaspoon of olive oil isn't terrible for anyone.
I never gave my kids those flouride supplements. It's not for their nutrition, it's for their teeth and it's controversial. When I was having my first, 15 years ago (YIKES), my midwife warned me about them and I did my research. If you are not supposed to swallow the toothpaste, I can't see ingesting a flouride supplement. My kids have grown up on well water, they are turning 15 and 11, they have never had a single cavity. Genetics and proper oral hygiene have more to do with whether kids get cavities than whether they are supplemented with flouride.

Don't know how old your son is, but I'm guessing he's about 18months - 2, so this is what my answer is based on. My daughter (now 3) has been taking the vitamins with fluoride for a couple of years now, as does most (if not all) her friends her age - so obviously, I'm okay with that!

As for the olive oil, my ped told me to give my daughter more fatty foods when she was younger too - she was in the 15th percentile. Nothing specific, just fatty food. When they are very young, fat is actually critical for proper brain development. Olive oil is a "good" fat, so I think the advice is probably sound. Sounds better than all the cheese I gave my daughter! For the record, my daughter is now 40th percentile (65th in height, so that's pretty good) and has very healthy eating habits. The increased fat intake during her younger years did not ruin her taste for fruits and vegetables at all.

I can only answer to the vitamins. My daughter was put on the Ployviflor drops, she would spit every drop of it out. So I went to a chewable vitamin for her she LOVES them, so I am ok with that. The studies that I have seen on the floride hasnt convinced me that they are actually needed, so I am not giving her the new Rx for floride drops. My son who is now 13yrs old NEVER had floride drops and is doing just fine, has never been seriously ill and is now 5ft 10 and healthy as can be. I see no reason not to repeat what I did with him. Both of my kids eat pretty healthy, neither of them eat much in the ways of sweets, both prefer the fruits and veg snacks to sweets and chips. I guess that is cause I dont have them in the house much.

Is your son trhiriving in general? Is he growing and alert, with energy to play?

My kids are off the charts underweight, but they are perfectly healthy. My hubby and I were the same as kids (not so much now) and we were very healthy. They just are skinny and we celebrate them for what their dna says they should be.

Unless your chlid has serious health problems, I wouldn't give him the oil. If he does, I seriously question if oil is what your child needs, and if so, what kind? If you're concerned, talk to a pedi nutritionist. Doctors get shockingly little nutrition training in med school and I wouldn't trust their opinions on the subject. By shockingly little, I mean an undergrad class in nutrition (I've taken that, not very in depth) and another few HOURS in med school. That's it.

My mom is a dietitian and she taught med students, that's how i know about their lack of training.

I know you already responded to all responses you received but I had to add something, I have done a lot readings on research done on flouride and there has been reports that it does nothing really for anyone taking it orally and there has been unhealthy reports on it as well. I don't and never gave my boys flouride and the only flouride given was on my third son's teeth once. I also read in the reports that it didn't do much on teeth either so there are debates and reasons on both sides. It's not that I don't trust doctors but they are into medicines out there and I don't like that idea and we avoid medicines in 98% of the time. We do things healthy and natural as possible. Partly due to the fact that I have a lot of allergies and noticed that my youngest has a few as well. So, those are my opinions but you choose what you believe is best for you and your child which I have noticed. You're a great mother! Have a great year and enjoy every moment with him because they do grow up soooo fast. :) Congrats having a son!

My older daughter took flouride because we lived in a place where the water was not flourinated... if your child does not drink tap water, they should take flouride supplements, that is typical. My oldest daughter was also tiny, still is. However, she has always eaten relatively healthy, and been developing on schedule if not ahead of schedule, so her Ped. was not overly concerned. However, she also recommended things like putting olive oil and butter on pasta, veggies, etc.

I was told the same thing about the flouride by a pediatric dentist. We have well water that doesn't have any flouride in it. So, I think that sounds ok. They just can't have too much, but if it's a vitamin, I would think it would be ok.

My baby is 10 months and she is not gaining any weight. We were told to put butter on and in everything. Real butter, not margarine. She never recommended oil though. Personally, I think I'd rather have my kid eat the butter! Oil is just icky, IMO ;)

It doesn't sound like her advice is off base. Everything is up to you though. Your pediatrician can only recommend, they make you do anything.

(Veg Oil)
No! I have never heard of this. Logically thinking it doesn't sound like a healthy weigh for anyone to gain weight. I would not dare to that to my kids. Is it something you would eat yourself? Probably not.

The best thing for you to do if your child has weight issues is talk to a nutritionist. They know more about foods our bodies need and ways to gain a healthy weight. Ours recomended switching back to whole milk. It has more nutrients and calories than the watered down 2%.
She also recomended adding real butter to foods. My son does not eat butter and I thought that was a good thing. Turns out it is healthier than I thought.

(Flouride)
To me vitamins are ok. Not sure if they are really beneficial or provide enough of what our kids need but I'm trying them because I don't think they are harmful enough not to. No one in our family drinks tap water. I'm sure you can find other foods that supply healthy amounts of flouride so you don't have to depend solely on vitamins. I have a very picky eater on my hands and that is what contributed to his small size and low weight. However he is healthy and growing at a normal rate, although he is in the 15th percentile for height and weight. He will always be my "little man".

You can call the local children's hospital and make an appointment with the nutritionist or call your local health department nurse.

We always use Nursery Water from Wal-Mart water section. It has flouride in it and it doesn't cost much to buy the water and it tastes much better than tap.

My ped never recommended putting oil in my son's food and my son was always underweight. He did say to slow down on the milk and give more solid food to help him gain weight.

I never heard of putting oil in food -but as far as the Fluoride goes - we live in Bergen County NJ and they do not put fluoride in the water so my son takes a multi + fluoride pill every day and his teethe are great at age 5. If you are concern ask your dentist about the fluoride.

K.,
The oil should be fine. But make sure it is extra virgin, expeller or cold pressed. Don't use one that is overly refined.
I have never heard of flouride pills and would be very leary of those. You didn't say how old he is. But if he is going to the dentist, the dentist can do a flouride treatment and insurance will cover it. They can also make sure he doesn't swallow it. If he is not old enough to go in for a cleaning, I would still call a pediatric dentist and get their recommendation.
V.

I asked my daughter's pediatrician about fluoride supplements (because another mother told me that she gave them to her son and I was curious...) Our pedi told me that she didn't think they were necessary and she could get her fluoride by eating an apple or other fresh fruits. (At the time, she was drinking bottled water but ice was made from tap. She now prefers the filtered refrigerator water and not the bottled water... )

My daughter was also put on the "boost the weight" diet... I've heard about adding oil to ease constipation, but not specifically for weight gain. I was told to substantially increase her dairy fat... quote from her Pedi "ice cream! ice cream! ice cream! I don't care about the sugar..." Butter and jam on her bread/toast. Butter or cream sauce on pasta. Butter on her vegetables. Peanut butter on her apples. No plain foods. I made her mac & cheese with cream frais (instead of butter) and whole milk--OMG! it was yummy! My husband said she would either gain weight or have a coronary! (lol!) Actually, after 3-4 months, she didn't gain weight because it turns out she was allergic to cows milk--but that is a different topic...

Good luck!

I have never heard of either one of these - but that doesn't mean they are wrong. I would think you would just feed him foods higher in good fat (avacado, natural cheeses etc...) vs. the oils. I'd skip the flouride pills. Interested to see what others have experienced.

my son has severe dairy problems. His gastro suggested adding a tablespoon of olive oil to his rice milk to add fat to his diet, and also to help when we start potty training. ( i guess the fat from the oil will make his stools firmer- they are very soft now because of the no dairy-fat free diet) I haven't done it yet, but wanted you know i have heard of it.
also- my pediatrician asked about fluoride in my local water- because if it didn't have enough, she was going to give fluoride vitamins. (our water is ok so he didn't need it)

I have heard of this. And I don't know alot about undernourishment. I never heard of it working really well. Babies tend to stop eating when they are full and oils can make them full because they are full of calories. I think it is good that you are researching this and drawing your own conclusion.
I encourage you to look into expeller pressed oils. Conventional veggie oils are made by using a gasoline byproduct to dissolve the oils. Hardly any of the solvent gets in the oil, but do you really want to eat something that has been processed using yucky chemicals?

I have been blogging about my family's food recently at www.thetableofpromise.blogspot.com I have listed some recipes that have been good for my family and the kids. I also have been doing some research about food additives and making more from scratch. I invite you to look if you are interested.

Yes I have heard of the olive oil. Is he underweight? IMO fluoride is a must
if you do not have it in your water.

Don't worry about olive oil. In Similac formula, on which my daughter thrived for her first year (she's adopted), the next ingredients after milk and lactose are high oleic safflower oil, soy oil, and coconut oil. I can only imagine, from all I read of the health benefits of the monounsaturated fat of olive oil, that it would be the healthy choice.
The fluoride I might avoid, too, though I'm no expert. After all, we're told to avoid fluoride toothpaste for the first couple of years.
Get a second doctor's opinion, too.
And I agree about avocado; it was my daughter's first favorite food and she still loves it.
Best,
S.