Healthy Lunch Ideas for Picky ADHD Kids
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| OP here. Thank you to everyone. I feel much better about the situation after hearing from you all and will just focus on what they are willing to eat, protein, and calories. |
Anonymous
| What does ADHD have to do with anything? As a person with ADHD, I was someone who always wanted different things. if they're picky eaters that's because they're picky eaters, not because of ADHD. |
Anonymous
My guess is that the kid experiences appetite suppression due to his meds, which turns an already picky child into an even pickier child. My child with ADHD is a great eater, but it is harder to pack lunches for him on his meds. |
Anonymous
I disagree... Kids with ADHD are known to 1) be less hungry when on meds due to appetite suppression 2) want to carb load when the meds wear off and 3) be more prone to want to eat the same things over and over. |
Anonymous
PP, I suppose so. But when I'm not on my meds impulsive eating of everything in sight is my problem. Two things can be going on at once—ADHD AND a picky eater. |
Anonymous
Considering the traits of ADHD are impulsivity, and I have ADHD and can tell you impulsive eating is a real problem, I think you just have a kid with ADHD who also for other reasons has been trained up as a picky eater. |
Anonymous
Yes- if you read, #2 above is about impulsivity. No one is "trained" as a picky eater. #3 is related to hyperfixating. These are well documented traits - while you are sharing one experience. |
Anonymous
https://add.org/adhd-and-binge-eating/ https://www.today.com/health/mind-body/hyperfixation-meals-adhd-rcna151658 https://www.kristen-mcclure-therapist.com/adhd-and-eating-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again-the-hyperfixation-meal/ https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/resources/adhd-eating-disorders#:~:text=How%20is%20being%20neurospicy%20linked,learn%20about%20and%20navigate%20them. |
Anonymous
picky eating is entirely trained. They are not well-documented traits, you're just assigning things to ADHD because it's easier than dealing with the root causes. |
Anonymous
the only reputable link there (the first one) says binge eating is a trait of ADHD. THe rest is tiktok nonsense. |
Anonymous
My kid is a picky eater and at the bottom of the growth and weight charts and isn't hungry because of the ADHD meds. |
Anonymous
Lack of appetite is different from only wanting chicken nuggets. |
Anonymous
|
OP - the reason I mentioned ADHD is two-fold: 1) ADHD meds suppress their appetites, and 2) because I want them to get protein and other nutrients that are important for them during the day when not eating a heck of a lot.
The point of the post is less about picky eating and more about new ideas of foods that I can pack for lunch that provide protein in small amounts. No need to argue about picky eating. It just isn't helpful. |
Anonymous
|
Send chicken nuggets. Or if your kid will eat them, chunks of chicken.
Heat up a thermos with hot water, then dump it out, and put in hot chicken nuggets and they will stay hot until lunch. |
Anonymous
ADHD can contribute to picky eating in many ways. At lunch time, when many kids are medicated and distracted y their chaos, a kid might be enticed to take a few bites of a favorite food, but there might be other foods that they will reject even if they eat more variety at other times. A parent who prioritizes academics or behavior might make the choice to send chicken nuggets to get those few bites in, because they know that it will help them sustain attention. Often, when medication wears off, kids experience sudden intense hunger. This can lead to kids filling up on snack foods, which makes them less hungry and willing to try new foods when dinner is on the table later. A kid with significant hyperactivity may burn more calories than a typical kid, and be less able to stay at the table to finish a meal. This can lead to weight stalling or dropping which can lead to parents prioritizing weight gain over variety. Parents of kids with ADHD are often needing to do more helicoptering, and disciplining than parents of NT kids. They might cook less variety because they have less time and energy for cooking. They might also recognize that too much power struggling and helicoptering isn’t good for their relationship with their kids or their kids mental health and drop the rope on dinner. Impulsivity can make some kids reflexively reject anything that’s novel, and can make it hard for them to change that position. (Note: other kids impulsively seek novelty. Kids with ADHD are different) Interoception can be hard for kids with ADHD which can make it hard for them to slow down and listen to their bodies clues. For some kids, this means they don’t stop when they are full, and for others it means they don’t eat enough. Strategies that rely on kid hunger to get them to eat variety may not work for them. While anxiety and sensory issues aren’t diagnostic features of ADHD they are absolutely more frequent in kids with ADHD. Both of those can contribute to picky eating. Or they could be like my kid whose ADHD inattentive doesn’t make him impulsive, and whose nonstimulant medication doesn’t impact appetite, and who eats a lovely variety. Because each kid with ADHD is different. |