my (almost) 11 year old brother strictly only eats junk food

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 3:00 pm

(certain chips, sweets, etc), chicken nuggets (certain chicken tenders too), fries, and pizza.

my parents don't try any methods to help him eat more or differently & never have. i don't know if they even would or know how to go about it. they're very stubborn and say he is at a 'perfect weight' but i've seen him only eat once-twice a day and he usually doesn't even finish his meals.

he has some other behavioral problems and seems like he is underweight.

my question is, how can i encourage him to eat differently? he refuses any real food. he only wants to eat out at fast food resteraunts and that's what he is allowed to do at home. he will starve himself before trying something else or if his choice of food is unavailable.

any advice to help him would be nice.

Clare · Post by **Clare** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 3:01 pm

I don't want to be discouraging, but at 11, he is probably not going to outgrow it.

If you really want to encourage him, I would think about what hobbies or interests he has and try and talk about them and make some references to food. For example, if he likes Pokemon, manga, or Anime, you could say something like, "It would be really cool to try Japanese foods", or if he is into Minecraft, maybe you could suggest baking square muffins or preparing some square foods together.

If he is into sports, you could find out what his favorite athlete likes to eat and you guys could eat that food together.