Toddler refusing to eat

Bitsy_Beans

Well it's early days but I just wanted to report that day two of Operation Cooked lunch has so far worked :j
I have served up mash and veg with no gravy just lots of butter and it's been eaten. Hopefully this will continue (please don't let this post tempt fate!) and once mash and veg are re-established I will try to bring meat back into the menu.
Thanks for all your replies.

Jomo70 - sorry to hear you're having issues with your LO. Does he snack on much in between meals? Could you try leaving him inbetween meals with no snacks to see if he'll eat more?

maverickangel

DD did this and drove me frantic with worry. In the end took her for a weigh in with the HV and she was bang on where she should have been. I stopped worrying, just gave her what we were eating and didn't care whether she ate it or not. At 3.5 yrs old she eats ANYTHING and is normal weight. Just a phase.

DS (2.5 yrs) is currently going through the "I can live on fresh air" phase. Again, I got him weighed with the HV. He's a normal weight, so am doing the same thing. He has the same thing put infront of him as the rest of the family - 3 meals a day and two snacks.

Toddlers honestly don't need as much as babies or older children. If they're hungry they will eat. I would check their weight with the HV on a fortnightly or monthly basis, as obviously if they're failing to gain or loosing then there may be a more serious issue. Other than that just serve meals, clear away after 15 minutes (or however long you can stand) and leave them to get on with it.

With DD I also kept a food diary and wrote down everything she ate or drank. That enabled me to get an accurate view of what actually went down instead of what I thought she was eating.

Obviously do not make any sort of issue, as toddlers are excellent at picking up "issues" and using it to their benefit. If you do weigh ins with the HV you are clear on whether they are ok in weight terms, and can take it from there.

HappySad

My second child is refussing to eat our dinners and I have to give him his own special meals. These meals are a few that are rotated often.

When it happened with my first child I stopped giving him snacks and then he would eat more of his main meals. Now with my second child who is 12months I am just giving hiim the limited meals and still offering him our dinners in the hope that one day he will start to eat them.

I wish you well with your child. Just remember that if your child is eating something and keeping his weight then that is fine. Ask others to offer your child their meals and see if he/she likes their food.

HappySad

Emmy_L wrote: »

he's never had a huge appetite. He doesn't really snack on much during the day but fortunately he will eat raw carrot, raisins, apple and pears so at least some of it will be vaguely healthy.

Thats fantastic though!
As he is still eating fruit and veg,I dont think the health visitor will be able to offer much in terms of advice (or at least thats been my experience:o )

You could contact sure start and see if they have any courses that will help you with this problem,I know that here they have a course that gives you advice on how to 'hide' the food and how to keep a childs diet relatively balanced

I agree with Emmy. I saw my Healtrh visitor & she says its a phase children go through but keep on offering our dinners . She says that it is OK that he only eats a limited range and that his weight is going up OK for his age.

My 1st son had the problem for ages & I gradually learnt that he liked eating certain foods in a different form., ei cheese gratered instead of a chunk, sweat corn on the corn instead of seperated... My 1st son now eats all our dinners but will not peas & loose corn. We always praise him for trying new foods.

I also remember praising him after each meal and I would sit him on my lap & talk about what he had for dinner. This helped.

Rikki

You wait till he becomes a teenager you won't be able to fill him up.