My daughter wont eat ...?

Question

My 2 year old daughter refuses to eat !! Ive asked her doctor about it and he says that she'll eat when shes hungry, but she never eats ! I cannot tell you how much food i waste on a daily basis trying to get her to eat. ive ran out of options. i give her vitamins, but a 2 year old needs food. has this happend to anyone else and if so , can you give me some advice ? thank you !

Answer 1

She will eat when she is hungry. Trying to force her will only make things worse.

Answer 2

She may be eating more than you think. Is she snacking a lot between meals. How much milk and juice are you giving her? I would suggest the following:
1. Limit milk to meals only. And no juice at all. Really kids do not need it if you give them fresh fruits and vegetables which are better for them anyway. Juice has way too much sugar. Between meals give her water only.
2. Make her sit at the table with the family during meal times. She needs to sit even if she isn't eating as it will encourage her to model the behavior of others. Don't force her, simply place the food before her and start the family eating. Offer her a variety of choices including things you know she likes.
3. Limit snacks between meals and don't let her walk around with food. Even snacks should be eaten at the table. Parents would be surprised how much their kids eat at snacks, which can ruin meals. Offer her three meals and two healthy snacks.
4. Keep giving her the vitamin.
5. Actually track how much food she is actually eating. If you are still concerned after you track her food intake then talk to her pediatrician again with hard data. He can then let you know if she is eating enough or not.

Answer 3

I have this problem with my oldest son- ever since he was about 1 or 2. You can try bribing- we would tell our son that if we thought he did a good juob eating that he could pick a snack. Or you could try having her cook with you- sometimes kids get more excited about eating if they are involved. There are also great cook books that are for kids so if you have a picky eater this is good for them. You could also tell her if she doesn't eat- that there will be some consequence- whether it be her not watching her favorite show- or taing a doll away. I am still struggling with this. Some kids just aren't big fans of eating. And at 2 I'm sure she would rather be off running and playing. My 2nd child is the complete opposie- he's made if he doesn't always have food in front of him- so maybe your second will be the same!!

Answer 4

Welcome to my world. I have the same issues with my son, who is now 4 and a half. This has been going on ever since I stopped bottle feeding (for the first 6 mo. I breast fed and then I bottle fed until age 1). I spoke to doctors, as well, and got the same response as you did. Other advice...One doctor told me to prepare a meal that I want him to eat and if he refuses, to let him go down from the table and at the next meal give him the same plate. Well, he went on not eating and sticking to his guns until I broke down 3 days later. I then gave him the food that I knew he would eat. Someone else told me to make the food entertaining, like a smily face or something - Whatever! For the past 2 and a half years his menu has been pasta, rice, soft cheese, junk food, banana and apple juice spiked with a liquid vitamin. Another doctor told me to be patient, that when he grows, I would be able to talk to him better and be able to make him understand; then, it will change. For awhile, I gave up because as much as it upsets me, I realized that it doesn't do either him or I any good to get stressed all the time over this issue. I realized that I should not make it a power struggle or express my frustration in any shape way or form because it could get worse or rather, I would be defeating my purpose. Maybe, I do not know, it is a way of getting special attention. I felt I lost control of the situation. Now here is the good news. Two months ago, I have had the fortune to meet a special education teacher who works with little children. She gave me some advise and I decided that I am going to try again to change the situation. To my delight there has been some improvement.

First of all, let me add that there are children who have more sensitivity to smells and colors of food. This might be the case for your daughter. How can you know? She would show sensitivity in other areas as well, maybe the expression of her feelings (super sensitive to being disciplined) or not liking to play with things that make her hands dirty, or sensitivity to loud noises, etc.

I have incorporated a point system for my boy. He tries something new, he gets 1 point. He eats it, he gets 2 points. With the points he earns small token gifts. I have made a board where I put the points. The day works like this, in the morning I give him what I know he will eat. In the afternoon, I try the new food. It is important to show encouragement - no frustration and to be firm (but with kindness). He doesn't want it, there is nothing else. At dinner, the same thing that was given in the afternoon. The hard part, doesn't want it, goes to bed like that. Eventually, the child will eat. You must be firm, you must do it with kindness, you must not show your frustration and you must not expect leaps and bounds of improvement in a short time. Also, try it for a few days and if its not working, take a break from it for a couple of days and then get back to it. Over the past two months, I have accomplished getting my child to eat chicken breast, tuna salad, egg salad, cucumber and apple. Also, another point, don't introduce to many foods in one week. Take it slow and it may work for you too.

Good luck to you.

Answer 5

my daugher doesn't eat when she is sick. But on a regular basis sometimes she eats like there is no tomorrow and sometimes she eats a banana and nothing else. I used to worry too. but since it's not everyday and since she sleeps through the night and is in a good mood, I don't worry. She does however drink a ton! I waste food too. It's very frustrating, I know. But I rather give her what she asks for and maybe take a bite or two than not eat anything at all. Usually breakfast is wasted.

Answer 6

my son was like this. The doctors said to not give him anything after meal times if he didn't eat. After 8 months I thought it was time to do something. Lucky for me it was only the main meal he wouldn't eat, so I bribed him with fruit, with yoghurt, with healthy food, compromise and took half the food off his plate. Then he began to eat.

If your child won't eat at all and you are worried then demand the doctor run tests to make sure everything is all right.

Other than that, you have to be more stubborn then them, without coming on too strong. I worked out that part of the problem, was that I put too much food on his plate. It was also that he didn't like certain foods, so I stopped giving him the foods he really didn't like, until he started to eat the others. I still gave him vegetables, but worked out he hated cold tomatoes...so stopped giving him those.

Get your child to help prepare the meals. My two year stood and grated vegetables for an hour (because he refused my help, because he was cooking), and put the eggs in to make frittas...and he ate every piece, because he liked his cooking.

Watch cooking shows with your child, so they can learn how flavours go to together, and how it is prepared. Gets them excited about food.

Get their help in making a vegetable and herb garden, get them to help plant them, and water them, and pick them when they are ready...because they grew them, they will want to try them.

Just some ideas

Answer 7

If she is drinking a lot of juice, milk, pediasure, sugar water or any other liquid that is full of calories she is less likely to eat.

Give her water and only as much milk as she needs. Give her milk AFTER her meals. When she get up wait til she is hungry and then give her breakfast (Of whatever HEALTHY food she wants, doesn't have to be breakfast food). An hour or two later when you would offer a snack then give her about 1/4 of the milk she needs in a day. If she wants food too give her food.

Lunchtime just food. Then an hour or two later snacktime give her 1/4 of her milk. Then if you have an early dinner have dinner, if you have a late dinner you may want to give her some milk before dinner.

Give her the remaining milk in the evening or just before bed whatever your usual habit is regarding milk before bed. Giving her 1/2 of her required amount of milk before bed may help her not get hungry in the night.

But other than the amount of milk she NEEDS give nothing but water and you may find she has room for food.

Answer 8

I have the same problem with my son. He is now 3 but I have been going Thur this for a long time myself. I know you get worried about it, but don't . Believe me when they get hungry they will eat. They have there days they just don't want anything. I have a friend who would make her son eat and it wasn't anything but a big fight for her. I really don't see the point of pushing them. I just ask him a lot if there is something he wants. I'll bring him something I know he likes when he is playing. Just try and give her more Thur out the day. It will be OK trust me they will not go hungry. They are much smarter then us. they know when to stop eating when they get full and only eat when they are really HUNGRY... Have a great day

Answer 9

My daughter does the same - it is a daily fight at the dinner table to get her to eat. We discovered that she was being told at school she is fat and alot of it also came from me. I now avaiod talking about weight issues in front of her as this has affected her negatively. If you are doing this - they might be small but they are receptive to such things. What I do to get her to eat is try and prepare all the foods that she likes in interesting ways. I even get her to help with the preperation of her meals. This helps most times but it still happens that hse doesn't want to eat. Try to relax around your daughter when it is meal times. Good luck and just keep trying

Answer 10

No-one might want to devour eggs on a daily basis, that's no longer cautioned! My daughter is humorous about breakfast, some days she'll devour me out of abode & abode, different days she needs no longer some thing. She regularly requests dry cereal, which will properly be properly worth attempting? To be straightforward though, she's at an age the position if she would not elect to devour plenty, that's no longer a huge deal. She'll basically devour better on the subsequent meal. strong success!

Answer 11

I tend to agree with your doctor. If you are trying to force food on her, which is what it sounds like, if you are wasting vast amounts of food, she might also be reacting against this.

So long as she is continuing to gain weight she is ok. Just keep an eye on her weight and offer her a small amount of food. If she needs more she will let you know.

And try not to stress about it. No child ever died of starvation if there was food about.