My 18 month old NEVER eats. What could it be?

Question

My daughter just turned 18mos. old and she has the worst appetite. I have not seen her eat anything in the past 3 days, other than a bite of this and a bite of that. Shes probably eaten approx. 5 oz. of food in the past 3 days. And nothing with any real nutritional value. Usually, every 3rd - 5th day, she will finally be hungry enough to eat, some. On those rare days, I can get her to eat approx. 12-15 ozs. of food. That is still no where NEAR what she should be eating. She drinks plenty of milk and I have been adding cereal to her bottles. I am at wits end. And when I ask my Dr. about it, he says "I've never seen a child starve itself. She'll eat when shes hungry"..what the hell kinda answer is that. Anyone out there have a better more logical explanation??

Answer 1

If shes barely eating why are you giving her food with no nutrition value? Maybe shes drinking too much milk, that will fill her up so she wont eat.

Answer 2

If she is "drinking plenty of milk" but not eating, then try offering her water now and again, instead of milk, and see if her appetite for solid food increases. She could be filling up on milk.

Figure how many calories an 18 month old child needs in a day, and then think how many calories are in the bottles of milk she is drinking, you might find that she is filling up on milk.

This sometimes happens when people give young children lots of juice and then wonder why the child is not hungry.

This happened to a friend of mine. At home her little girl hardy ate at all. When she was at MY house the little darlin' was wolfing food down like she was starving to death! When she was here, she had a small amount of juice or milk AFTER her meals and water to drink whenever she was thirsty.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

I agree that she may be filling up on the milk with the cereal in it. Just because she won't starve herself does not necessarily mean that she is getting proper nutrition either. Milk is not very nutritionally balanced. I think I would try reducing the amount of milk she takes and see if she starts to eat more. Maybe try to cut the bottles out completely (easier said than done--I know!) and let her drink milk from a cup or sippy cup with meals and snacks. Otherwise offer water if she's thirsty between meals and snacks. If that doesn't help, I'd ask your doctor if it would be OK to give her 8 ounces of PediaSure a day. That at least has more nutritional value.

Answer 4

Honestly, your doctor is right. Toddlers are notoriously finicky eaters and there will be many days when they eat almost nothing. They require a much less food than we tend to think. Also, not all children are the same. Do not compare her apppetite to other children you know. I have two children, a 39 pound daughter who will turn 6 years old next month, and her recently turned 4 year old brother who is 42 pounds. My daughter eats like a normal 5 year old child and is a bean pole. My son eats 8 - 10 oz of food per day and outweighs his older sister. They are both perfectly healthy at every checkup. At this age, your daughter will eat what she needs. Children do eat when they are hungry while adults tend to eat more than they need to satify hunger. Just try not to have junk food around the house, or at least hide it and don't eat it in front of her. If it is not available, she will eat healthier.

Answer 5

I went thru this with my oldest. Sometimes kids just aren't hungry. If she likes milk try making her smoothies. Add some bananas or berries to her milk and blend it. At least that way she will be getting some nutrition and will make you feel better. Do you keep some dry cereal down for her at all times? I used to do this too just so i knew he was eating something....my doctor said that is a big mistake because if they are snacking all day they wont eat a big meal. Have meals at a certain time. Try making things that are "fun" to eat. Pancakes shaped like animals. or ketchup smilies. A lot of work when you are busy but it will encourage her to eat more. When she goes thru her next growth spurt you will be asking how do I get my kid to stop eating.

Answer 6

I have two children and both with two diff. eating habits. My son will eat none stop anything and everything. I get sick watching him...lol.
My daughter will eat a few bits of something and be done.

I would ask myself these few questions.

Is she at the Right weight for he age and size?
Has she lost or gained any weight?
Does the way the food fells in her mouth bother her?
Does the smell of the food bother her?

After asking all those questions I would keep a log of what she ate and how much she ate, and have who ever watching her log it too.

Try to remember when her last growth spurt was. Children dont eat much when they arent growing, but should still eat.

Then if all the answers dont add up to you change Docs. If your not seeing a PED. Find a good PED, ask your mother friends who there childerns PED was. IF YOU THANK SOMETHING IS WORNG LISTEN TO IT YOUR THE MOM AND MORE THAN NOT YOUR FEELING IS RIGHT. FIND A DOC OR PED THAT WILL LISTEN TO YOU.

From mom to mom
Bell

Answer 7

the best advice would be to talk to a nutritionist or your childs doctor. i have had the same problem as well as my sister has just make sure your limiting how much juice or milk she is drinking because it will fill her up and she wont want to eat. the doctors told me only give her water in between meals and now i make my kids eat all or most food before giving them juice with meals. those ensure drinks are great because whatever she eats you will know shes getting all the essential things she needs. also they say dont worry to much if shes not really hungry one day but eats like crazy the next!

Answer 8

i can only imagine how frustrating it could be for you. i don't have children of my own but i have many friends who have had this problem and it has happened to them about the same age as your daughter. I'm not sure of any biological explanation but i know it is pretty common for toddlers to become "fidgety eaters". since your daughter does not have a problem with drinking milk, you might want to try giving her pedia sure which is loaded with lots of vitamins and minerals that she is missing out on from not eating food. does she have a favorite food? keep fixing that for her. maybe she likes to feed herself - let her carry around a little bowl or a baggie of cereal, fruit or whatever other kind of finger foods that might interest her. keep a food log of what she likes and does not like to eat and work from there. if you need to, you'll have information to present to the doctor if you need to take her in. good luck!

Answer 9

My doctor used to tell me the same thing - A child will eat when it gets hungry and they will not starve themselves. Just make sure the small amount of food your child does eat each day is not junk food. Eventually they will outgrow this stage and by the time they are teenagers you start to miss those lower grocery bills.

Answer 10

All the little (buggers) oops I mean darlings do this. As babies they eat anything and everything you give them, they hit 18monts and won't eat. Learn from my mistakes.
My first child was the best eater and at 18 months refused to eat, being terrified that he would starve to death (or at least get sick), I offered him anything he wanted, just as long as he ate. He is now 6 years old and eats only a handful of things. (none of those include fruit, vegetables or meat!).

When my second son did the same thing, I continued to serve up his meals and if he didn't eat them, I didn't worry (or tried not to). He is now 4 years old and eats everything that is put in fornt of him!
Sorry, but your Doctor is right, a child won't starve themselves. (unless they're six and used to eating what they want!)
Be Strong!!!