My 21 month old son doesn't eat anything. What do i do?

Question

He lives on mostly potatoes, pancakes, and milk. I am thinking about taking him to a nutritionist. Has anyone had this problem? What did you do?

Answer 1

Yup, I have one of those models too (little boy who doesn't eat). I've been to drs, talked to friends, asked online etc!

Our final decision - give him one to two Ensures a day and let him eat whatever he wants.

He's 2 1/2 now, he still doesn't eat much, but eats better because I can now bribe him with deserts (I tell him to eat a few bites of meat and/or veggies and he can have a few bites of desert when he's done)...

And I've also got him off the shakes too.

Whatever you decide, this is what I've learned - don't worry about it and do what's best for your family. You're not going to please everyone. One doc said I should keep him on the shakes - another doc said that was crazy and I shouldn't give him any. Family members said this and that, friends said this and that. Finally, we just did what worked for us and didn't worry about it. He's a healthy little boy, so whatever we're doing works fine for us.

Go ahead and take him to a nutritionist, it can't hurt.

Answer 2

oh yes, we have the same problem, but I hear from experts that 2 year olds are usually finiky and seem to live on air. I believe the baby will be fine. Milk is a perfect food. It has tons of things he needs like protein and stuff... we give our girl ovaltine in her milk because at least she is getting vitamins and minerals added there. she wont take vitamins in any other form so ovaltine is great. pancakes are great too. you can add extra stuff like an extra egg or some kind of fruit or juice in the mix.

a lot of pickey eaters will eat yogurt in the form of gogurt. It comes in a tube and if you freeze it, he will think it's icecream or a popcycle and will probably eat it. Yogurt is good for him.

Answer 3

No i have a two year old he is not very fussy about things. Do not make the potato pancakes for him he will have to learn to adjust to something eventually. He will get hungry enough that he will eat.

Answer 4

Did you ever watch Party of Five? The youngest (I think his name was Owen) went through a phase where he only ate things that were white, like what you described. Both of my children went through the same phase! We did some finger painting, talked about colors in the produce department, and my husband and I "oohed" and "aahed" over the colors of the foods on our plates. Toddlers are quite visually stimulated, and by not focusing on the nutritional concern you just might launch junior from his "white period."

In the mean time, there are great gummy vitamins and those vegetable "chip" things to help supplement important nutrients.

Best wishes!

Answer 5

I always feed my daughter when she is hungry, I know this sounds horrible but I rarely ever give her snacks so when lunch, dinner time comes around she will actually eat all of her food. We have good days and some bad and sometimes all she will are snacks. Its going to get better my daughter is was VERY picky and at one point was really thin because all she ever wanted to eat was rice and milk. now the only veggies she likes are cucumbers, celery, and sometimes carrots what got her loving them is of course dipping them in ranch. if that doesn't work you can also give him pediasure if he needs it!

Answer 6

pay close attention to how much milk you're serving. he should be getting plenty of water too. milk can make a child feel full and cause iron deficiency too. start adding friut by blending fresh apples(applesauce has alot of sugar) and putting in the pancake batter, also try bananas the same way. add some blended carrots to the mashed potatos and have fun with the color change. make meal time enjoyable by adding color and textures. be sure to introduce only one new food every few days. allow him time to accept it. limit his sips of milk when eating also. we did the one bit to one sip and were firm about it. does he like spaghetti? try your own sauce with no spices and add carrots, spinach and peas in the blender with tomato sauce. your local health dept has nutrition programs for children with lots of tips and recipies.

Answer 7

STOP giving him potatoes, pancakes and milk. YOU are the parent are you not? And yet you have given HIM control. Fix him something, if he doesn't eat it let him go hungry. This will happen a couple of times but beleive me he won't like being hungry and will start eating what is put in front of him.

Answer 8

My son who will be 3 next month went through a similar phase. I would give him pedisure. One a day was enough. I replaced one of his milk servings. I continued to give him other foods. What my doctor told me was as long as he got a variety, Carbs, protien, water, that he would outgrow this phase. And he did. Now he has a cheese and yogurt fetish. I think food phases are pretty normal in young kids.

Answer 9

The nutritionist who needs to change his diet is YOU! Stop giving him potatoes and pancakes! Remember who the parent is here - YOU!
Give him healthy foods - if he refuses, just walk away. Do NOT allow him to eat anything else until he finishes what you give him
first.
When my grand daughters were small - they tried this same trick on their parents. My daughter-in-law used to throw away the food they refused to eat and my son got tired of wasting money on food they wouldn't eat. Finally, my daughter-in-law place a plate in front of them - if they refused to eat - then the plate was covered and placed in the frig. During the next meal, the plate of food was warmed up and placed in front of them again. She kept doing this until they finally learned they just weren't going to get anything else until they ate it. That was the last time my son wasted money of food.
Now, they're not allowed to eat any of the food on their plate until they eat the veggies first. This has worked too. Now they know they must eat the veggies first before the 'good stuff'. They also do NOT get any bread until they finish their meal (bread will fill them up really fast and then they won't eat anything else).
You just have to remember who the parent is and learn to say NO and put your foot down!

Answer 10

start sneaking foods into the potatoes and pancakes, my eldest was finicky when he was a baby, so i snuck things into the foods he did eat......