my 3.5 year old wont eat?

Question

my 3.5 year will not eat.i dont mean she plays with her food,she will not eat.she sits with a few bits of food in her mouth for as long as it takes for you to give up and let her down from the table.when told to eat she says i am and shows you the few bits of food in her mouth then sits there with the same mouthful until you tell her to eat again then repeats the procedure.we have tried the she will eat whens shes hungry,the sending her to her room none have worked.i have tried talking to my ex about it but have been ignored and told it doesnt happen there when i know it does. any advice

Answer 1

My son is the same age and is pretty much doing the same thing...he's the youngest of 3 children & I've never gone through this before with the other 2.

Anyway, I perservere by sitting down with him and force feeding him (which I can't stand doing 'cause I strongly feel he is independant enough to do it...and he is by the way). If this doesn't work and I start getting frustrated I usually do the old 'bribe' the child method and tell him he's not allowed to watch The Wiggles (who he absolutely adores) or need I say it....no chocolate or dessert.

For us this usually does the trick....others may have different methods, but this one no matter how much I don't like doing it works everytime:)

Have it be known I feel your frustration right now....I hope this helps:)

PEACE:)

Answer 2

I am not the right person to be answering this question cuz I have the same problem. But the problem is me. I'm 23 and married and my husband always forces me to eat. I rarely ever feel hungry. I'm not a big food fan. so u can say I just eat sometimes to live. My husband got me some medications to increase my appetite and food intake but it still didnt work with me. However, I think such medications should work for ur kid as it is really designed for children. Try finding something OTC otherwise talk to her doctor abt prescribing u some medications to increase her appetite. Also, do not force her to eat. Leave her for sometime and if she is hungry u will find her wanting to eat. If u punish her ot ground her she's gonna be stubborn about it and wont eat just cuz u told her to.

Answer 3

Is this an ex-husband or an ex-b/f. Divorce and the breakup of a relationship between parents are hard on kids. Tell her doctor about what is going on. She may think that you are to blame for why you are not living with her dad...she might be hearing that at his house. Also, tell your daughter that if she doesn't eat that she will have to go to the doctor...sometimes this is enough to get kids to straighten up. A friend of my mom's had a son that refused to go to Kindergarden....he said he was sick, for 3 days in a row. On the 3rd day she said she would have to take him to the doctor. He never missed a day of school after that.

Answer 4

You're putting her in control, by making whether or not she eats the focus of the meal.

When she's hungry, she'll eat. Kids have been known to go for days without eating, in protest. A child can go three weeks without eating before getting severely sick.

Stop paying attention to her when she doesn't eat. Stop talking about it, stop punishing her for it and stop praising her if she does take a bite. Just ignore it and make it a non-issue. Then she'll eat.

Answer 5

Your 2 year old sleeps in your bed because YOU allow it. You cave in to their crying which they wouldn't be doing in the first place if you had never allowed them to sleep in your bed at all. A child will eat when they are hungry enough, just like they will eventually sleep. If you can't control a 2 year old, you should have had your tubes tied and not have gotten pregnant again. There are enough problems in the world.

Answer 6

i had the same issues.. my sons thing was he was full on the milk or drink i gave him. He always wanted a cup.. but no food..So Instead of giving her juice and milk.. give her just a lil bit of water. Then tell her.. You can have milk after you eat. And stick too it.
It might take a day or two to set in, but if you stick with it , it will work. And no drinks at the dinner table till after they eat.. that always helps. it stops them from only drinking the juice and getting full off that.

just and idea.

Answer 7

it is just a phase . They will make you think that they are going to starve to death then a couple weeks later they will be eating you out of a house and home . My son did this for a month straight so I just fed him when he was hungry but I bought the carnation breakfast mix that you mix in milk and gave him one a day so he was still getting his vitamins . I did the chocolate one and he thought i was chocolate milk . Don't worry it is completely normal .

Answer 8

Try very simple foods like cheerios or chocolate milk etc - does she drink? If she appears to be tired or is not gaining weight take her to the doctor - she might have an allergy or an illness so that she feels sick when she eats.

Answer 9

Well obviously, if she is not losing weight dramatically and is having normal bowel movements, I would say that she will be ok. She will eat when she is hungry. Have you asked her Doctor for advice? Try giving incentives. "If you eat most of what is on your plate, you can choose what activities we do for the day/night" "You can have a dessert"

Answer 10

my 3 year old does the same thing. I think that my problem is because she has a younger brother who gets more attention because of his medical problems. I think that in your case that she is just trying to get attention from you. You said that you have to keep telling her to eat. That is a sign that she wants you to pay more attention. I hope that helps.