my son is nearly 3 and hardly eats anything. should i worry or will he grow out of it?

Answer 1

Your son will eventually grow out of it. Do not worry, have you ever heard of a child dying because they didn't eat enough. The body is a marvellous thing and when your son is hungry, his brain will tell him to eat. Do not try to force food into your child. He will eat when and what he wants to. Just try to make sure he drinks plenty of liquids.

Answer 2

He might not grow out of it, my nephew is 27 and all he still eats is cheese pizza and vegemite sandwiches.
If you persevere and always offer him food, even of you know he is not going to eat it, he may grow out of it. Some other suggestions: all sit down together for meals with no television on, have him help make the meals and let him have a little bit of choice ie: do you want spag bol or fish pie tonight? Maybe you could have one night where he decides what is for dinner, if he wants party food, then let him but only after he has eaten at least some of the meals you have given him during the week. Do a star chart on monday and if by friday he has at least tried all the meals, then he can choose.

Answer 3

dont worry.

mines two and i was worrying with him as he wont eat anything and think i must give him rubbish food just so he eats something but ive stopped that now as i know he is demanding the sweets and crisps.

try him with different foods. a child wont starve themselves.

do what i do.. ive written a food chart for the week and stuck it onto the fridge. i'll write in what he eats on that day and give it to him, then put a code on there:
gold star= eaten all,
silver star= ate most,
blue star= tried meal,
green star= hasnt eated anything,
red star indicating that it was a large meal or had 2nds.

tell the child that if he does well all week and gets more gold and silver starts than blue and green, he can have a treat at the end of the week, wether its a dvd, toy, sweets.

at this age everything is a game to them and you have to make everything into a game for them for them to co operate with you.

good luck

Answer 4

I assume he's been checked over by a doctor to make sure he's not ill.
Apart from that, don't try to force him to eat. Put his meal in front of him, don't make a fuss, then take it away after. Try to eat at the same time as him so he gets used to eating with you. He'll probably try to copy you.
Don't give him a big portion, some children feel daunted by a big plateful of food.
Make his food attractive - make a face out of mashed potato with a piece of carrot for a nose, peas for eyes, sausage for a mouth, green beans for hair.
Maybe get him to help prepare food, he may like to eat the special pizza that he made.
Make sure he drinks plenty, especially milk and juice, but also make sure that he isn't drinking so much milk that he isn't hungry for food.
Above all, don't stress. The more fuss you make, the more he'll realise that all he has to do to get attention is to not eat.

Answer 5

My mom had the same problem with me, and doctors said i would grow out of it. Well i never did grow out of it, I am still very picky eater. I eat a lot, but the variety is slim. If he is not eating or not trying new foods try to make food fun. I buy the paper cup cake holders, and my son loves to eat muffins now just because it comes in a Scooby Doo, or Cars rapping. I am now proud to say that my son is now growing out of his picky eating habits.

There is hope, you just have to find what works for him.

Answer 6

My two year old was the same. Dont pander to it.
If they are hungry, they will eat what you put in front of them.
If you make a fuss of them not eating, they will just do it to get the reaction and attention, even if they are hungry.
If they start moaning or refusing to eat, just take it off them, take them from the table of high chair and get on with what ever you were doing without giving attention. They'll soon get the idea.
Now my daughter will eat anything we put in front of her cause she knows the score.
It's tough the first few times because of the tears and tantrums, but stick to your guns. Your the boss and they need to know that.

Answer 7

My son is 3 years, 2m and we have the same problem. He eats like a mouse at home but when he goes to Nursery, he eats everything they put in front of him. I think as long as they drink plenty and catch up on their food in the next couple of days, he should be ok.

Just try not to let him snack in between so when it does get to meal time he is genuinely hungry.

Just perservere and try not to worry, I think it's a battle of wills at this age.

If you are really worried, have you tried to speaking to your Health Visitor for ideas?

Answer 8

I went through the same thing with my 19 month old. We were on the bottom of the charts for weight and on the top for height....

I bought some great recipe books for picky toddlers and explored with some new recipes. Our son has gotten much better with his eating habits.

You could also include him in making the food. Like for lunch make peanut butter jelly sandwhiches and have him cut them out with cookie cutters in star shapes....

Answer 9

I have 3 boys and all 3 of them went through stages of not eating dont worry about it he will eat when hes hungry

Answer 10

my eldest conor is nearly nine and has always been quite fussy and has never eaten very big protions of the stuff he will eat. i was back and for the doctors and saw a dietition when he was younger and they said that as long as he is active alert and not complaining of anything that he is fine but i would still get him checked out! i worried when pippa came along but she is 11 mths and will eat anything and everything and is always hungry!