Help! My two year old never wants to eat?

Question

The doctor says he's under weight, but has high engry and good color. He fights to eat anything. I've done, waiting for him to tell me when hes hungry because he won't eat anything tell late at night and eats only a little amount. He just wants to drink all day. When I won't give him a drink he screams till he passes out from exhaustion.

As a baby he's never eaten well. He still doesn't. He'll be 3 in Sept. and is only 26 pounds. He's worring me

Answer 1

Stop giving him drinks, and get him to stop manipulating you.

I've two twins age 2 yrs, 4 mos. He has his little temper tandrums about what he wants, but in the end, - he'll drink the water I give him.

When mommy comes home, he goes right for the refrigerator asking for milk, - since he knows his mother will give it to him.

I think parents need to stand up and do what's right for their child. It's not a democracy, - the toddler doesn't have a vote in some areas.

Answer 2

What is he drinking? Juice? If so, it is killing his appetite. He is getting all his needed calories, but no protein, fiber, or many other vital nutrients, from all the juice.

This is a discipline problem in the sense that he does realize at his age that eventually he will get a drink as long as he keeps screaming. Also, your anxiety over whether he eats is causing him to dig in his heels; as a two year old he is discovering his individuality and figuring out what he has the power to control in his world.

Stop buying juice and other drinks. When he asks for a drink, offer a small amount of water. Set him down to meals, maybe finger foods like raisins, peanut butter sandwiches cut into small pieces, veggie sticks, grapes and banana slices, things that are nutritious, small, and appealing to toddlers. Don't try to make him eat. Leave it up to him. No child will actually starve himself, even a stubborn two; he will eat sooner if he feels it is his decision and not something you are trying to impose on him.

Be prepared for lots and lots of screaming for the first few days. Keep outings to a bare minimum. Try not to have the grandparents involved if there is any chance of their sabotaging your efforts either by caving in or by browbeating you. If your spouse or other family members think they will be unable to be helpful in this stressful situation, perhaps they should make themselves scarce during this process so as not to interfere. You may want to warn the neighbors so they don't think you're killing him. lol

Without the empty calories, your child will definitely crave food. When he figures out it's his choice, he will begin to eat. If there are no drinks other than water in the house, you can show him that there are none, and then give him a choice between two finger foods. You will probably want to place them in a location where he can serve himself and leave him alone to decide.

I would be very surprised if he hasn't at least nibbled a bit by the end of the first day, after all the fits of screaming to exhaustion. However, it is possible since there has been such a fight over it. He'll feel very stressed with the change in how things are working. But, children do abandon behaviors that don't work for him, and two's are no exception. I can tell you from experience that you will have to be strong especially for the first day or two.

You need to ignore tantrum behavior. Every single time you give in to it or otherwise acknowledge it, you reinforce it. You want the tantrums to level off as he matures beyond the two year old stage, but if you reinforce the behavior it will be an ongoing thing. This is not good for him or you or anyone else around you.

Answer 3

I speak from experience my two and a half year old does not eat. She is seeing a specialist and also we spent and hour with a Dietician. I am surprised your doctor has not suggested seeing a specialist. I would bring it up with him or her. If it is nothing medical then it is probably about control. I would chase my daughter around trying to get her to eat. The dietician told us to back off. Offer two different things and if he says no then wait until the next meal. If he is drinking juice all day then he is filling up on that. It would be great if you could get him to drink pediasure or some other type of nutritional type drink. Pediasure is pricey but I would check to see if the state that you live in has programs to pay for it. California does depending on your income. Some doctors don't do things unless you ask. I would definitely ask. And check with the doctor before putting him on the pediasure. If after asking the doctor you still feel that he is not doing enough I would switch doctors.

Answer 4

Give them some vitamins. If he likes to drink alot.. there is a liquid vitamin for children over the counter, add it to his cup and over time this will make him hungry. My son was the same way. High energy.. moving all the time.. too much to see and do, no time to eat. Put snacks out where he can see them and grab them while he is playing. Mandarin oranges, those little cereal bites for toddlers. Things that will not spoil quickly. He will go by and pick them up and eat them while being the busy body. When he has a growing spurt.. he will start eating alot.. then it will stop again. My son is now 5 and only 43 lbs, but he is healthy, just active!

Answer 5

When my daughter(firstborn) was six months old she was chubby and weighed 18 pounds. Two years later she was very skinny and weighed 20 pounds. The doctor classified her as "failure to thrive" and put her through a bunch of test which came back negative. She ate very little. Nothing made a difference. Two years later she was still skinny but no longer a "failure to thrive". Now at age 12, she is still skinny but healthy.

My son followed a similar pattern but I refused to allow the doctor to put him through all those tests. He is now 9 and is an average weight but he eats very, very little. His sister is skinny and eats like a pig.

My point is that all kids are different. If there is nothing medically wrong with your child, I would not worry. Feed him healthily food and drinks and let nature take its course. Good luck to both of you.

Answer 6

Our son went through a really bad phase of not eating. If it was white, he would throw up just looking at it!!! He is a super picky eater to this day. I used to just put little things like grapes, fruit snacks, granola, and cheerios in a bowl and let him pick at it when he wanted. We also got the chocolate Pedia Sure for him. 2 year olds go thorugh a phase where one day they eat everything and then the next you cannot pay them to eat! LOL! Our son is almost 3 and he is just starting to eat veggies and fruits and chicken and all kinds of stuff he wouldn't even consider.

Good luck.

Answer 7

That happened to my son also. Let me tell you, there is nothing you can do about it. Just pray that gets over fast. My son was like that for almost 2 years. He was really skinny and won't eat much no matter how good the food is. I too was worry like you. Thank god he is eating well now. NO medication. Its just a growing phase in them. Never force them to eat for they will vomit out whatever little they had eaten. Try giving him vitamins. There is nothing to panic about.

Answer 8

when he's hungry he'll eat

Also, he's controlling you with the passing out. You need to get control of things.

Put him in the chair at mealtime. Only a drink after 2 spoons. Than another after 2 spoons, etc. He will learn and kids only know what they are taught!!!

Answer 9

Pediasure! Isn't cheap but definitely worth every penny! If you call the 1-800 number on the container they will mail you $2.00 off coupons every month when you call after singning up. You can have someone else, i.e. grandparent, do the same so you get more coupons.

Answer 10

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