my daughter hardly eats?

Question

i have a 4 year old who makes me go through hell to get her to eat. she really eats next to nothing. my doc suggested vitamins which i give her but she is so picky. she weighs 13 kilos and is short ( my husband and myself are short too) doc tells me that all kids are fussy when it comes to eating. anyone else with my problem?

Answer 1

when my little sister was born she was a premature and wieghed a fair amount as she grew she never ate from maybe an animal cracker to nothing at all but if you find a food that she really likes than she'll eat it Hope a helped

Answer 2

Yes I have delt with this and my son is a great eater now. When he was four it was the worst.

Here is what to do. My son is special needs but this will work with any child. Put what ever it is that you are serving on the plate, and then put one thing that she just really enjoys in front of her. It could be a favorite drink or cookies, anything. for every bite that she takes of her food, give her a bite of her favorite thing. This may be hard at first. Don't tax yourself. Feed her first so that when you are ready to eat you can enjoy yourself and your food will digest itself, there will be plenty of time when she is eating better for you to have quality table time with her.

Now what a lot of people don't realize is that a serving size for a child is not that big. You only need to put a table spoon of her least favorite thing on her plate. At first only expect her to take one are two bites and as she gets better, then you ask for more.

You must remain calm, and do not reward, if she does not take a bite. If she never takes the bite, don't get upset, just put it away and continue vitamins and pedia sure. Only let this go on for no longer than an hour and try it once a day everyday. All other times feed her what you know she will eat. This is not the end of the world. If you find yourself at your boiling point do not continue as this will create a barrier. Only try one new food at a time. Usually picky eaters have a high sense of taste and so to much bad tasting stuff will back fire.

This really does work. I had a son who only ate chips and icecream. It was hard and I got accussed of bad parenting. It took a year, but he now eats most anything I ask of him.

I hope that this helps you.

Answer 3

Consider the quality of the food not the quantity. I would be very concerned with the nutritional intake that your daughter is getting or not getting. Vitamins are a good idea, have you tried PediaSure or EnSure or Boost to supplement her diet? These "drinks" are packed with nutrients that she is not getting from foods. I am a believer in "family meals" so even if she refuses to eat, I would still have her sit at the table until you and hubby are finished eating, and don't forget to put the toys away while at the table. We had this same issue with my nephew and in the wisdom of my dearly departed father, "If a kids gets hungry enough, he/she will eat." I'm not sure how accurate that is, and my nephew was given a separate meal usually Chef-Boy-R-Dee or chicken nuggets. Today he is still a picky eater, and will scarf down a meal to jump up and play then 15 minutes later he's hungry again. Go figure.

Answer 4

I HAVE THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. My 4 year old hardly eats anything!!!!! And for those people who say don't cater to her she will eat when she is hungry...they don't actually understand what you mean by HARDLY ANYTHING!! My daughter won't "eat when she is hungry" There are so many times I am in tears begging her to just eat!! I have tried everything!! I have tried to make her eat and she makes herself throw up! I would take her to get whatever she wants!! I would make her anything!! Her doc is not worried he says she is fine and is growing at her own pace. I don't know what 13 kilos is but my 4 yr old daughter weights 25 llbs and she is 37 in tall. She WAS NOT premature. She was 6llbs 11oz. But she just was always extremely small after that. She has NEVER been on the growth chart!

My advise is to just keep up the vitamins. Get her to drink her milk and Juicey Juice. Beyond that I haven't found any solutions myself. I know this isn't much help but just know you arn't alone and that its going to be ok.

Answer 5

Go to another doctor. Your daughter may be spoiled and just pushing buttons for attention, or there may be health issues which have yet to be identified.

Either way, what you're describing isn't healthy, physically or emotionally. If that's all the "help" you're getting from the current doctor, then it's time to switch to another. Ask around and see if you can find a pediatrician who will be more proactive than this to identify the source of the problem and make mealtimes more pleasant and productive for the entire family!

Answer 6

Yes, offer her the meal you have made and if she chooses not to eat dont force the issue. dont give her anything until the next meal tho. By then she will be hungry if shes really stubborn she may make it another meal but I doubt it. Most kids eat once they get hungry enough. Make sure she runs and plays hard each day to develope an appetiite

You can make sure the next "meal" comes not too long after she hasnt eaten a meal!!

Answer 7

We too had this problem, and Doc said he will eat when he is hungry. Guess what he did! Kids get what they need if not, your doctor would be on your @** about not feedin her. It will go away in time, my son is now 4yrs old going on 5 and I cant keep food out of him now.
She will eat if she is hungry, and just in case your still worried about it give her snacks, just put some on a safe plate on the table and watch her run back and forth.

Make it fun mom make it fun!

Answer 8

She might have appitite loss.
One way to cure it is to try and find out what ur daughter likes to eat and always make the food look delicious and appitizing.
U and ur husband can take a bite of the food and say "MMMMMMMMMM, this is good, do u want some, get some before it is finished."
Hope ur daughter eats and ur whole family to be healthy.

P.S. do not tell her that she is short or she is sick or something.
just lure her into eating.

Answer 9

i agree with most of the above posts, same problem, my daughter is 6 nearly seven and is on the lower end of the chart for height and weight but just makes it to healthy.. it worried me for so long but the best advice i heard was from my doctor talking about young children "there has never been a case of a child dying of starvation by their own choice"
If you are worried give them vitamins and healthy choice but dont cater to a fussy eater it could possibly make it worse.

Answer 10

Just don't cater to them too much. My nieces now 8 and 10, wow. They were fussy and catered to. Now, they still hardly eat what's put in front of them. Many times if they come to our house for a get together and food is served, they just eat lettuce (no dressing) and bread.