How to help a child who just won't eat much?

Question

My daughter will be turning two in just a few months and up until she turned about 18 months she used to be a wonderful eater. Now however she won't eat much at all! She'll either take two bites of things i give her or feeds the food to the dogs. I've tried alot of different foods but she acts the same way towards all of it. . I also tried pediasure and she refuses to drink it. I don't know if its because she is just to busy to eat or what but even giving her things in little containers to carry with her ends up on the floor for the dogs. Please help i am really worried!

Answer 1

hello! great question!!
you are doing everything you can to assure your angel is growing healthy from what you have put in here...

I can not really add too much, I think... but;

I would keep offering the pediasure and vitamins.... just in case.. for my daughter, she's four, I offer them whipped up in a milkshake style... might work sometimes?

break the meals into the smaller five meals a day....
ask her to help you make her something for the meals... my daughter was refusing "dinner" she did not care what it was... but just did not want dinner.... so, I started letting her help... now she is so excited about it when she gets to help that she works up an appetite....

the chicken dinosaurs are a godsend... I do not know many children who do not come into my home too fussy to eat anything... who fill up quick on them...lol.. the kids used to make it more fun with those colored ketchups... haven't seen them in a while though.... hmm...

offering a variety is always good.. I know old school logic is offer what you are having whether they like it or not... but what's the point? it ends up wasted, turns into a battle that puts it to either the child feels slighted or the "adult" loses and child wins? not much sense in spending our precious little time fighting, from my point.....

and remember that rule of thumb... the size of her stomach is the size of her fist.... except for during growth spurts and when she is more active than usual... she won't be eating much more than a small portion....

for the dogs.. I have two puppies her... yay... I love birthdays... I have gotten a new animal every year.... oh boy... I cringe to think what is next? but.. that is not your question... I have started leashing and putting the puppies in sit stay on their beds during meals... It means I do not get to enjoy the time as much... but they are learning... the kids, babies, toddlers and husband are not so quick to learn.. they keep trying to feed them at the table...

the toddlers learn faster and are teaching daddy and baby that it is not healthy (healfy as they say) to feed puppy people food.... just gentle reminders whenever the puppy tries to snatch it... or they try and feed them.... and then I let them give the puppies a treat each, after they clear their plates.. so far, it is working some...

they really do eat when hungry.....

as mommy, I know we tend to worry over everything.... but they will only have this age once with you... go and take a break from worrying and laugh with your angel.... go make jello, pudding... or some other treat like pediasure milkshakes with her.... and giggle a whole lot..... :)

thanks for listening to me here
hope I was able to assist you
good luck

Answer 2

I have a 4 yr old who is the same way. His doctor told me not to worry about it to much and that they are actually getting the food they need.

As a mother, I know that not worring is impossible. So here are a few tricks that I use! Make eating fun instead of a chore, a few of the techinques I have used are......Eat like a dinosaur (or there favorite animal of the day), Take turns taking a bite, Make it a race (keep the pace slow so not to choke) , and I used a techinque that was suggested in a parenting book our pediatrician recommended Magic 123 ....It suggests that you place an egg timer on the table and tell them if they eat there food before it goes off they get a surprise. This award for doing a good job can be anything from desert to a penny for the piggy bank or a sticker.

Now rather that works for the picky eating or not ,I would recomend getting some vitamins... Spongebob or The flintstones are my sons favorites, You can give it as the reward for eating or can pretend it is candy. Just make sure to put them where there little hands can not get ahold of them. They can actually make themselves sick on to many of them. Just one a day and then put away!!!!! Hope this helps!!!!!

Answer 3

I don't have kids, but I do have lots of cousins (second oldest of 12, remember births and childhood of 8 of them, ranging now from 2-18). We had a few picky eaters among them, including my little brother. My brother was basically a hold out. He "disliked" everything put in front of him until he was hungry. Then he would eat what mom and dad gave him, which usually was his plate from dinner. One cousin was and still is at 16 an extremely picky eater. At the age of 3, she once went 2 days without food because she wanted a pop tart. Her mom didn't back down but did get her to eat chicken nuggets before giving here the pop tart for dessert. To this day, there are still foods she doesn't like, even though she has tried them several times throughout the years (mashed potatoes being one of them).
Remember that kids her age don't eat a lot of food, sometimes a few bites is what it takes to satisfy them. Offer her food only at meal times or when she's hungry. Don't let her carry food around, it makes food more of a toy or instant entertainment for her (dogs and food are funny to her, right?). Find a core group of foods she does like and build on those foods. From what I remember with all my cousins, it takes a while to introduce "new" solid foods and get the kids to accept them, even if they ate the baby food version. The kids always stayed at the table with the adults so they could see them eating the "new" foods and enjoying them ("I like these "whatevers" sooooo much...mmmmm, good!").
I agree with what the lady said earlier, talk to your pediatrician and as long as your daughter isn't losing weight or getting dehydrated, don't worry so much. She may just be eating the amount of food that's right for her, so offer her good food choices and keep a watch on her. Chances are excellent that she'll grow out of not eating much when her next growth spurt hits.

Answer 4

She probably thinks it is fun to feed the dogs. My daughter is now 3 and she refuses to eat as well. My doctor said to give her a vitamin and that she'll eat when she's hungry. I have cut out all sweets and sugar juices/drinks because that fills her up and then she definitely will not eat. Try to cut foods up in tiny pieces or feed her nutritious foods that she really likes. Thankfully one of her favorites is broccoli. I feel sorry for my daughter sometimes because I think she's starving!

Answer 5

My son went through the same sort of thing. I noticed that it was usually just before he went through a growth spurt. He would eat like a machine and then almost not eat anything for a week or two, then he would grow an inch almost overnight, then go right back into the eating machine mode. I think it is normal and don't worry about it, stop trying to force food into her, she'll eat what and when she needs to

Answer 6

This is pretty typical.

Make the foods more attractive, it may be a visual thing.

Consider it may be a growth spurt.

Try letting her help a little with safe dinner prep! Kids love to eat what they make.

Be sure she gets a daily vitamin, be it the gummy kind (you usually need 2 a day of those) or liquid hid in juice or whatever.

Try lots of different foods. Pasta can be fixed with parmesan on top, butter and veggies, alfredo, red sauce, just hmbg mixed in.

Try rice, mix in canned soups! My kids LOVE bean soup mixed into almost a paste, very little water. I cook the rice, then add the canned soup, then mix in water slowly. Try pea soup. Vegetable soup. Get like 10 different soups. You may be shocked she loves pea or clam chowder!

DO NOT give her sweets. Don't even BUY them if you can't hide them from her. Lets say she is going to eat 20 bites of food a day. That is her thing right now. If she eats 7 of them in a candy bar or sweetened cereal...kwim?

Consider muffins, fresh fruits, canned fruits, jello with fruit, peanut butter (so good for kids) toast or my kids LOVE peanut butter on nutrigrain waffles! Ohmygosh, they love it. Or they will eat a waffle plain, no syrup, like a piece of toast.

Try milk with ovaltine or carnation instant breakfast! Or make a smoothie with fruit and oj.

Good luck mom.

Answer 7

They all go through it! I have 3. Sometimes you wonder how they survive. You can't force them to eat. This could cause weight problems in the future. If you are worried-try a kid vitamin. Mine would eat a lot for a month-and then it just seemed like they would only eat a bite or two at each meal. All my kids are healthy-just don't resort to junk food or sweets. If they are hungry-they will eat.

Answer 8

Mother of two, grandmother of three! You are worrying too much, she will eat when she is hungry and she has just come out of a growing spurt so she doesn't need as much to eat. She will hit another growing spurt just about the time she turns 3 and she will start eating a lot again. By the way, don't keep giving her different things, she will get the idea you are here just to make her the kinds of foods she likes. Give her a plate of whatever you have made for dinner, let her eat what she wants and don't force her to eat anymore, but make it clear that she doesn't get anything other than what is for dinner.

Answer 9

What your daughter is doing is perfectly normal for her age. 2 yr. olds love to test limits. Some of the only things they can control are eating and toilet training. As long as she is not losing a lot of weight and stays hydrated, ride it out. Offer her a variety of foods and if there is one thing that she will eat, offer it at every meal (unless its candy!). She will eat when she's hungry. Good luck!

Answer 10

I wouldn't worry at all. I have four kids and they all go thru stages of eating and not eating. I've noticed that its related to growth spurts. When they don't eat as much, it's just their bodies way of telling them they need less calories. When they need more food, its because the body is about to have a growth spurt. Keep healthy foods on hand and keep offering her foods but I wouldn't try to force anything on her. I think kids are smarter about eating than we adults are. They listen to their bodies...I type that as I sit here munching on popcorn..lol