My 2-year old won't eat anything!!?

Question

She eats at daycare I think because all her little friend are at the roundtable so it's more fun. At home, I can only get her to eat pizza and chicken nuggets. Maybe some fruit like bananas, apples, mandarin oranges, peaches. She won't TOUCH veggies.

What to do? She can't eat pizza everday!

Answer 1

I'm glad your two year old knows who's boss...her!

When I was a kid, my mother spoiled me rotten, when it came to food. If I didn't like what the rest of the family was eating, Mom made me something different, usually a hamburger. It was the wrong thing to do, although she did it out of love. I was the pickiest eater you can imagine, but I did grow out of it.

Also, I can't remember when I was two years old, but when I was a little older, if I had been given no choice, I would have eaten what was put in front of me. On those rare occassions when Mom and Dad made me, I ate what I was told.

Two year old children are much too young to be given a choice about what they eat. Be a parent, take charge, and forget the liberal child rearing books you've read; they are nothing but nonsense.

Answer 2

DO NOT WORRY!!!! My son went through a phase where he ate either chicken nuggets or plain pasta for a whole year. I was worried sick and asked the pediatrician what I can do... I tried a lot of things, but nothing helped.

So, if your child eats at her daycare and if she eats pizza and chicken nuggets at home PLUS maybe some fruits once in a while ...I think she is doing fine for a 2 year old.
Just be yourself always a good example and offer healthy stuff to her...One day it will click and she will be eating almost everything.
Talking out of experience.

Answer 3

Give her more options and if you notice what she eats more of offer similiar items. I have a 26month old too 09/20/05 and she is a picky eater, most 2 year olds are. But if you offer her more choices like different juice and snacks and food maybe she'll come along. My daughter is very finnicky about eating she'll eat 2-3 spoons fulls and scream "mommy Im done" and I'll say " you barely ate" and I'll start feeding her myself and she'll eat a little more. Also where does she eat, in a high chair? This could be a factor too because when I let my daughter eat at her little table she eats much more food because of the freedom so try some different approaches and see whats best.

GOOD LUCK!!!GOD BLESS!!!

Answer 4

exposure is important. Sometimes a child will not accept a new food until they have seen it many many times. Start with one serving of a vegetable. Place it on her plate for dinner consistently. Let her see you eat it, offer her a bite, but when she refuses, don't push. Keep offering this same vegetable, every dinner time. It may take weeks, but she will eventually try it. Its important to stick with just one new food at a time. Don't offer carrots one meal, then peas the next. Pick one and stick with it. Everything else on her plate should be familar foods that she likes. If she does take a bite of the vegetable cheer like crazy, make a huge deal and then reward her.
Buy her special plates with her favorite characters, eating needs to stay positive and nonforcefull or you will just end up in a power struggle and she will win. Do fun things with food, let her have her own fun silverware, cut fun shapes into food. It should be fun fun fun. Let her use something wacky as a utensil. I let kids use clean bubble wands or action figures to dip in food and lick off.

Answer 5

Most children will go through stages where it seems as though they have just one favorite food and that is what they want all the time. It is normal and nothing to worry about. At her age, what she eats in a day is not necessarily that important as what she eats in a week. My youngest daughter went through a cucumber and watermelon phase and weighed 26 pounds for 9 months between 2-3 years old. We did go in for monthly weight checks, but our doctor assured us that the chicken and pasta she sometimes ate along with the cucumbers and watermelon plus milk would keep her healthy. The doctor was right. Our daughter made it through that picky phase and picked up on weight gain and is now a perfectly healthy 10 year old. Instead of catering to your daughter's food fetishes all the time, offer her healthy choices at every meal and snack with your goal being to let her eat what she wants. No bribing with favorites if she won't eat her prepared dinner. Just wait 1-2 hours and offer her another meal/snack. Children in the 2-3 year old age bracket actually don't do that much in weight gain and their nutritional needs have changed since the earlier days of fast growth spurts. As far as vegetables, try a variety of types and preparations. Steamed, fresh, stir-fried, canned, or frozen. Try them all. All of my kids loved to eat their veggies frozen (not cooked). Their favorites were frozen corn, peas, beans, and lima beans. Instead of trying to get her to eat, take away the pressure and offer her food, let her choose to eat or not and how much she wants. A child will not starve themselves and will eat when they are hungry. Involve your daughter a bit in preparing food, let her help pour and stir, let her choose sometimes (does she want peaches or apples with her cereal). Sit and eat with her at meals and snacks. It can be very frustrating when chicken nuggets is the only thing on the menu for days on end, but it will get better and she will make it through this stage. Before you know it you'll be in another odd stage that keeps you guessing at your qualifications as a mother.

Answer 6

Will he drink severe high quality drinks? whilst my son (purely 2) isn't eating properly I make a fruit smoothie and he many times drinks it, a minimum of then i understand he's getting food in his tummy. opposite psychology works each and every from time to time - "no, you could no longer have that, that's mummy's food / you're too little / you will no longer like it" - he falls for that one fairly in many circumstances! we've additionally discovered that leaving the room so he does not have an objective audience facilitates, he's often worse whilst there are individuals around. needless to say, each and every from time to time none of those artwork, and we parent that if he grew to become into hungry he'd consume, so he gets a drink of water (no treats!) and is going to mattress effective, and is many times starving in the morning! sturdy success and don't subject too lots, he will strengthen out of it, and if he's something like my son the greater of a controversy you're making of it the greater he will refuse, you purely might desire to permit him think of it does not hardship you the two way. If he's purely enjoying the obdurate game as i think, depart some finger food in yet another room for him, I wager he will snack away at it, he will think of he's prevailing!

Answer 7

My son is 2 yrs old too. And I have learned that they go through eating and then not eating. Something that I gave him last week he won't even touch this week.

My girlfriend told me that to always give Valry of food in small portions because their little body knows what it needs. You can test this because I have. I gave him the same choices of food for 1 week for dinner and each night he eat something different.

Also I would ask what she is eating at daycare and when so you can judge her taste. And when it comes to vegges try to cook it differently try steamed or steamed alittle more or less, try to add it to something like stir fry, try it raw, try it with dip like cheese or ranch, maybe ketcup. It is amazing what they eat. Even try vegges that you normally would not eat. I got a veggie box and it comes with different stuff sometimes and last week there was turnips in them. I didn't even know what to do with turnips so I added them to a salad raw one night and he love them and then to a soup the next and he wanted the soup for breakfast the next day.

And last before I forget sometimes they eat like a bird and sometimes you wonder where it goes. I sure do.

Good luck and don't give up on giving her vegges you would be surprised how many people do. My husband always tells me that we should feed him good now while we still have control over what he eats.

Answer 8

My son is almost 21 months olds. It seems to help my son eat better if we stab the food with the fork and he shovels it in. Also we start dinner at the table, but the little wiggle worm doesn't stay seated long. It's not that he is done eating, its just that his attention span is so short. We let him down but, continue to feed him bites and remind him that he still has food on his plate. Sometimes I will just move his plate to the coffee table. Then he can pick at it as he does his thing.

Answer 9

Don't worry about it. My 4 year old was the same way when she was that young. Toddlers are very picky eaters. All I did was offer her what I knew she would eat. Then I slowly started having her "try" things that I thought she might like. My daughter is still a picky eater, but she will always humor me and try new things. Once she's tasted it and knows she likes it, she'll eat it again. Just be patient, she'll come around.

Answer 10

Most kids go through the "not eating stage" Give it time, if she is hungry she will eat. She won't starve. It is worrisome. My little girl doesn't like veggies either but she LOVES noodles and broccoli. Try different things, and try not to stress too much. Ask her Pediatrician what he/she thinks about it, and she might be able to give you some alternatives. Good Luck!