Two year old has "gone off" his food and won't eat

[MotherGoooose]

For the past two days DS has refused to eat his lunch or dinner, showing no interest in food at all.

He will have some of his breakfast but rejects any other food throughout the day.

No temperature and visibly happy in himself.

I've booked a GP appointment because this is unusual for him, should I be concerned? I am.

It’s a phase. If he’s fine otherwise please don’t waste the GP’s time with this.

Sore throat?

Otherwise yes a phase, he'll come back to it when he's ready.

I did wonder if I was wasting GP's time after I booked the appointment, but my concern is he's virtually starving himself

No visible sign of a sore throat

Does he drink milk? It’s only been 2 days- he isn’t starving and will eat when he’s hungry

He won’t starve himself in 2 days especially if he’s eating breakfast. I really wouldn’t waste a GPs time with this. Offer grazing snacks/meals you know he likes but otherwise don’t worry I’m sure his appetite will pick back up!

Someone told me once to look at a weeks intake of food. To see that it evens out.

It really reassured me, some days mine thunders through all food, other days he could take or leave it:

Thanks all, I think I should probably cancel the appointment. I'll keep an eye on him and offer more snacks etc.

He doesn't like milk anymore but he's drinking water and juice.

I was probably bring a bit hysterical making a GP appointment after two days

DS almost 2yrs has done the same. He's been teething, so that might also be another thing? It's molars coming through and will eat pasta or soft foods but anything else he'll barely touch. It's definitely a phase for him.

Hopefully your DS will be back to normal soon

Another vote here for molars coming through. They can take quite a while and my two found them very sore. What does he eat for breakfast? Maybe you could make something with a similar texture for another meal to see if it is hurting his gums?

Good point RE molars coming through, entirely possible.

He has porridge and toast for breakfast, he's huge for his age with a voracious appetite (usually)

I'll make something soft for lunch tomorrow and see how he gets on

Ignore and definitely cancel the GP appointment.

I'm amazed this is the first time you have had a hunger strike. Mine have them all the time, they don't usually last more than a week or so. Usually yo do with teeth or a development spurt.

At this age eating is about the only thing they have full control over. It's a normal part of development. Don't worry.

Agree, I'm sure it's fine.

I understand and relate to the worry! We have a food refuser here (and she's also a skinny minnie, though exactly the same shape as her mum and aunt at the same age), and I often get anxious.

However, I've realised in the last few months (she's 2.5 now) that when she refuses food she is just as cheerful and energetic as when she's being a pig and scoffing it down/demanding more.

I agree with other posters that I think being able to control food is a huge motivation for them.

My 2 year old DD is doing this recently. She used to be a fantastic eater. Now she goes through phases where she barely eats anything one day and eats loads the next. I just roll with it, and as she’s also huge I don’t worry too much about it. She does love milk though so I just increase that if she hasn’t eaten much. I just spotted the tip of a molar the other day so I’m hoping it’s teeth related and she’ll go back to normal soon