3 year old won't eat well

[Generalpost]

My Gs is 3.5 years he is behide on his development. And is waiting assessments.

Dd is telling me he does not eat unless its crap. Such as crisps /biscuit/cake. So we are talking proper crap. If she tries to give him better food he gos mad screaming stamping on the food throwing it etc. Dd thinks he's going to starve himself. I have told dd that won't happen . Even if he gos 24hrs without food he won't starve himself if he's truly hungry he will eat. But at first he will try it on.

We want to try and make food a positive thing for him. Any ideas what we could do ?

They have both been through a really hard time of domestic violence so things have slipped a bit . But she wants to to get back on track.

Under these circumstances I would just focus on whatever he will eat - nuggets, pizza, whatever. Then slowly add stuff/remove stuff. Eg fewer nuggets on the plate but add carrot sticks or cucumber cherry tomatoes. Rubbish meals but good snacks - sausage roll for lunch, apple or banana for snacks. Take an overall view x

@TooMinty

Under these circumstances I would just focus on whatever he will eat - nuggets, pizza, whatever. Then slowly add stuff/remove stuff. Eg fewer nuggets on the plate but add carrot sticks or cucumber cherry tomatoes. Rubbish meals but good snacks - sausage roll for lunch, apple or banana for snacks. Take an overall view x

He won't even eat them things you mentioned. It is literally cakes sweets etc. I just need to reassure dd that gs is not going to starve himself

I think children can starve themselves. I had a really bad water and she really would refuse to eat. Even as a baby she was breastfed. She wouldn't take a bottle or cup. I had to leave her for a day she refused all attempts at feeding her expressed, formula or solids. She didn't really improve until she was about 3 but really wouldn't eat stuff beyond her comfort zone.

What is he being assessed for? If its autism, autistic children often do starve themselves and have very restricted diets. I have a DS like that and he got down to a BMI of the 4th percentile and the doctor said they would need to intervene if he got any lower and we had to get his weight up using anything he would eat which was mainly crisps / biscuits and fruit.

It maybe worth your daughter when she is up to it taking him to a doctor and getting referred to a specialist. We have to introduce foods one at a time and not put any pressure - my DS prefers food not to touch so leaving bowls around of different foods in grabbing distance can help - like a bowl with fruit in, a bowl with crisps in, a bowl with carrots in, a bowl with broccoli in, a bowl with biscuits in, a bowl with something like chicken nuggets or little sausages in, some breadsticks. Put them where he goes so if he says lays on the sofa and watches TV the coffee table inbetween. Don't say anything but see what has gone.

My DS now eats peas, broccoli, carrots, all meats, bread, breadsticks, fish fingers, baked beans, sausages, chicken nuggets, all fruit, yoghurt but if he has special needs and given he's had a traumatic few years it will take time and the most important thing is he eats more than what he eats. I would give a vitamin supplement until he improves.

We have some plates with separate compartments which are good for kids who don't like food touching. I think we got them on Amazon.

As for starving himself, it really depends if he is "just" having a tantrum or if he has a condition like autism - hopefully the GP can help your daughter get support.

Even if he doesn't have any underlying conditions, it sounds like he's had a really tough time recently so I would still be inclined to cut a lot of slack and not make food a battle.

If you put a digestive biscuit, some ham and some carrot sticks out like pp said. If he starts eating them that's getting close to a balanced meal.