DS, 8 yo doesnt eat much

[CagedRaven]

Hi all,

Just looking for opinions. DS aged 8 used to be such a good eater. In the past couple of years he has become very fussy with food and will only eat certain meals (pizza, burgers, spaghetti bolognese) and its hit or miss whether he will eat anything else I make.

Recently it has got to the point where if he doesnt like his food he will not even try it. I'm not concerned about his weight as although he is slim, he is heavy.

I've noticed he has started leaving most of his lunch at school and I dont give him a lot to begin with and I only give him what he asks for and I know he likes. It's really not a lot. A cheese wrap, a satsuma, a biscuit of some sort and a yoghurt. He says he doesnt have enough time at lunch to eat it all.

I'm at the end of my tether. I work ft and single parent so I dont have time to make separate meals for me, his older sibling and him.

Tonight I made beef stew and dumplings, he turned his nose up at it, I had to bribe him to eat his veg then i said if he doesnt eat it, he cant have supper.

I usually give supper every might but i am so sick of wasting food I stuck to my guns and sent him to bed without. Now he is complaining he is hungry.

Can anyone help or offer advise.

Thank you for the reply Berry.

Tomorrow is a new day, he can have his favourite spag bol for tea, he eats good amounts of that and I can stick tons of chopped veg in too.

I read up on ARFID thank you and agree some of his issues are sensory ones, older child is similar like that but will at least try new foods and is less fussy.

I did curtail the chocolate weetabix some time ago but surprise surprise, ds went to bed without having anything for supper so I'm at a loss on that one. I want him to eat. I want him to eat a variety of foods. I want him to eat healthily. He is definitely not underweight, he is healthy and although slim he is heavy to lift and he is tall for his age too. His weight doesnt concern me, it's more his diet.

You need to change what supper is. I'd only offer fruit, veg, yogurt or toast. Maybe a "boring" cereal. Avoid the chocolate.

Try to get him involved in cooking and helping. Give him options, or at least make him think he has some control. For example: tonight we can have spag bol or chilli with rice.

Would he eat school lunch? My daughter wouldn't eat packed lunch as she too said they don't have enough time. It's even worse now she's in secondary school! The lunch break is shorter and with 3,000 kids to feed often they run out of food.

He is fussy with school lunches, only like certain days where x will be on the menu.

I dont know why they make lunch so short at school. It annoys me becuase everything in his lunch box, he has asked for and I'm happy to give it. Yet he doesnt get time to eat and enjoy it.

Fruit or toast at supper it is from now on.

I think it's understandable that he won't eat his dinner if he knows there's chocolate brioche or something for supper.

It is normal not to eat at lunch at this age, they want to socialise.

This whole thread reads, really, like food control issues.

If you offer only good food, and give the child power to choose, a lot of issues fall away. But many parents can't do this, because they can't relinquish control sufficiently to try a new approach.

As an aside, it is necessary to weigh a child sometimes (not often), to make sure they are not getting too thin.