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Original poster

To not give my 2 year old dinner

133 replies

RalphLaurenLover · 27/02/2014 18:22

So my 2 year old DS has recently decided he doesn't want dinner unless it's mac and cheese or chicken nuggets Hmm he refuses to eat chips,cucumber, corn, carrots etc.

For the last couple of days he'll love his breakfast love his lunch and his snacks in between but suddenly hates dinner. He sits there pushing the plate away not even trying a bit and screaming at it. I've left him there for half an hour and he just screamed, kicked and pushed it as far away as he could to the point where he was falling asleep (15 minutes late for bed) so I put him in bed.

His eating routine is

has breakfast when he gets up at 10 usually toast with butter and jam

Piece of fruit around 11

Lunch around 12:30-1:30 usually a sanwhich, crisp, cucumber and a piece or two of fruit

Piece of fruit again or a biscuit around 3

Then dinner it's this he has his bath at 4:45-5 then dinner around 5:30 and bed at 6

I'm not prepared to play this game with him cause he's two Hmm however I'm not prepared to make him chicken nuggets and chips so he can just eat the chicken nuggets and leave the rest

Please tell me this is a phase my brother is a 20 year old who will only eat plain pizza, sausages/chicken nuggets/burgers and chips everything processed and frozen and nothing heathy or fruit & veg. I'll be dead before I let him live like that

Helppppp

OP posts:
IneedAwittierNickname · 27/02/2014 20:01

wonderingteacher I have a friend who did that. I don't know how easy the habit was to break though (child is now 7 and in school) as she lost custody of her when ss got involved.

(there was more to the case than bedtimes.btw)

CharlesRyder · 27/02/2014 20:01

Although, re-reading your op, both at home and at pre-school DS has access to vegetables and fruit at will and eats a lot of both. Something you could consider.

Original poster
RalphLaurenLover · 27/02/2014 20:03

DS doesn't go to preschool.

He's doing his first play group tomorrow

OP posts:
paxtecum · 27/02/2014 20:26

My DGC slept 16 hours when toddlers.
It was found that they had a dairy intolerance.
They slept far less when it was removed from their diet.

IdRatherPlayHereWithAllTheMadM · 27/02/2014 20:33

Not read thread but I had a tricky eater.
Under no circs would I turn food into any sort of battle, thats a route to nowhere. I would stop that immedialty.

As others said can you make nice chicken nuggets yourself, or become much more creative and try lots of different things. there are healthy versions of nearly everything...add things like mayo, cream cheese, ketchip to healthy stuff

If your worried about his weight I would feed him things he likes and similar, they do go through lots of phases, one day love J pot, next day hate it.

IdRatherPlayHereWithAllTheMadM · 27/02/2014 20:35

BTW mine is asleep at 8pm, wakes in night, twice briefly, up at 6am, sharp, naps at 11.30 to 1.30.

Stevie77 · 27/02/2014 20:40

When you're seeing the doctor, also ask for a vitamin D blood test which is also linked to tiredness& paleness. You'll probably need to insist on the blood tests, as most GPs are difficult referring.

Also, with my DD who was often tired, slept a lot (always been a good sleeper), her blood tests came back 'normal' but when I asked to see copies of the results I saw her iron levels were at the very low end of the scale. They were within range but borderline. I started giving her a supplement called Feroglobin which you can buy OTC and that helped a lot.

Then, to reiterate other posters, I think you need to address his body clock and routine; slowly wake him up earlier, introduce a daytime nap and bath after dinner. Only then you could assess his eating properly and look at introducing more iron rich foods - red meat, pulses, raisins etc.

Good luck!

Original poster
RalphLaurenLover · 27/02/2014 20:50

I will defiantly look into changing his routine. However I doubt I'll give him a nap he hasn't done that since he was about 1

OP posts:
BirthdayMuppet · 27/02/2014 20:57

I agree with the others, the issue is not with his eating but with his sleeping. Most children of his age would be up around 7ish and then have an hour to 90 minute nap early in the afternoon, resulting in at least another two to three hours awake time during the day. I really do think you need to get that sorted out first - sleeping sixteen straight hours is not the norm at his age. I suspect he doesn't eat dinner other than his favourites because he's simply not all that hungry - how could he be if he's eating around every 90 minutes through the day according to your rough timetable? I suspect it's a viscious circle - he's not eating because he's not hungry, he's not hungry because he's grazing and sleeping too much, and he's sleeping too much because he's not not got enough energy because he's not eating.

Paintingrainbowskies · 27/02/2014 21:00

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1780660057

This book is fab for giving you confidence that children don't need as much food as we often think and how to avoid battles over food.

My 2.5 yo sleeps 7.30pm to 7am but has a 2.5-3 hour nap still.

hippo123 · 27/02/2014 22:14

To be honest I think I would be taking him to a gp, explaining his diet. I really don't think a 2 year old should be sleeping for that long.

miserablemoo · 27/02/2014 22:42

I agree. I think he needs to be getting up earlier. Also look at how much he is drinking and when. Children can have too much to drink and it fills them up. I would also give him his tea, then bath and bed.

Also some days they are less hungry than others. Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

Original poster
RalphLaurenLover · 28/02/2014 02:27

He will only drink milk full fat and must have at least 4 8oz toddler cups a day

OP posts:
MiscellaneousAssortment · 28/02/2014 03:35

Maybe cut the milk down?

If the gp can't find anything wrong, I'd just relax about the sleep, it must be nice to have a bit of morning to yourself! But obviously not if it's a sign of being poorly, do get him thoroughly checked out.

Theres plenty of time to get him into a earlier routine for nursery etc, if you're happy with the way things are I wouldn't be moving it all around for something that isn't happening yet!

Original poster
RalphLaurenLover · 28/02/2014 03:57

He won't drink anything else though so I worries me lol

Tbh it's lovely having the morning/night to myself especially on them days when he's playing up and being grumpy.

If he's all okay at the gp I'll chalk it up to him loving his sleep like his mummy lol

OP posts:
MadIsTheNewNormal · 28/02/2014 04:34

The only think I have to say about this: you have a two year old who gets up at 10am? ShockShockShock

ipswichwitch · 28/02/2014 05:56

Re the anaemia, just pull his lower eyelid down slightly. It should be a red colour.. If it looks pale that can be a sign of anaemia. At 10mo DS1 was right off his food (would literally sit and scream at it) and tired a lot. After a lot of insisting we finally got the Gp to refer to the children's ward for bloods (the hv even had to ring the surgery and persuade the Gp). Turned out he was so anaemic he was borderline for blood transfusion, it was only the fact he was as active as he was that they decided to give sytron ( liquid iron). He responded very well, appetite improved too. Aparently he didn't have any iron stores at birth and wasn't getting enough via bf (I was anaemic too ).
It's worth getting checked even if for peace of mind but you will have to insist as the gps are very reluctant to do this.

olympicsrock · 28/02/2014 06:18

I agree with other posters. Maybe get a gro clock to try and regulate his waking time. Cut out some of the fruit and milk drinks.
Find a playgroup with lots of space for running him ragged and move main meal to lunchtime. The bath before tea is probably making him sleepy. Tea could be fairly snacky.
I have a 2 year old - who would not touch some of the healthy suggestions that i have repeatly offered. My son like chicken nuggets fish fingers and sausages and doesn't do well with much else unless he's very hungry. We make cornflake chicken and salmon which at least has less salt and sugar -see Annabel carmel. Looks just like chicken nuggets.

jamtoast12 · 28/02/2014 07:09

In order to keep him awake longer through the day you may need to reconsider a nap for him in the afternoon. That would be much better than only being awake for only 8 hours. I know its hard when you are used to having more time to yourself but my dn had a routine like this and dsil never addressed it and all her kids are permanently run down, I'll, tired etc purely due to either too much sleep or habit. My sil as a 30yr old adult has a nap in the afternoon every day as she always has done so constantly gets tired around 5pm Shock Sometimes your body just gets used to something even if it can last longer!

As a side note, how do you manage people visiting him who work, namely his dad (if involved of course) or family and friends given he is only awake for the working day? Genuine question, not being sarcastic!

ilovepowerhoop · 28/02/2014 07:58

32oz of milk is far too much, no wonder he isnt hungry. They need around 300mls of milk from age 1 which is around 10/11oz. Having any more than about 1 pint (20oz) can put them off their food. I would cut down on the milk, cut down on sleep and try not to fit so much food into a short space of time. Get his iron/vitamin D levels checked too.

DrewsWife · 28/02/2014 08:03

Reading with interest. I used to have a toddler who slept so long. To the point it concerned me. She would sleep 6-6 then nap for 3 hours every afternoon. Sometimes dead to the world. I actually banged a pot with a spoon near her when health visitor was in.

She was later diagnosed with a food intolerance. And when we altered her diet to no processed foods she was more normal.

She is now 18. Sadly has arthritis and sleeps a lot because of that but apart from the arthritis is healthy Grin

thegreylady · 28/02/2014 08:06

Bit of a dissenting voice here as I would give him one thing he will eat every night and gradually introduce new things. It doesn't matter if he never eats chips tbh. He has a lot of healthy food in the day so if he has mac cheese or a sausage and bread and butter for tea that is fine.

gamerchick · 28/02/2014 08:08

I probably would get him seen too.

That is a lot of milk but i'm torn because he's going for 16 hours in 24 without a drink... that would really worry me.

ExcuseTypos · 28/02/2014 08:09

I agree that the milk will be filling him up. No wonder he doesn't want anymore food by teatime.

Cut down on milk, offer water- he will drink it if he's thirsty and also he will get water from food-especially fruit.

See if that makes him have more of an appetite.

pigsinmud · 28/02/2014 08:17

That is a lot of milk. If he is only awake for 8 hours then you can't expect him to eat 3 meals and snacks in that time. Why does he need fruit an hour after breakfast?

I have a couple of fussy eaters. Ds2 (13) and is getting slightly better, but still not good! As others said I wouldn't turn it in to a battle ground. I try to be really relaxed around food.