3 year old not eaten anything in over 24 hours - A&E?

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DS is 3 and I'm really concerned about him tbh. I went into hospital at 33+6 due to reduced movements and a few hours later needed an emergency c section at 34 weeks exactly

He then contracted meningitis and he has hearing loss in one ear as a result, he's extremely speech delayed, I mentioned possible autism but was fobbed off and that he's speech delayed due to his hearing and the fact he was premature but he doesn't talk in sentences and doesn't say many words. He's now 3y 4m

His brother has ADHD and I know it's genetic although they do have different dads but I was constantly fobbed off when he was small too

The biggest thing is he doesn't eat much at all, I give him food and he just leaves it, he's best with lunch as he can have a plate of picky foods next to him while playing and eats through the afternoon but still it's not great
He was still on formula until a few months ago and I know that's bad but at least he was having something and ever since I stopped those bottles I've worried

Thing is he doesn't seem unwell in any way but he hasn’t eaten since yesterday and even then it wasnt much at all. I gave him porridge for breakfast and he ate a few spoonfuls and was done. Lunch was a few crackers and he left the rest on his plate and didn't eat any dinner. He suffers with constitution but did a poo last night and today he's not eaten a thing

We gave him weetabix for breakfast and he showed no interest, my partner tried to spoonfeed him it and he spat most, if not all of it out. He didn’t eat anything off his lunch time plate and refused dinner and just screamed and screamed likely because he’s overtired as he’s not napped either

I feel i should’ve called the GP but it’s too late now, wwyd? would you take to A&E as he can’t tell us what’s wrong either if he is in pain anywhere etc although he doesn’t seem it as he was happily playing/went to the park etc earlier and seems himself just he usually eats more than this even if it isn’t a lot more

Is he drinking? If he is, then I’d not go to A&E. If he’s also not drinking then I’d be concerned about dehydration risk - has he had wet nappies and/or used the potty/toilet?

Have you tried 111 - they will triage you to A&E if they think it's needed?

You need to see your GP tomorrow

Sounds like a GP appt but please call 111 if in doubt

Has he had anything to drink? Will he drink milk? If so give him plenty to drink and see the gp tomorrow.

Doesnt sound like and A&E job yet. Kids often don’t eat when they are unwell and it maybe that he can’t tell you.

sounds a lot like my DS. Just keep offering food but don’t make a big deal of it

If he’s behaving normally apart from not being interested in food, and he’s drinking, the best thing you can do is stop worrying about him, he’ll pick up on this which will make him more anxious and even less inclined to eat. Just carry on offering him food and drink as normal, showing no interest in whether he eats it or not, sit him at the table with you while you eat, chat away about anything except food.
If he’s not eaten by tomorrow after breakfast, get a GP/HV appointment.
It’s not easy, but small children need very little food, and everyone including them, can get very wound up by it. Play the long game, take the pressure off, don’t coax/spoon feed.

As long as hes drinking and urinating, respectfully this isn't an A&E situation. If he appears otherwise healthy, alert etc this isn't an emergency?
By all means contact the GP, but A&E will send you home/will have been wasted time for a genuine emergency.

I should add that children of this age can go through phases of eating very little. We often joke that my son frequently survives on a strawberry and half a piece of toast a day. It can be tricky not to worry but you mention (aside from his unrelated health issues) that he seems well so just keep offering food of different variety little and often and if he nibbles bits here and there that is often a win at age 3.

Dd2 used to go a couple of days without eating at that age. As long as she was drinking I never worried. Try with some milk, fruit juice, an ice lolly or even a can of fizzy if that's a treat.

I usually found with her if I presented it as a treat drink with a straw then she'd drink.

She's made it to adult hood anyway.

What I did with her was leave out snacks. Cucumber, breadsticks, raisins, chopped fruit, and then she'd often have a couple of pieces while she was playing. She was better eating like that than feeling pressure to eat.

I would definitely contact GP as this sounds like a long term issue.

Not A&E. Call your GP tomorrow

What a tough little life he’s had so far, I’m sorry for all his troubles and the worry it must cause you and your dh.

I agree with pps - if he’s still drinking okay and urinating normally, I would contact the GP in the morning but I wouldn’t put him through trauma of a trip to A&E.

Perhaps he has a bit of a tummy ache and he doesn’t feel like eating - would you be able to tell?

I would try and give him a long, warm bath if he likes a bath, and then try and get him to bed and I’d keep a check on his temperature during the night using an ear thermometer just to check he’s doing ok.

One of my dc restricted food intake from age about 5, it started with a lot of fussy eating and yes I used to lose sleep over it.

There’s something primal about a mother’s need to provide nourishment to their children and when that’s denied us, it’s deeply upsetting and confusing and worrying.

My best advice is stay calm, monitor, start a Food Diary in a notebook so you can track what is eaten and drunk but also patterns may emerge eg lack of nap, had a nightmare, over-excited, didn’t get his usual walk in the park, only got to see one episode of Peppa Pig when he wanted to see two, etc.

Just as a side comment....does your other child with ADHD eat ok? My youngest has ADHD and didn't eat much as a baby and child. Never finished a meal and took flippin' ages to get it down. She's always been in the hesthy weight range but at the bottom end. She's just started on meds and is really hungry. Her take on it is that low dopamine in her brain meant she didnt get proper hunger messages. Now she understands proper hunger and is eating 3 proper meals a day for the first time. Luckily she eats healthily and doesnt appear to be putting on weight.

My autistic DS once went 5 weeks without eating anything except a couple of Frubes a day. The GP wasn’t particularly interested, so I don’t think A&E would have done much. We ended up paying to see a dietician privately who gave us some tips, but really we just had to wait until he was ready to start eating again.
I’d make a GP appointment for tomorrow.

Will he eat treat food, like jelly and ice cream? Or chips? If so, maybe try that just to get some calories in. You can worry about healthy eating later, once he’s remembered that food is nice. If you don’t eat for a while, you can lose the hunger sensation and eating something will restart it.

Sorry are you suggesting giving a three year old a can of fizzy pop?!

I would not panic for 24 hours esp if he is drinking.

If he won't take any food/drink in at all, that is concerning.

As it's out of character for him not to eat GP in the morning sounds like a good idea.

OTOH they always say when DC health is concerned if the parent is concerned, they need seeing. Follow your instincts. A child that age with a medical history I think they'd rather you be overcautious than under.

Assuming he's drinking and urinating and okay in himself I'd wait for the GP. But in the meantime I would give him some calpol and see if that gets him eating. He might have a sore throat. Mine used to do similar at that age and then come out with an obvious cold a few days later. But Calpol usually got him eating.

As you're worried, call 111 and ask if there's an out of hours GP service in your area. You may get a call back.

Also start keeping a record of drinking etc.

As others have said, if he's drinking plenty and weeing, I wouldn't worry too much. He might be coming down with something so keep an eye and give calpol if he seems feverish. Ring the GP tomorrow if he's still not eating, but a couple of days without food won't harm him.

If he’s drinking I’d not go to a&e but call the doctor tomorrow.

Separately I’d call them for a thyroid test for him - from the mum of 3 kids with thyroid failure. Makes them very picky with food, constipated, slow growth and development.

Agree with everyone, if he’s having liquids he’s fine, mine went without food for 24 hours albeit she was slightly younger and it was a battle of wills (as in me putting food in front then if they didn’t eat it taking it away again, a bit like a dog!). It worked as I didn’t let them know it was an issue and they were back to normal after about 36 hours, ravenous in fact. Unfortunately 111 default tends to be ED because they want to cover themselves so I’d leave that for a bit.

I wouldn’t worry about the lack of food but I’d be concerned he’s unwell which is why he’s got no appetite.

I don’t want to advise not doing anything as you know your child and I’m not a medical professional but if it was me, I personally would wait until tomorrow.

A&Es are not nice places and he’ll probably be exhausted.

I wouldn’t force him to eat but would offer a plate of yummy picky bits but the biggest thing is that he is drinking.

Milk is great because it has fat and protein in it too so even if he has a couple bottles/glasses of that it will do him a lot of good.

If you’re concerned ring 111 and see what they say.

Can you tempt him with an ice lolly? Juice? squash?

Make sure he drinks

stop offering now as 3 year olds can be tricky control freaks

I'm more concerned as he's quite small for his age so I'm worried about him losing weight as he really needs to gain some

He no longer drinks milk now we have stopped formula which I think is where most of his calories were coming from

He's not drank much, he's had about 3 cups of squash his sippy cup is about 7oz but he usually drinks more. He doesn't seem in pain but he wont sleep presumably because he's hungry but he won't eat it just seems a cycle he's in.

Yep! Well, not a whole can, a small glass with a crazy straw is good.

We had a special goblet which took about 50ml which was our treat glass when needed, and a packet of coloured crazy straws for them to choose from.

As something to help them start eating again if it's a big enough treat helps. Dd (as I do) finds it very hard to start eating/drinking again if she hasn't for a while, so we needed something that was enough of a treat for her to overcome that.

If it stays as a treat then it's fine.

But, you know, my parents acted like you - as though giving fizzy drink was only just down the rung from offering a cigarette, and I drink far too much fizzy now. My dc, who I let have the odd glass from 3yo and didn't worry about restricting it when older are now adults: #1 only drinks water or sometimes an orange juice, #2 drinks an occasional fizzy but mostly not, and #3 does like a fizzy if we're out but would prefer a cup of tea most of the time.
None of them have rotten teeth either.
So I'm very much of the opinion that giving them fizzy as an odd treat may well not do any harm in the long run.