dd 4 won't eat . please help

[tillytup]

after 3 weeks at school eating sandwiches my daughter got a bad cough/cold and went off food. ever since i have day after day where she has only eaten a quarter of a sandwich all day. I have asked the teacher for help and she has watched and said that dd isn't talking all dinner time or doing anything unusual. It's now got to the point where it's taking over an hour to eat a few bites of food and everything i have tried isn't working. she won't even eat her most favourite foods. please can someone help me

has she lost weight at all?

she has started to loose weight. doc says not underweight

well, if she's not underweight then maybe you could try to ride this out longer...if she senses this is an 'issue' for you the stress levels will rise...

would she drink milkshakes or smoothies - you can put all sorts of fruit in those, even include some porridge oats and blend them into it....

My ds always goes off food for quite a while after a virus, and I end up worrying about his diet but it always comes back again. Try not to worry. Will she eat ice cream/rice pud/custard? All good calorific stuff.....

she'll eat sweets and ice cream and biscuits and cakes which is how i know this isn't cos she's been ill. its become a habit and i don't want her eating junk

I don't know how you would feel about this but I was watching a parenting programme one night and it was about a similar situation to yours - the "expert" said that the best thing to do is put breakfast/dinner/tea down in front of child as usual but not to make an issue of it - don't say anything or "eat your dinner" - he said its best not to draw attention to it. If she then does'nt eat and gets from table dont say anything - his theory was that the child will eventually get hungry and later will more than likely ask you for food, when this happens do not give sweets etc.. but heat up dinner and give to little one. I don't know... its a toughy but just one theory....

HI

My dd 4 has had about 3 weeks worth of colds. coughs tummy bugs. She ate very little as you describe for about a week after the last bout of illness. Literally one bite of a sarnie. I was starting to get concerned, and di keep encourageibg her but she just didnt want it.
A week on and we have another cold, but her appetite has returned, and she is stuffing her face. I really think, and will try to remind myself that she just wasn't hungry.
Has your little one eaten any more since your last post?

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