2 year old refusing meals

[Moonshine160]

Two weeks ago my DS was poorly with a cold and went off his food. He’s fine now but is still eating very little and it makes me worried that he’s not getting what he needs. He will eat two or three spoonfuls of his dinner then announce he’s done, or that he wants something else like an oaty bar or some grapes, and he keeps demanding milk frequently. His behaviour generally has been quite challenging lately especially when he doesn’t get his own way. I obviously tell him that he can’t have the snacks instead of his dinner but it still doesn’t encourage him to eat it so then I worry that he must be hungry! Any advice? Thanks.

Is he still feeling poorly or could his back teeth be coming through.

I'd try him with a dose of Calpol about half an hour before his meal to see if that helps him.

I wouldn't drug baby just to see. Calpol is for fever.

Anyways. Not hungry - don't eat. He won't starve. My 2yo was the same (norovirus for about 7 days) and I gave him whatever he asked for (a lot of tea, biscuits etc). I gave him snacks instead of food, and he is now back on normal food as well. He will go back to his food once he feels better, I would not make it a struggle.

Agree, I think if you make this into a fight it will become a whole bigger deal. He might still be a bit under the weather, give it a bit of time.

If it helps, my DD often announces she's done when she clearly can't be full so we sit there and have a chat and quite often she will finish her dinner. She doesn't always so I don't make a big deal out of it and she still gets desert, I wonder sometimes if she's just testing the waters to see what might happen.

Thanks everyone for all your advice. He has eaten fine at my mums today and he ate well at the childminders last week, it seems to be more of a behavioural thing at home rather than because he’s still poorly. Tonight we sat down to eat dinner and he announced he was done before even trying it and kept shouting that he wanted chocolate and biscuits and kept saying eewwww at his meal. I didn’t give in to the demands because his dinner was food he would usually like but he still wouldn’t touch it or than a nibble of some cauliflower cheese. It worries me that he must be hungry. Should I be offering him alternatives?

Oh this is such a difficult one, I know some people do. I don't (which makes me feel so mean) but try to calmly say: you don't have to eat it but there's nothing else for dinner so you might be a bit hungry later and leave it at that.

I think there's a developmental leap around now about food so hang in there I would say. I'll see if I can find the Sarah Ockwell Smith Instagram post about it for you

Here you go:

www.instagram.com/p/CQvL58_sPEh/?utm_medium=copy_link

It's a hard one I think, I do offer alternatives but only what is in the fridge. No extra hassle or extra cooking from me. I open the fridge, point to thinks and ask. If the answer is always "cookies" then depending on what he ate throughout the day I do give hi a cookie, or not. Usually I do, then I offer some veg or fruit and he'll just eat anything that I put in front of him, but I try to make it easy. You want something, unless it's completely unacceptable, here you are.

If he is "done" before he even starts, I'd make him sit through the dinner very calmly, asking if he wants this or that and if the answer is the classic toddler "NO!" then OK mate, suit yourself.