My dd has become fussy with food.

[MsSparkle]

Over the last couple of weeks my dd has become a very fussy eater. She is 2 on Saturday and has become very testing.

It is mainly at tea time that she refuses things although lunchtime can be a challenge too. She is refusing things that she has always eaten and so has gone without dinner several times over the last week or so.

She doesn't appear to be ill or teething and i am getting to my wits end and running out of ideas.

Has anyone else ever had this and please tell me it was just a phase?

it's a phase.

She is testing how much she can control her environment.

As long as she has plenty of energy (isn't listless or fainting) she's fine, carry on as you were.

My wee guy is doing the same thing (23 months)...He will eat a bit if his toys are fed first but this is sooo boring. He is definately eating less; I am hoping it will just be a phase....You are not alone!!!!!

So will she be ok though if she goes to bed hungry with no dinner?

Yes - does she still have milk at night time? That will do her fine...

If she has had lunch then maybe make sure she has no snacks at all until tea - she might eat a wee bit more then. Works (sometimes) for my small....

And also, if she is hungry, she will perhaps eat a hudeoid breakfast?

No, she hasn't had milk at night for a long time. She has a full beaker of milk for breakfast though.

She rarely ever has snacks. So if she misses tea she won't have eaten from 12/1 ish pm until breakfast.

my 2 year old seems to survive on fresh air, i cook beautiful meals, give her all her favourites, and she eats like a bird..tiny nibbles and then just shouts to get down..despite this shes a normal energetic toddler...much bafflement

Their growth slows down about this age 'tis normal. They also discover an allergy to 'bits'.

Well another nice dinner made and another nice dinner not eaten by my dd. It's over a week now since she had anything to eat at dinner time. It's very frustrating.

This morning my dd only had half a weetabix for breakfast and she hasn't had any lunch. She wouldn't even have the grapes i offered her.

She has been very quiet and clingy this morning too, not her usual self. I have no idea what could be the matter with her.

No advice, but dd is doing this at the moment as well. She completely refused any breakfast yesterday, looking at her toast in complete disgust.

She'll refuse to even try something she loved a few days previously, and just pick up the bowl, shake her head and hand it to me, all the time looking as if I'm trying to poison her.

However, I notice she won't refuse chocolate or biscuits or fruit (thankfully she loves fruit). I completely agree it's a control thins, and I am desperately trying not to make an issue out of it. Am hoping she would never willingly starve!

MrsS

She might be coming down with something but I promise you this is an entirely normal phase, a lot of previously good eaters just go off food after about 18 months. They're discovering their own personalities and tastes and some, like my dd1 who's now 3.8, just aren't that into eating

Persevere. Don't fill her up with snacks between meals. Ask her in advance if she'd like x or y but then don't lose it when she asks for y, you put it on the table and she demands x. Quietly take it away, give her something like fruit or a yoghurt and let her starve until the next meal time. She will not die. She will be fine. It is infuriating and frustrating but at some point she will start eating more again when she has another growth spurt. So long as you're providing her with healthy food you shouldn't beat yourself up (easier said than done, I know)