nearly 2.5 and hardly eating a thing

[booboobunny]

i eel sure this is a developmental/control thing but would welcome advice.

my dd has been a pretty good eater in general, but over a period of the last say 2 months has gradually started to refuse to eat first her lunch and then her dinner. she picks and will eat a tiny bit if she sits there lon enough but never clears her plate like in the good old days!

i always comforted myself that she eats a good breakfast but in the last week she's started showin signs of not wanting that either and now leaves bits and pieces.

i haven't pushed it as i suspect this will harden her resolve not to eat but don't really know if this is right?

she will happily eat between meals if offered something she fancies, but i'm torn between possibly spoiling her appeatite for her tea and feeling reassured that she's at least eating something.

can anyone advise?

DD is similar... then some nights she clears her plate. I think they slow down growing a bit at this point, then have spurts.

I've recently started offering very small portions, or letting her serve herself and take as much (or as little) as she wants.

I offer snacks like oatcakes and bits of cheese. Over the course of a week she eats plenty for a small person.

It's infuriating though!

Ds is similar too. He eats much better at nursery (peer pressure is a wonderful thing!) but I panic when he's off - two whole weeks off at xmas, wonder how we'll get on! I leave little piles of food around for him, he still likes his milk and will eat bits but you can never predict what he'll eat (except crisps and chocolate of course but he doesn't get those very often!). I figure not to worry if he's eating bits and drinking his milk. I think you're right not to get into battles about it. I wouldn't worry too much as long as she's developing ok and not losing lots of weight. Good luck!