Advice on 2.4yo not eating dinner. WWYD?

[littleboyblue]

Ds1 is 2.4 years old. He has been in the dinner refusnik phase for quite a while now. He will eat dinner if it's fish fingers and potato waffles, but won't show interest in much else.
If he doesn't even attempt to eat anything or even try it, should I leave it and tell him there will be nothing until the next meal time or give him his fruit as normal?

His diet doesn't sound too terrible - cereal, yoghurt and banana for breakfast, cheese and crackers for lunch, maybe more fruit as a snack is all healthy stuff.

I'd just serve normal healthy dinners, and make no comment at all about whether he eats or not. If he's a good weight and seems fine then don't worry.

I wouldn't tolerate throwing his plate on the floor though.

Thanks Missus I like to sit him in the naughty corner when he throws his food around, but dp wants him to pick it all up first, he doesn't seems to see that that is another battle of wills that we can avoid

It can be worth keeping a food diary, so that you have a clearer picture of what he does eat, at what time. Everything must go on the diary (this helps to show any snacks between meals).

Children's stomachs are quite small. Take his hand and make it into a fist. That's about the size of his stomach. Worth keeping in mind if you are ever concerned about how much he is eating.

Presentation can make a difference, use a variety of colours of food if possible. Some children don't like different food touching each other, others like things all mashed together. Try different things. Make portions of food very small at first... such as a teaspoon full, especially when trying things he hasn't had before, or has refused before.

Thanks nannynick I did the whole food diary thing for the hv when I discussed my concerns with her and she said it was all fine and said similar to you re stomach size etc.
I think I have been giving too large a portion for meals so will try smaller.

Thank you all for your help

Oh Lord, he eats a brill lunch. I wouldn't worry about his dinner too much then. I would just make him go cold turkey on the waffles and fishfingers - NOT because they are bad, just so he doesn't associate them with being the only dinner food.

Thanks coldtits (have namechanged btw, new year, new name )
I bought some chicken drumsticks today so will cook those tomorrow maybe with some rice and chopped peppers.
Tonight we had spag bol with some veg cooked in with it and he ate quite a bit of it.

I think I will spend some more time on presentation too.

One thing I've found is that some little children can be a bit overwhelmed by a big plate of food in front of them and choose to not eat anything rather than try at all. Sometimes it helps to let them share from your plate rather than give them a plate of their own.

Ok Missus Will bear that in mind too. I used to have a friend that wouldn't eat a thing if there was more than 5 chips on her plate.

dont know if this is an option just now but if/when your ds starts to eat a bit more, then perhaps you could try giving him 'new' foods with ones that he already likes. for example let him have one piece of a new vegetable with his fish fingers say. did this with my dd as she is a terrible eater (and it is a control issue for her also). we have found her more likely to try new foods this way. she still isnt great but its slowly getting better, and if she doesnt want to eat then she definately lets you know! she has been like this for over 2years now and she is only four!!its enough to make you weep some days, but as she is hardly ill, and not underweight i try not to worry too much.

I have a DD who is now nearly 5 but at the age of 18 months went through a week of refusing to eat - plates went on the floor, so i made her clear the mess up and if she decided not to eat once I had given her a second chance I just removed her from the table and the rest of us would carry on eating. She would not get any snacks just the chance to eat the next meal. Since that one week (which was a complete nightmare) if she does try and refuse food I still remove the plate and ask her to excuse herself from the table. this soon makes her realise that she won't get any food or any snacks and generally she does eat.

The idea to give you is something that my DD responded to - I take her to the shops and get her to find the fruit or vegetables (we go early in the morning so its less busy), she can choose whatever she wants and then we take our purchases home and cook them. Quite time consuming but it definitely has helped.

Does he like cake/muffins? If so perhaps try cakes which have various things in them.

These are two great video examples of a 2 year old helping daddy make cake/muffins.

MyDaddyCooks: ?Le Cake Salé? (Savoury Cake Loaf)

MyDaddyCooks: Cheese and Vegetable Muffins

Someone tweeted me details of MyDaddyCooks website today, the videos are a joy to watch... really shows how a 2 year old can get involved with preparing food, thus may help them eat it.
See if you can spot Archie in the Savoury Cake Loaf video having a quick nibble on an olive.

Indoor picnics can work as well for encouraging children to eat. Warning: Can get a bit messy. Siblings/Friends can join in - else use Teddy Bears... one for Teddy, one for you!

janeys - quite agree, children like to shop if they are only getting a few items and they know it's for them to eat for lunch. 2yr old I care for likes to look at the Fresh Fish Counter at the supermarket - think he likes seeing the fishes eyes! Not that he eats them yet... tuna is about all the fish he will eat so far. May give Crayfish a try.

just had another wee thought about this and i also remember something else. also went through this with ds1, who incidently is a brilliant eater now not like dd (see my previous post).
my hv suggested that he might be too tired to eat his 'main' meal at tea time like the rest of us, so for a little while he was eating a larger lunch and a smaller tea. it was a pain for a while but it meant he ate and he wasnt overwhelmed by food.

The MyDaddyCooks Video Blog is really good for getting a feel for food that a 2 year old may eat, what can be cooked quickly, fairly simply and well presented. I haven't tried any of these yet (only found the website tonight) but will be testing them out with the 2 year old I nanny soon.

The blog author said to me earlier this evening that it's just all about trusting the child. Putting our own anxieties to one side, as the child is capable of "going it alone".

So if they don't eat much they may be tired, just not hungry, or simply not like the food presented to them. As long as their weight is not dramatically dropping, so HV/GP has no concerns, let toddlers decide for themselves how much they want to eat. Easier said than done though... even as a nanny, rather than a parent, the lack of food a toddler eats some days is concerning... but they do tend to make up for it the next day, or day after.

coldtits I did chicken drumsticks/pieces on the bone for dinner today, and guess what? He only bloody ate it! He wouldn't pick it up so literally ate it off the plate like a dog but I will work on that at a later date. It was quite funny because he stood up, yelled "ready, steady, EAT IT!" and then buried his face in a chicken wing freak! lol
Thanks for the links, I will look at them tomoz as really quite tired now and don't think anything will sink in!