What do you do when your child won't eat anything?

[colnelcustard]

My DD age almost three will literally not eat anything.

She will have a cereal for breakfast, cheese on toast and a yoghurt for lunch then flatly refuses to entertain dinner.

I am at the end of my tether with her. I have had a fussy eater before but nothing like this.

Do vitamins or anything like that help.

She is consntatly ill probably beause she does not get enough vitamins.

I just need some help.

If she is eating cereal and it is fortified then she is probably ok for minerals and vitamins. Will she drink fruit juice? Could you mix some fruit puree with her yoghurt.

I know her diet is limited but apart from fruit & veg she is having all the things she needs (ie protein, carbs, fat)

Could you offer her cheese on toast again at dinner time or are you trying not to offer anything different to what the rest of you are having? Or try to subtly vary what she is having - eg make home made pizzas with just cheese on hers?

I have one good eater and two fussy. The older of the two fussy ones has improved hugely in the past couple of years (nearly 9 now).

It is a PITA doing two dinners (and those who don't have a fussy eater will no doubt be horrified) but there are literally 3 or 4 meals that everyone will eat so I often do two different ones (dh comes in too late for us all to eat together anyway...)

Just remember that the more you try to get her to eat, the less she will eat.

Use reverse psychology on her. Pretend that you are not bothered what she eats and get her down as soon as she asks.

If she doesn't want dinner tell her that's fine and then sit and talk about your day as you enjoy your own meal. Don't offer her any food again and don't go over the top if she asks for anything. If she asks you to get something for her then finish your own meal first. If something is not immediately available we want it more. If you don't engage with her about food she can't hold it over you.

I know it's really really hard but she will only carry on if she has you running round in circles trying to find something she will eat. Take control and offer the food on your terms in a pleasant, positive and relaxed manner (even though you're frantic inside).

This website is really useful, I do find this works well with my fussy eater when she is well.
www.infantandtoddlerforum.org/

It is so hard when they can't self regulate with tiredness with the need to eat or drink!

However, it is also impossible to find out whether there are any underlying problems as the Doctor just doesn't take me seriously when I have taken my daughter in with frequent sick episodes.

For example, my fussy eater has always had diorrhea since she went onto solids - my other kids never did. Also she goes very funny palours - sometimes really green, or pale, or whatever, and is frequently sick. Again nothing the doctor will take seriously but I do wonder if there is an underlying problem.

She constantly appears to have a cold and a cough and she is tiny. She is almost three but wears clothes 18-24 months easily.

I am just worried she is not getting enough food to help her bulk up and fight off all the germs.

Strangely enough she will eat bloody chocolate croissants like they are going out of fashion. I want to avoid the 'oh she won't eat so I'll feed her crap' method of getting her to eat.

My son was the same but would eat at least one staple meal like pasta or a jacket potato but she won't even have anything like that. She has screamed her head off at a plate of spag bol tonight. ended up giving her cheese on toast again so she will eat something.

I would just put a meal in front of her that includes cheese on toast.

That is what I did with my ds, except he would only eat beans. Whatever we were eating with some beans. After about a year he started eating other stuff too.

If I felt he was really down on his calories I used to give him a chocolate biscuit in the afternoon. Oddly enough he seemed to eat more at dinner if I did this. I know what you mean about not wanting to fill up with junk though. I also used to follow him around with a banana while he was playing, he would almost eat it without noticing.

There was no point trying to make him eat, it would have got us nowhere.

It is incredibly frustrating though, but I am glad I avoided mealtime battles as I think it would have made life hell.

DS might want to marry your DD when they're older. He is 3.3 and has gradually limited his diet to cereal, cheese on toast and yoghurt. He will occasionally eat sausages or fish fingers and is partial to croissants and muffins but he refuses everything else.

I bought some vitamin syrup which has helped me to relax a little. I also found he likes homemade cheese straws so I stuff onion and herbs into them to squeeze extra nutrition into him. I feel very sad about it though- especially since DD at 9 months will eat anything put in front of her.