4yo won't eat - any advice?

[Eec1990]

Hi all,

My 4yo has had a bad cough, two days ago he had a coughing fit while eating lunch and it made him sick, ever since he has refused every meal despite saying he's hungry. I have explained to him that he doesn't need to worry about being sick and that now his cough is getting better he'll be ok but it doesn't seem to be helping!

Any ideas? ??

Don't worry too much about it, as they can go for ages without food., as long as he is drinking and he is bright eyed and wee is normal colour.

But also, with children who have been it are ill, let normal food go by the wayside for a bit. Think jelly or icecream, super noodles, if needs be . And cuddles. Reassurance at this stage is what matters. This happened to Ds, and it took a few days to get over, including sitting on my knee while having a little sip of something.

We used to have the sausage bird come to eat bits of sausage if Ds didn't get there in time. Sometimes the sausage bird got it all. Sometimes Ds got s bit.

Thank you :) I'll give all that a go and fingers crossed something should work!! Either that or I suppose my food bill will be dramatically decreased haha!

How is he now Eec?

You could offer ice lollies, ice cream, soup in a mug, etc to eat away from the table so he can feel a bit more relaxed as he gets back into the habit of eating.

The most important thing is to make the food available but allow him to choose whether to eat it. Don't encourage, bribe or reward.

As long as you remain very relaxed and allow him to lead the way, this should be very short lived.

Doh! just read the dates on the earlier posts. Hope he's eating again by now.