2 year old hasn't eaten a meal for over a year

[MamaTeesh]

My son is 2 years and 2 months old.

He always ate really well until he got HFM disease when he was 11 months old.
At first we assumed it was because the blisters in his mouth had made him scared to eat.

We are now over a year on and the foods he will eat have decreased massively.
He will now only eat
Crackers with butter
Rice cakes
Rice crispies
Weetabix
Bananas
Beans (sometimes)
Fruit pouches
Yoghurts
Wotsists
Chocolate

I mentioned it to the DR when we went in for something else, who said that he is probably just fussy and that he looks absolutely fine.

He has a lot of energy, sleeps well, and is a very happy and healthy child, so I have no health concerns regarding his not eating, but I just think there must be something we can do to get him eating?

We have tried trying different foods, letting him pick foods, trying him with different plates/ cutlery, getting him to help prepare the food, different environments, sitting with him/ not sitting with him, letting him watch something/ not letting him watch something, not offering snacks between...

Has anyone been through anything like this that has advice?

Thanks x

I was that child.
DM once took me to the dr because I wouldn’t eat anything except pancakes for the longest time. He looked at her and said ‘so feed her pancakes then’.
Not the advice DM expected!
I have a DS with ASD and there were definitely times I was pulling my hair out desperate to get food in him.
Does he go to nursery or anything? I think often just watching other children ploughing through food can help hugely, even if they don’t try it for several weeks.
I think you are doing all the right things really by not making food a battle though. in terms of having him pick foods, do you mean setting a meal down in the middle of the table and everyone picking up bits to put on their own plates? This did help DS some days. Hang on in there, hopefully things will improve.

When you say you sit with him, do you eat your meals with him too? If not, I would try family mealtimes with the food in serving bowls on the table. Include something he will eat with every meal and let him see you enjoying the food, and offer him the opportunity to try it.

The foods he’s eating all seem fine in themselves but it is quite a limited diet so I’d be giving him a multivitamin to be on the safe side.

When DS refused meals I fed him a lot of “snacks”. The snacks were balanced so had protein, veg, fruit and carbs spread across the day. He was happy and although it was a bit annoying, I least didn’t feel I needed to worry.

Hi op, my son was that child. It took years before he gradually would eat more (we would, when he was old enough to understand, ask him to try a food item, even if just a lick, and if he didn't like it, absolutely fine, and we wouldn't make a fuss). Even now at 10 he often doesn't like certain foods touching etc, but he at least will try something once, and with some foods he really liked them and other he really didn't. His palate has widened but it did take years!

My DD was similar at around 2. Slightly more variety on her list but still hugely restrictive and no veg or meat. At 3 she literally just woke up one morning and snapped out of it. I don’t think we really did anything to encourage that except not to make a fuss.

My mother used to laugh about taking my older brother to the Dr over 50 years ago because all he'd eat was beans, the Dr's reply was 'so feed him beans'!!. Brother ate beans for about a year but now eats everything and anything

Eat meals together.

Hi any updates please

My goodness I literally could've written this myself! My toddler is now 2 years 8 months. He has had an extremely limited diet for around 18 months now. He ate normally until around 12 months when he also had HFM along with Covid and one or two cold all almost back to back over winter. Then he became so fussy. He will eat very similar to what's on your list. Plain pasta, plain rice, crackers, toast, fruits, baked beans (if he's in the mood) etc. He won't touch any sauce, meat, potatoes etc. I have taken him to GP and they said there's not much they can do as he's a healthy weight and he does eat just not much variety. I was so stressed out and then recently have just let it be. The stress coming from me was making it worse. We changed nursery for him to one that he seems much happier at and the social aspect playing with friends is helping a little bit. He's still super fussy but seems a bit more relaxed and engaged. Hoping we can turn a corner soon. I think it's just something they'll eventually grow out of.

Just realised this is an old post but hope things have improved OP!

Why did you quote the whole OP, especially to write such a short comment?

I was also that child. I would only eat ham sandwiches, ham and mashed potato, toast and a few other things.
It got better once I started school and ate out of the house with my peer group.

I don't have advice, but that looks alarmingly short on protein. Maybe letting him pick foods is the problem?

My son is now just over 3 and his diet is even more limited than when I made this original post lol. However, he is now being assessed for ASD so I do believe this could be playing a part in it. After a while I just had to accept his eating habits and let it be, as he was clearly very healthy. I do put some vitamin drops in his milk though, just to ensure he is getting everything he needs.
It can be so stressful and I do feel for you because I found it quite difficult. I still do, but I guess I'm so used his diet of crackers and breadsticks now lol.
Fingers crossed you turn a corner soon!

Hi @MamaTeesh
My son was just like yours. And he's now an adult, and has been diagnosed with autism and ARFID.

He only eats chips and vegan burgers, and lives on Huel. At least he's getting all the nourishment possible. His diet lacks fresh fruit and vegetables, but it always has lol.