2 year old crying for milk instead of food

[DerbyMumOf1]

I am literally at my wits end and could really do with some hints and tips.

Basically, my 2 year old Ds has been very ill with the cold virus and as usual it affected his appetite, which is understandable, sometimes you don't want to eat when you're feeling crap.
I always made sure to offer him food no less and tried to keep to his meal routines as much as possible but still not a bite to eat.
He has been drinking fine but its still a worry that it has been 7 days excactly since he ate a decent meal.

To get calpol down him i had to mix it with milk but now, he is crying for milk instead of eating food.
Making breakfast this morning and yesterday morning he was really kicking off cos he knew I was preparing food and just about allowed me to put him in his chair but wanted no food anywhere near.
I have given him half a milk with calpol this morning but he is that much better that he won't be having the calpol much more.

I have left food out for him that i know he likes and i will push on with the lunchtime routine as normal. But should i just leave him if he doesn't eat? He has gotten so thin this past week but i am hoping that if he's hungry enough he will give in and eat.

Any advice?

He has seen a GP too who isn't at all concerned with him and says he is over the worst. The worst for us though is trying to get Ds to eat again..

He could have a sore throat, or just be feeling too grotty to eat.
I know it’s hard, but I’d give food a swerve for the next 2 or 3 days, to avoid it becoming a battle ground.

When I was v anxious about dd not eating I was told about an experiment where toddlers self regulated with food choice, and over the course of a few days made choices that gave them the right amount of nutrients.
I wonder if toddlers are quite instinctive about food, and can self regulate well before we impose all our good food/ bad food knowledge on them.
That’s how I’d play it but I’m no expert. How you find a way through .

Yes, maybe i should.
I know it sounds ridiculous but i am so worried he will regress and not want food again when he's better, just milk.
He wasn't the easiest to feed when he was well. Very fussy.

I'd leave finger food within his reach while he's playing and offer him milk with no calpol. He might like this new strawberry milk offering a bit too much and get bored once he realises he's back on the regular stuff.

My 2yo is also ill at the moment and off his food. I've found really milky porridge goes down well - so milky he can basically drink it but it has the oats in there to bulk it up. Also I gave him an ice lolly before lunch yesterday as his throat was sore and then he ate some of his sandwich as I think the ice had soothed him a bit. He's also eating cream cheese - I give him bits to dip but he's just been eating the cheese which is better than nothing. Hope your little one is better soon!

Thanks all, i appreciate the replies.
Unfortunately my Ds has never touched porridge, weetabix or anything like that. The only runny food he eats is yogurt but that's a no from him at the moment..
Good tip about the milk, maybe he is enjoying it a little too much. I will see how lunch goes today. When i see him go hungry it's difficult to hold back and not give him milk but i know that won't get me anywhere.

Why not just give him milk, if it's what he wants? It's not as if it's juice, it's pretty healthy. I don't see the issue.

The issue is i don't want him to keep taking milk as a preference over food even when he is better. The GP told me to cut back on the milk I was giving to encourage him back onto food.

DS has just got better after having a virus- made him sick and refusal of food for two days. for the next week he then just wanted bottle after bottle of milk in the morning when he usually barely drank one bottle. We gradually reintroduced food slowly but he is still largely spoon fed so that helped us be able to get it into him. After about a week he gradually lost interest in asking for more milk and we are now back to normal so hopefully it will just take a bit longer for you? Sorry I’ve not been overly helpful!