My child won't eat!!

[Bluebell121]

Every night my child has done since she turned two.. ( she turns 3 in April) soon as I bring the tea out her brothers dig in , she will REFUSE to eat says she doesn't want to and it's dirty ( normally her fave) she stomps her leg and crosses her arms says she's tired so she can go to bed and not eat it she gives me every excuse I'm at my wits end now it's like she instantly goes in a mood starts carrying on over having to have her tea I really don't no what else to do! Her paediatrician said she's not putting on weight for a year now she literally has no appetite at all , I don't give her snacks because of her not eating breakfast tea and dinner there even considering putting her on supplement drinks because of this I'm so tired of it every might she throws a fit over not wanting her tea what can I do to help her?!! I've tried fun things making having food look really fun I don't no what else to do??

Oh OP that sounds tough. Does she have any ENT problems? My sons fussiness with food improved (marginally) after his surgery for his obstructive sleep apnea. His tonsils and adenoids were massive and apparently this can make swallowing food awkward and hard when you’re a mouth breather. Just an idea.

Is there anything she does eat ok? Does she drink a lot of milk?

If traditional meal times don’t work for her then I would give her snacks. It’s important to get the calories in.

My son has a seriously restricted diet and the little he does eat orally is snacks through the day rather than regular meals

Would she eats snacks ?

She used to have snacks but the dieticians told me to stop it so I've had too , only thing she will eat is basmati rice on its own seriously that's all she will eat! She's had thyroid bloods taken and other tests , she's always been like this froma. Baby never ate jar foods never ate mash and gravy health visitor tried me with allsorts to help me nothing worked! Her brothers 1 and eats twice as much as her and weighs the exact same?!

And she does drink so much she drinks loads of water and milk she has warm milk before bed

She's literally downstairs after her bath eating cereal as she wouldn't eat her tea?😭

I am amazed the dietican said to stop snacks,’personally I think that’s awful advice for a child who doesn’t eat. Ds is under multiple professionals and the advice has always been let him eat what he wants when he want.

At least she is eating something though that’s the key. Don’t see her eating cereal as a bad thing see it as she is having some tea and her chosen tea is cereal

If she has too much to drink there wont be space for food.

I know I used to let her eat anything just as long as it was something , the dieticians made me feel like I was doing something wrong and the reason why she won't eat is because she's snacking apparently! I felt so disappointed in myself thinking I was doing something wrong she my first born and I'm 23 I thought she would no better than me ? clearly not I'm going to start the snacking again atleast she's eating something

But what kind of snacks was she eating? If it was crisps and sweets then fair enough, stop them. But if it was fruit, crackers, toast, cheese etc then I'd continue to let her eat that way.

She could be drinking too much and possibly feels full because of that.

She was eating crackers with Philadelphia and cucumber on sometimes tuna if she fancied it and there was loads of fruit as I buy in bulk due to me dieting and I have 3 kids they're all obsessed with fruit it was anything she wanted not crisps and stuff my kids don't drink juice I don't want there teeth ruined they drink milk and water too

They sound like great snacks. Crackers with a topping could also be classed as a meal

Cereal is fine op, if that's what she's willing to eat then I would let her. However you def need to get back to dietician and ask more help. Ot should be able to help with activities to make her more comfortable around food.

Feed her what she'll eat, don't battle cos you won't win. But keep offering, modelling good diet etc.

Definitely! I think I may ask for a different dietician as she makes me feel so bad for anything

I'm having this at the moment with my almost three year old ds. He's not underweight by any means as he apparently eats well the days he is at nursery but at home he "doesn't like dinner" never wants to sit down and eat with the family, cries and tantrums, tried all kinds and it's hard work, often at bedtime he will say he's hungry once I've put him in bed (which is also a terrible battle right now).
No advice just wanted to say you are not alone, toddlers are really difficult sometimes unfortunately, I just keep hoping he will grow out of it soon.

Also if cutting snacks isn't making her eat, I'd contemplate putting them back in. What does she snack on?

Honestly as long as not just crap let her eat what she will eat, don’t let her appetite shrink further. My nephew apparently ate weetabix for most dinners at 2- as long as they eat I say.

My youngest is like this. After seeing the speech therapist who decided it was a mental problem and not a physical one, we were sent to a Physiatrist.

The advice we were given was to completely ignore the moaning, whining, fussing etc when given food and just to continue chatting around the table like nothing was happening. Not to mention anything to do with eating or ‘just try it’. Once we were all finished, to take the plate away with no fuss whatsoever. Offer toast or whatever nearer bedtime if hungry. We were also advised to give her high fat foods throughout the day, so add cheese or cream to potatoes, give tomato based sauces with foods.

Like your daughter ours was on the verge of being given ‘fattening shakes’ as we called it.

It took some time to break the cycles but it has worked, she is eating most foods given to her, we also like to give a ‘pick your own’ when it comes to meals. So she feels like she can choose her own.

I really hope you can find something that works as I totally understand how awful it is when your child just won’t eat, to the point of not gaining weight.

Sounds like the snacks were fine.

I have exactly the same with my child. Any meals she eats 2 bites then is 'full'. 5mins later she wants to snack. I was told the same, dont let her snack, but Ive given up and she just snacks now. This somehow improved her meal eating as well. Not always, but some days she eats ok for meals. She also gained some weight. Shes 4 now and its improved a lot in the last half a year.
Just give her nutritious snacks if possible.
With mine it even came to the point that she threw up her entire meal if i made her eat more than she wanted, thats why i just do what works for her now.

I@melmo26 hey Hun! Yes she has complete control over her own food we look in the fridge cupboard and freezer to see what she fancys straight away she picks basmati rice , the amount of times I make her the rice is unreal😂 she's now going off it tho she has had toast and clearly tonight for supper as she didn't eat dinner and tea she had warm milk for tea she's gone to bed and gone to sleep let's see how she is tommorow!