4 year old not eating a lot.

[MelissaAnn92]

Hi,
Has anyone has a 4 year old who would happily not eat all day, has anyone any tips in getting them to do so?

I'm at my wits end and feeling upset at how he refuses to eat.
Occasionally he will have cereal or a few bites of toast
Refuses lunch and tea
Sometimes will allow me to make hun some chicken nuggets or fish fingers

He won't touch anything healthy it seems!
Q
Will always accept chocolate which naturally we are limiting

I'll cook lovely meals and he won't accept anything

Drinks loads of milk before bed

I know people say , if he's that hungry he wil eat, but this is getting me down xx

Some kids are just like this. One of mine was and is...she's 13 and one of the tallest in her class now. She's definitely not scrawny but is athletic looking.

She just doesn't have a bit appetite. Don't fuss or he'll pick up your stress and refuse more.

What you need to do by the sound of it is stop giving him loads of milk before bed.

He's probably getting all the calories from that.

Water it down if you don't want tears. Start by adding a bit of water...just a bit...and increase the amount over time so he gradually thinks "This isn't as nice as I thought!"

The result will be that his appetite will naturally increase and he'll eat more.

Don't comment if he doesn't finish anything...and don't discuss his appetite with anyone else when he's around.

Just present food at mealtimes. Eat with him...don't sit him alone or in front of the TV. Its important that kids have company at mealtimes and can see you enjoying food so it's a social occasion.

Let him help you make meals.

Mini pizzas are a good start. Some people use pitta bread if they can't be bothered with dough or buying empty pizza bases...just grate cheese and cut up various vegetables and lay it all out so he can easily decorate some slices. Show him how to make faces on it etc.

Don't fuss about eating them...he may just want to eat them if he's had a hand in cooking them.

Today my four year old ate half a bowl of spaghetti hoops, only because I said she absolutely had to eat something if she wanted to go swimming later. Then she had half a glass of milk and 2 crackers at bedtime. That's it, for the day. She does this for days then goes through periods (I think growth spurts) when she eats loads. She's a normal weight and never sick so I kind of just leave her to it, offer decent food regularly and don't worry if she doesn't eat it.
It helped me that a Dietitian once told me that kids get their calories over a week, we need ours daily. Not sure if that still applies at 4 years old but I'm operating like it does....if your son is healthy weight and healthy generally I'd just keep offering with no expectations.