What now

[boysmumaxx]

Hello. This is going to be a bit of a rant because I'm sick and tired of being pushed away by GP and doctors. My son has had a problem with eating since he was born he started on a feeding tube and from 0-1 he drank milk fine. After 1 it's gone downhill I've been phoning the gp must be monthly about my concerns for about a year. He has absolutely no interest in food the older he get the worse it gets, he's now 3 and eating anything is so tough for all of us. He says he doesn't like everything I offer when I ask him what he wants he just says nothing. For 10 days now he's not eating I'm not being dramatic he's literally refusing to eat and when I pressure he gets in a state. All the doctors care about is the fluids but what they don't understand is that this is my child, I cannot sit any longer and watch him lose more weight I cry for him because clearly there's something deeper going on, he must be hungry but no matter how fun or creative I get with meal times he's not interested. What do i do now?

Is there anything he requests to eat and just give him that to get him going?

Reward charts for eating

Not making an actual meal time and just offer him something while your on the sofa together or out walking

Tried giving him anything off your own plate

Eating games like hungry hippos with grapes and he may eat some himself

Try cooking / baking together

Offer a treat when out from the shop ir doing the food shop get him to choose what he wants

Play blindfold taste tests with the family and see if he will get involved

Show him video online of kids making their own food and see if that interests him

Have you explained what will happen to him if he doesn't eat? In suitable terms of course.

We have tried most of these yes, he enjoys baking with me he's will touch and talk about food absolutely fine he will even play with the food and feed me but will not eat it himself. We've never made a fuss out of meal times, he doesn't like being restricted in one place and we find it ends in chaos. I always offer his food with no fuss when he's just chilling out, often he wants to put it in the bin or he will take the plate and move it out of his view, or he will break it apart, I'm the past he's even urinated on the food.. he makes it very clear to me that something is wrong he tells me every meal time he doesn't like it, I've tried going shopping with him and letting him decide what he wants but it never works.

To the gp? I have mentioned the weight loss in the past as he actually has lost a large amount of weight over the past 6 months, but it's no rush for them they just fob me off and tell me to push the fluids I've even had a doctor say to me that they do not tend to be concerned until a child becomes clinically underweight witch in my eyes is discussing. He has been referred to the paediatrician but the waiting lists are so long. My worry is something has to be done swiftly. Enough is enough.

Does he eat anything ? Sweets , biscuits etc

Go back a few weeks ago he would nibble on peas, sweet corn, cheese and chocolate but recently he's refusing everything it's like he regressed over night and suddenly lost interest in everything.

Have you had a look at the solid starts account on Instagram? They have great advice for parents of children who are fussy eaters. The women who founded it had a son who stopped eating and was losing weight. She posts a lot about how she managed to get him back on track and trying foods again

Does he go to nursery ? If so, what do they say.
Do you have any concerns about ASD ?

He went for a short period of time witch resulted in us taking up out due to not eating or drinking at all whilst there, the nursery has concerns with the struggle he had with transitions, he has had paramedics here before who was confident in the possibility of ASD due to the fact that he gets very distressed when touched and a few other behavioural concerns

Have a look at ARFID:
www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/about-eating-disorders/types/arfid/

This kind of extreme food aversion is more common in children who have had to be tube fed and who have ASD.

I'd go back to the GP highlighting the extremely limited number and volume of foods he will eat, and that this has now been going on for months/years. It's not just that he's now not eating anything, it's that his diet has always been extremely limited.

Ask for a referral to a dietitian, who can hopefully advise on both high calorie foods that he will tolerate (things like Ensure smoothies can be prescribed) and on how to gradually increase the range of foods he can eat.

Also speak to your HV.

No, to your son.
Have you explained to your son why people need to eat and what happens if they don't?