My son has just turned 12. For about 2 years now his appetite has dwindled. He had a great appetite when he was younger but seems to eat less and like less as he's got older. Foods and meals he used to love he's gone off, for example, he'd happily have an omelette a few years ago bit now won't entertain it. He goes through phases of loving certain meals then a few weeks later if you offer it to him, he says he's gone off it. I struggle to think of different meals for him. He does gave a very sweet tooth and likes to graze and it doesn't help that he lets himself in after school and I don't get home til gone 5, so by that time, he's already had a chocolate biscuit or babybel. However, I dont think this is the only reason he's not hungry for his tea because he'll quite often say he didn't have much for his lunch as he just wasn't hungry. He's had 2 boiled eggs with 2 slices of toast for tea, eating all the toast but leaving a lot of egg. At school he had a cookie! Shouldn't a boy of his age be ravenous at teatime? He also goes to the toilet a lot, sometimes it's poo, other times just wind but I don't think he empties his bowels properly each time. He also wakes often in the night complaining of feeling sick but usually its just that he needs a poo.
At the beginning of the year I tried him with a tonic and I think it has helped but he still doesn't eat a great deal. He's average height and while he's slim, he's not skinny. Other than put my foot down about snacking, which I know i need to do, what else can I do? Should I take him to a doctor to rule out anything underlying?