Bad Eaters

[Venus]

My son, who is 2 years old, had never been a good eater but has now been on a semi-hunger strike for several months. He'll eat little other than dry crackers. Our local nursery nurse has been visiting our home for the last few weeks now & is also having little success in getting him to eat. We've just got back from the baby clinic where he was weighed & he is almost 2kgs under weight! :eek: I've honestly tried just about everything - different foods & feeding techniques. This has now become a constant worry on my mind & I'm at my wits end! :wall: Can anyone please offer any suggestions?

[dudette]

Is this genuinely the only thing he now eats? Wow! And what about drinks? Any way you can add something like Complan or something to his milk?

I would suggest you try the reward system ... (this idea I got long ago from someone else, so can't claim it as my own )
He is two, so he should understand it ...

firstly draw/print off a picture of something with two dots with eyes and each time he finishes food, let him colour a circle in. Then after he's done 2, reward him with something he really likes. Next time, increase it to something with three dots like a tricycle, and then once he's completed the dots, he gets the reward. etc etc.

Good luck Venus, it's very worrying when one's child doesn't eat properly - I hope you can find a solution soon!

[Tania]

Hi Venus!

As per our chat the other day I have a similar problem with my 3-year old - she only wants chocolates. I worked out 'army treatment' works well with her, as she is extremely energetic:

We'd spend a morning out doing lots of excercise, like a long hike, beach, park etc - and only offer her water inbetween meals.

At around lunch time she's so worn out and starved, and that's when the witch produces the real thing: FOOD! She does tend to eat anything then.

Problem being it usually gets worst before getting better in terms of weight, however the correct eating pattern is established.

Basically, you need to be tougher than they are

[Venus]

Originally posted by dudette
Is this genuinely the only thing he now eats? Wow! And what about drinks? Any way you can add something like Complan or something to his milk?

I would suggest you try the reward system ... (this idea I got long ago from someone else, so can't claim it as my own )
He is two, so he should understand it ...

firstly draw/print off a picture of something with two dots with eyes and each time he finishes food, let him colour a circle in. Then after he's done 2, reward him with something he really likes. Next time, increase it to something with three dots like a tricycle, and then once he's completed the dots, he gets the reward. etc etc.

Good luck Venus, it's very worrying when one's child doesn't eat properly - I hope you can find a solution soon!

Yes, dudette, this is the only thing he'll eat at the moment. Very occassionally, he'll have about half of those small fromage frais & he'll eat chocolate ( ). He loves his milk & I've now started diluting it during the day. He'll not drink much else, although I do always have water & juice available for him. If he's been a couple of days without eating much, I do sneak a bit of baby porridge into his milk, but I've been advised by the nursery nurse to avoid doing that too much as it reinforces his dependancy on the milk for food.

I have introduced a reward chart with stickers but it's not having much effect yet. I suspect that he's a little bit too young to fully appreciate stickers just yet. However, your version is a bit different & worth a try! Thanks for your advice.

[Venus]

Originally posted by MissQtoe
Hi Venus!

As per our chat the other day I have a similar problem with my 3-year old - she only wants chocolates. I worked out 'army treatment' works well with her, as she is extremely energetic:

We'd spend a morning out doing lots of excercise, like a long hike, beach, park etc - and only offer her water inbetween meals.

At around lunch time she's so worn out and starved, and that's when the witch produces the real thing: FOOD! She does tend to eat anything then.

Problem being it usually gets worst before getting better in terms of weight, however the correct eating pattern is established.

Basically, you need to be tougher than they are

Hi MissQtoe! :hug: How are you doing?

Your army treatment sounds a bit harsh, but it may be what is required. I'll certainly give it a try.

[Jemlet]

Hi Venus

Not to dismiss your worries don't let the charts be the "be all and end all" - if your child is not looking extremely thin, has the ability to run and play, to concentrate, sleeps well and is not sickly then there is less concern than the health visitor implied.

That said I am inclined to sort of side with MissQtoe's advice as children know from a very young age how to be manipulative when it comes to food. My youngest is not so much a bad eater but holds out for a "treat" and if you don't give in to the shame I'll feed them anything syndrome as the poor kid must be starved, they are more likely to eat their food. ( don't worry I do sometimes slip but he always eats better when he has been busy and not snack eating)

It is a frustrating time and I presume you have been down the road of getting him involved in food choices and preperation. Just remember as far as I kniow a 2 year old cannot starve themselves. Also remember large portions or a vrey big plate of food can be intimidating to a small eater.

[Venus]

Hi Jem

I do suspect that there is manipulation on the go here, although, he's not even keen on "treats". I only allow him chocolate a couple of times a week. He is very much a milkoholic. I'm trying to cut down on his milk by diluting his formula, but at the moment it's probably the only nutritious thing he's getting, other than the tiny bit of cheese in the crackers.

He seems to have a phobia about any foods that are moist. He won't even touch anything that's not dry & crispy. If I cook chips until they're almost burnt, he'll try a couple. I've even tried baking healthy biscuits but that's not helped. For a couple of weeks he was eating plain dry toast, but that has now stopped. :wall:

In every other respect, he's healthy, vibrant, energetic with twinkling eyes. He's advanced in most other areas of his development. But this eating thing is causing him to wake up during the night as he's hungry. I've also tried "Mommy is very tired, so please eat!" :haha:

[Jemlet]

Do you still allow him to have milk in a bottle? If you do insist that daytime milk has to be drunk from a cup or else he doesn't get any. He really only needs a max of 1 pint of milk a day including cheese and yoghurt. I'd be interested what he would eat if for one day you were really strict about the no milk and let him decide what he wants to eat for the whole day. Ask him if he wants something but if he says no leave it. At night I know it will be the hardest but after having given him one bottle if he wakes up only give him water and tell him night time is for sleeping. You may have a really rotten night and I know it sounds awfully tough but it shouldn't take long for him to realise that you mean business. At this stage also don't worry if you give him cereal or dinner too. Good luck!

[Jemlet]

PS if he is still on formula you really should think about swopping it for cows milk as that might also reduce his dependancy on milk.

[Venus]

Jem, he does still have formula but it's at the doctor's recommendation so that he's still getting a good source of protein, vits etc during this phase. During the day, his milk is very diluted but he gets full strength in the morning & before bed. He does still insist on having a bottle & it must be whilst cuddling on my lap! It is one of the other things we're working through with the nursery nurse.

As some of you may know, we went through a lot of trauma at the beginning of the year. The medical team are not wanting me to be too harsh with him as his problems are probably caused by insecurities from all the stress. Basically, his entire life has changed: new house, new surrounding, new social circle, no dad, no Nana, no uncles. I have to take all this into consideration.