4 yr old not eating.

clappyhappy

My youngest is four and a half. At Christmas time he got the chicken pox, other two also got them same time, since then his appetite has gone. He was never the best eater but now it's a disaster.
For breakfast he will eat cereal either Rice Krispies or Cheerios, will not eat anything else. Other two will eat porridge, ready brek weetabix etc but he point blank refuses.
For pre school lunch he will only take water or dilute juice and either grapes or raisins.
He will eat nothing then until dinner and that is the biggest problem. All he will eat is baby potatoes with some butter, an odd time he might eat chips. He refuses to eat meat of any kind. He used to eat pasta, peas & sweet corn, corn in the cob, mashed potatoes with gravy, but now will not.
Tonight for dinner we had roast pork, mash, broccoli, mange tout & sauce, and I had to cook baby pots for him and he ate maybe 5.
I have tried to give him nothing only what we eat and he just walks away or sits there as we eat. I can't try to force him to eat, as he gets upset.
All of us take vermox twice a year so it's not worms (grandmothers words haunting me!!!). He is active so it's not as if he doesn't need the food for energy. He won't eat bread of any kind. He will eat apples sliced up, used to eat bananas but not now.

I honestly don't know what to do, my husband and I are both chefs so we always have a great variety throughout the week. Older two are very good with their food, will take almost anything.

I ask him every day what would he like, when I go shopping I bring him and call out things to him but no.

If he goes to friends houses he wont eat anything there, could often be there 3-4 hours and refuses to eat.

I am at my wits end, he is not sick but I have noticed he is paler recently. He is a red head so pretty pale anyway. I don't know what to do, he is a very gentle, lovin, affectionate child and I can't force him or give out (not that I want or need to) to him. He would just cry and hug me.

Rarely they get sweets.

I love him to bits and just wish that I can do something that he wants.

Sorry for long post but wanted to give you full account. Any advice please on how to encourage him to eat more or to try new things, as said both chefs so everything is possible. Thank you....

nicowa

clappyhappy wrote: »

My youngest is four and a half. At Christmas time he got the chicken pox, other two also got them same time, since then his appetite has gone. He was never the best eater but now it's a disaster.
For breakfast he will eat cereal either Rice Krispies or Cheerios, will not eat anything else. Other two will eat porridge, ready brek weetabix etc but he point blank refuses.
For pre school lunch he will only take water or dilute juice and either grapes or raisins.
He will eat nothing then until dinner and that is the biggest problem. All he will eat is baby potatoes with some butter, an odd time he might eat chips. He refuses to eat meat of any kind. He used to eat pasta, peas & sweet corn, corn in the cob, mashed potatoes with gravy, but now will not.
Tonight for dinner we had roast pork, mash, broccoli, mange tout & sauce, and I had to cook baby pots for him and he ate maybe 5.
I have tried to give him nothing only what we eat and he just walks away or sits there as we eat. I can't try to force him to eat, as he gets upset.
All of us take vermox twice a year so it's not worms (grandmothers words haunting me!!!). He is active so it's not as if he doesn't need the food for energy. He won't eat bread of any kind. He will eat apples sliced up, used to eat bananas but not now.

I honestly don't know what to do, my husband and I are both chefs so we always have a great variety throughout the week. Older two are very good with their food, will take almost anything.

I ask him every day what would he like, when I go shopping I bring him and call out things to him but no.

If he goes to friends houses he wont eat anything there, could often be there 3-4 hours and refuses to eat.

I am at my wits end, he is not sick but I have noticed he is paler recently. He is a red head so pretty pale anyway. I don't know what to do, he is a very gentle, lovin, affectionate child and I can't force him or give out (not that I want or need to) to him. He would just cry and hug me.

Rarely they get sweets.

I love him to bits and just wish that I can do something that he wants.

Sorry for long post but wanted to give you full account. Any advice please on how to encourage him to eat more or to try new things, as said both chefs so everything is possible. Thank you....

Bribery?

Not sure. With our two yr old we say "eat this much veg or you don't get the nice stuff". There was tantrums each day for a few days until she realised we were serious. Now she eats them first and happily eats her nice bits.

But if he's not sitting there demanding food I don't know?

pwurple

Is he losing weight?

Could be a control thing.

When my daughter goes through a fussy phase we completely blank it. We don't talk about food in front of her. Make as little an issue of it as possible. We NEVER ever use bribery, or give her a choice with food. that just gives her the option to start the control thing. If she doesn't eat, fine. We don't even mention it. She has yet to starve herself. we get a couple of days of picky once in a while, and then she is back to eating everything again

After sickness is tough. You know they need food to get better, but they often don't have an appetite. I'd just put what the rest of the family is having in front of him. Take it away whether he ate it or it. No alternatives.

Moonbeam

I would not fight with him over it.
I would serve him dinner the same as the others unless it was something he really did not like and if he eats it he does and if not he doesn't but then of course no treats or dessert either.
My 3 year old is terrible,she likes fruit,cereal,yogurts,fish and crackers and that is it,the 5 year old is not a fan of veg but we substitute fruit for veg to make life easier.
Give it a week or 2 and see if it helps if there is no conflict he might give up or maybe give his an a or b choice or a say in meals.

clappyhappy

Thanks guys, I have tried just putting what we eat in front if him but then I panic if I think he isn't getting any food into him. Maybe I should just hold tough for a few days with dinner. Will give it a bash and let ye know.

Have tried bribery but it doesn't work. Have promised him everything under the sun but he won't eat. Just have to make less of an issue about it.

Thank you!!

clappyhappy

Just an update, got pharmaton for kids, and put some in his fresh orange juice each morning. Have seen a huge improvement with him, he now has a great appetite and I'm slowly putting things onto his plate. He says “I don't like that" and I just say fine leave it there but he has begun to take small pieces of newer food. I made homemade fish fingers last night with pollock and he loved them.

Slowly getting there but at least he is eating. Thank you all.

Das Kitty

That's great!

I would definitely recommend not arguing with or bribing a child to eat. It's very hard to shut off that little voice that says they're not getting enough, but they will eat hen hungry. All making a big deal of it does is give them a complex about food and mealtimes, and that's what we're all trying to avoid. I know all this because we just went through it with our lad.

At one point he used to get upset if he'd see me cooking. And once, when I asked him what he thought were the things that make Mama happy, he said it was when he ate his dinner!

The only rule now is that he has to sit at the table during mealtimes. He doesn't get offered any alternatives to what's on front of him and he eats most things again.

Mink

Glad to hear that claphappy.

As an aside, on that show 3 Day nanny, the little boy was similar to yours, would hardly eat anything. They calculated how much fluids (a lot of squash and juices) he was drinking between breakfast and dinner and it was a vast amount. They cut out the squash/juice and just offered water (naturally he drank far less) and then he was quite hungry at lunch and dinner and ate a good amount for his age.

Not saying that was situation with your son, but might be helpful to others looking at this thread. I've managed to keep my fella away from juices/squash but I know he'll get a taste for it at some point.