Difficulty in getting 3 year old to eat

Lisa2011

Hi all

Just looking for some advice on my niece. She is 3 since July and since starting preschool in August she has had numerous colds, inflamed throat and a chest infection recently.

Everytime she gets sick her appetite is poor and she gets back on track only to get sick again.

It started after her twin brother and sister went to crèche.

She had no food over the weekend and despite doing what our doctor says she has no interest in food especially what she likes.

My brother wants to take her to a pediatric doctor but our doctor doesn't think it's necessary.

My parents and I mind her while her parents are working and we sit together eating to encourage her but to no avail.

Has anyone experienced the same and what advice can they give.

shesty

I would stop talking to her about it.Don't spend every meal time commenting on her or her food-how nice it is, how great she is for eating, how she should clear her plate, whatever.Serve up, give her 20 mins to eat, then that's it.Food is gone, fruit is a snack, no food til next meal otherwise.

My three year old is unwell at the moment and honestly, she hasn't eaten since Sunday morning bar the odd mouthful of toast.She was complaining her stomach hurt today but she wouldn't eat breakfast.I can't force her to eat, and the more I go on about it, the less chance I have with her eating.If the doctor is ok with it, then that's it. There is a habit with older people harping on about clearing your plate and being obsessed with a child being a 'good' eater but plenty of research shows now that it better to just run with the child.Offer them healthy food, healthy snacks, and then that's it.There is no child that will deliberately starve themselves.

Think of it this way, if you are unwell, do you want a big plate of food?can you imagine spending every meal with three adults sitting there hanging on your every move tiwards the plate??If the doctor isn't too worried about it, then you probably need to let it go too, she will come around eventually.

pwurple

"My parents and I mind her while her parents are working and we sit together eating to encourage her but to no avail."
[font=Open Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Does this mean you are asking her to eat, encouraging her, talking about eating? If so, stop doing that, you're making it worse. Toddlers dig in like the most stubborn creature alive when you make a big deal out of them doing something they don't want to do. As Shesty said above, leave them come to the food themselves.[/font]
[font=Open Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]My own 3 year old goes through hungry and not hungry spells. It comes and goes, we don't push it. [/font]

shesty

Sorry, I probably sounded a bit harsh in my post, but we are on day four of mine eating nothing at all.She has a heavy cold so I am not taking too much notice, but it's accompanied by constant low grade whinging, so my head is a bit wrecked.

We have also just come out of a phase of the 20 mth old eating nothing due to a cough.She ate all round her for about two weeks afterwards.Of course now she is picking up the older one's cough, so back to no eating.There's nothing I can do, they will come out of it eventually.

TheBody

If it makes you feel better, I've an 2 year old that eats (almost) nothing.

A typical day for him is:

Breakfast: 1 Weetabix
Lunch:1 slice of brown bread.
Dinner: Nothing (Maybe a slice of toast if we are lucky)
Before bed: 4 ounces of milk.

He simply refuses to eat any veg, meat....you name it.

We have had him at the doc several times because he is eating so little but the doc says he's doing fine.

He has been this way since day one. I don't know how he is surviving on so little food but he is!