2 Year Old Eating Issues

My son is the same age and has the same problem. We emphasize that it is meal time and that is when we eat. When dinner is over and we are cleaning up then his plate goes too. Sometimes now he will stop us from taking his plate and says he wants to eat it. So we will leave it for a while more,but if he doesn't eat it this time then it goes away. We have tried to be consistent and it is seeming to work. He is eating more at each sitting. I also talked with my Dr about it and he said that most kids go through this phase. He said not to worry about it as long as he is offered food he will know where to go when he is ready for it. Well that has beent he case for us. Good Luck! 'Move forward with love'

I don't know if you've tried this, but ask your peditrician if he can prescribe your baby vitamins or pediasure. That way your baby is not missing any of the minerals she needs. My niece had that same problem and she was put on pediasure and vitamins, now you can't keep the girl out of the kitchen. Good luck...

I have a 3 yr old who doesn't eat much at one sitting but prefers to graze. I recently purchased "The Sneaky Chef" book on amazon.com for around $12.00) This website shows a few sample recipes. http://www.thesneakychef.com/recipes.php

My favorite breakfast meal for my son which he loves is "breakfast ice cream shakes". See below for the recipe I typed from my cookbook. (see below)

Hope this helps!

Really Easy Strawberry Breakfast Ice Cream (Serves 2)

1-1/2 Cups Frozen Strawberries, without syrup or added sweeteners
1/2 Cup Milk (convert this recipe to a “smoothie” by adding an additional 1/2 Cup of Milk)
1 TBSP Honey or Sugar

Extra Sneaky Strawberry Breakfast Ice Cream Add In’s

(Rich in Vitamins C and K, potassium, folate, calcium, fiber and protein)

1/4 Ripe Avocado (I've can not taste this as an add in myself)

2 TBSP Plain Yogurt

1 TBSP Honey or Sugar *

*Note: if you use sweetened yogurt (the vanilla flavored works well), you probably won’t need the extra sugar or honey

Hello T. -

I would recommend making a deal with her that if she finishes a pre-agreed upon amount of food then you will........... (whatever she loves most) such as read her a story, sing her songs during bath time, go for an after dinner walk around the block, visit the neighbor's dog - something that makes her want to hurry up and finish, so you can get onto the enjoyed activity, ideally outside, so that there is a sense of urgency about getting out there in a timely manner, so the activity can be enjoyed during daylight.

Best wishes -
D.

T.,

You're being played like a fiddle! Don't let her do this to you. Put food on the table at mealtimes. Let her take what she wants. Let her eat as much or as little as she wants to. Monitor her weight, energy level and overall health, because you're the mom, but BECAUSE you're the mom, stop letting her control your behavior and emotions.

I know it's nerve wracking when your baby suddenly stops eating, but there's a reason why they say "2 year-olds survive on air and cheerios." She has hit a developmental "growth spurt". She is learning that she is a separate being from you, that she can effect her environment and the behavior of others, not to mention learning to talk! All of these eclipse eating on her toddler list of priorities.

Don't sweat it. She will not allow herself to starve, and eating will make it's way back up the list before long.

Good luck sweetie!
D. T

The less she eats, the smaller her tummy shrinks, and the less hungry she'll be. She needs to be offered 3 meals a day as well as two snacks. The snack can be 4 ounces of juice, crackers, fruit, cheese, whatever.
She is not eating for two reasons. One, you have made it a game/power struggle. And two, kids this age eat very little food. It'll pick up again in 6-9 months. A child will not starve themselves. It is really important not to make food such a big issue. Also, it is unhealthy to force a child to eat when their body is telling them they are not hungry. Their bodies are made to self regulate, and teaching them to ignore that causes overeating and eating for the wrong reasons (emotions, etc).
I require my kids to eat one bite of everything, and then they can choose whether or not they eat more. Try to stop asking her to eat. Just visit with her, comment on how good yours is, and let her play or eat. When you are done, leave the table. Let her leave when she is done or sit and nibble for the next two hours. It doesn't matter. When she realizes that you don't care, it won't be fun anymore and she'll get bored. It would work even better if you can be somewhere she can't see you.
One tip I have for getting your kids to eat veggies is to cook them first. Serve your child only the veggies and let them eat while you finish making the rest of dinner. They will be most hungry, and will not have any other options until you are done cooking. If they eat it, great! If not, oh well, try again tomorrow.

Hi T., you've already gotten a truckload of great responses from other smart moms, so this one isn't advice--it's moral support.

My 3-year-old has been subsisting upon we don't know what for a year or so and shows no signs of changing. Some meals, we don't see that he's eaten anything--but somehow he's full of pep until the next meal. Where he gets his energy we don't know, but as some of the other moms have said, my pediatrician told me this is totally normal.

I checked in with my posse over at CafeMom and they all confirmed this "I'm so over food, Mom" phase. What a relief to me to know that so many other kids and moms out there are going through the same thing and that nothing's wrong with my kid--and nothing's going to be wrong! I'm sure this child will be eating me out of house and home soon enough so I'm counting my blessings. Your little darling sounds like a great kid outside of the eating thing and I wish you all the best. It's easy to see you are a great mom.

Maybe take a fun adventure away from her such as going to the park movie etc..... maybe those ideas might be rewarding to her so if you take them away she might get the hint???? Good luck my niece does the same things to her parents.

Having done a lot of reading on this topic myself, I completely agree with the comments of Michele S. I would add one more thing -- if you continue to focus on this issue so much, it will set her up for a REAL eating disorder. She is learning that this is one area in which she can push your buttons. Ease up, try not to care and she'll come around when her body tells her to.

My daughter is an extremely picky eater, literally and figurative;y. She never wants to sit down and eat her food, she would rather just run around and grab a piece of food here and there (making her a pick eater). She is like me when it comes variety of food, there isn't much out there that pleases us. We wanted to establish a meal time so we dont let her pick at her food like that anymore. When we sit down to the table to eat the rule is when I get done everyone is done (thats because it takes me forever to eat and normally the husband and other child are already finished their food). If she doesn't eat the food on her plate before I get finished she doesn't get anything else til breakfast. I give her breakfast and lunch with small snacks between meals and if she doesn't eat dinner then I dont feel so bad about her not eating and going to bed hungry. My daughters ped. told me one good piece of advice-children will eat when they get hungry, you can't starve a child. Its the truth too.

My son is now five and we have had the same battle. I have read extensively on this topic so a few things

1. Don't worry if she eats or doesn't
2. Don't mention eating, it causes too much stress and she is enjoying the power struggle
3. Give her a half hour to hour time limit whichever you can stand
4. Don't make a big deal about whether she ate or not
5. Stick to no more food until morning if she says she's hungry
6. Ideally you only want to offer her what you are eating maybe slightly modified (ie. keep foods separate) and not cater to her
7. So long as your daughter has enough energy to run and play don't worry about how much see consumes

This is not just my advice, it's Dr.s advice. She still won't eat, but you won't be as unhappy or stressed out by it.