My Son Doesn't Want to Eat.... - Houston,TX

My daughter used to be the exact same way - only she was 3 instead of four and now she is 5 and still has issues with eating to the amount of my liking.
she is already small framed, long and lanky and in the bottom if her weight chart but top of her height chart....
So if you didnt know better you would almost think she was malnurished....
however, after trying not to force feed her and worrying about her losing weight - her dr suggested eating at the table and getting into a routine. Allowing her to help make dinner (mixing meatloaf, stirring the salad, picking hte veegie and so forth) - If she still didnt eat - dont give into the fits anf demands of junk foods... leave stuff on a plate that wont spoil - and give the nutrition drinks like pedia-sure... so that if the child doesnt eat - they still get the nutrients they need... but only at one meal - and juice or regular mimlk at the other meals.
Savannah out grew it for a while and now that she has started kindergarten and has only 30 minutes to eat - she is back to almost nothing - so I pack a bunch of snack foods she likes in her lunch box, like salads oranges and berries and nuts.... I dont force the meats on her - but on occassion she will ask for her fried chicken or something
Good luck and dont worry too much about it - as long as they are drinking good - even when they appear to not be eating - they will be fine and outgrow it - at least for a while.
Savannah kinds floats back and forth with her eating habit...

My son was the same way. I talked to the doctor about it and he just told me to have him eat what he wanted to eat. As long as he wasn't losing weight he was fine. It was a phase that passed after a while. Now he is in school and he eats like a horse. I can't believe my son who wouldn't eat anything is now eating me out of house and home. The only thing I can figure is he is on brain overload and it is making him wo up an apetite.

I like what Lorene said. She is right on. See if you can get your son to help with the prep and choosing of food for meals. This not eating comes up on Mamasource all of the time. I know you are VERY frustrated. Your son will not starve.

Here is a response I gave to another mom a couple of months ago

"You are his mom and feel like if you do not feed him you are not doing a good job, but this is not the case. He is just not interested in food at the moment. Give it a rest. Do not make this a battle. It will just frustrate all of you. Place very small portions of what the rest of the family is eating and he will eat when he is hungry.. No extra special foods just for him only healthy snacks during regular snack times. No bribes....

If he attends Mothers day out, send him with healthy choices. Keep them simple and in small portions.. You may be surprised to learn he ends up eating it there since he will see the other kids eating..

As he gets older there will be times when he is hungry all of the time.. You are going to look back and laugh at this time when you could not get him to eat anything. I promise he is not going to starve. You may want to take him to the doctor, just to first of all document his official weight and maybe have them check to make sure everything else is ok.

Our daughter (19)still does not like anything with a sauce baked or cooked on it. She will add it separately to her own food.. Never liked mac and cheese, Never has liked casseroles or salads with mayo bases. She likes her pasta plain with just a touch of sauce (she serves it).
Eventually he is going to learn that he will just have to eat what is there."

Offer the food...if he eats it fine, if not pick it up and he can wait until the next designated mealtime. HE WILL NOT STARVE HIMSELF.

Chips are not even an option at our house...maybe on a rare occasion with a sandwich.

You are not a short order cook. Breakfast, small snack, lunch, small snack, dinner...maybe bedtime snack IF and only IF he eats dinner. You can give him choices...the apple or the banana...crackers & cheese or crackers & peanut butter...cereal & milk or pancakes...and once he chooses that is IT, don't then make the other choice just because he changed his mind (once you have prepared the first choice).

My son used to do the gagging thing at the table...until he started earning extra TV time for trying everything and no gagging allowed.

It is hard, but they WILL NOT STARVE!!

Well, since he'll eat tortilla chips, I think you can rule out any sort of physical obstruction. My daughter, in general, eats a very healthy and well-balanced diet. HOWEVER, sometimes she just decides that she wants to decide. When we run into this situation, I do offer a choice...you can have what is for lunch/dinner or you can have a sandwich cereal--but that is it! At four, your son has a little more capacity for understanding "eat this or go hungry" than my 2.5 year old does, but I can only hope it won't STILL be something we are working on when she gets that age.

I think you've gotten a lot of great advice...just be as matter of fact about it as you can.