My son will be two next month and I worry because he eats so little. I always offer fruits and veggies - which he loves. I offer a variety of food - some days he eats a lot - other days he barely eats at all. He's a skinny kid - tall, but skinny. He's completely healthy and just seems to be too busy with life to stop to eat. Breakfast is the hardest meal of the day. As soon as he takes one bite he starts telling me that he's done. He has to sit there until I am done with my breakfast but he doesn't continue to eat. This really stresses me out - because it is MY JOB to get this kid to grow :-)
His doctor has never been concerned about his weight as it always goes up and he's growing appropriately - but it just seems that he doesn't hardly eat.
Seems like most kids are like vultures with food - not mine.
Does anyone have any experience with this and how did it get resolved. I can't force feed him - and I know when he's really hungry he eats so am I making too much out of this?
Thank you all so much for your responses. It sounds like this is a VERY familiar situation that many of you have faced. I feel so much better about it! My son does eat - just not much. I certainly don't want to instill bad eating habits so I am going to back off and quick worrying about it so much. Actually, I could probably learn another lesson from this...and that is for ME to only eat when I'm hungry :-)
With my first, I worried but the doc said they were growing fine. Now I just lok at how much she is eating over the week. Some days it seems she is eating everything in sight while some days she barely eats at all.
Many kids this age will eat less than they did... just the way it goes. As long as he's growing well it's just a phase, Make sure you don't make it a battle (like someone else said). Sometimes they think it's fun to help cook - and that makes them want to eat more... you could try that.
Just to give you an idea of how doctors and nutritionists would look at the situation if you were to take him in- They will ask you to keep track of everything your son eats for a week. Not just a day, all toddlers have good days and bad days. So if you are concerned, think about his intake for the entire week and then average it back out per day. It might be a lot more than you think, and that is the normal way for the doctors to look at his nutrition. If you are still concerned, you could also start keeping track on paper and when you take him in next month for his two year appointment, you would have a log of what he eats to be able to show the doctor.
Sounds about normal to me though. My son is a huge piggie right before a growth spurt then afterwards, barely eats. Then it sort of levels off to normal amounts. And it seemed like up until age 2 he was having a growth spurt every month or so. So this was a very noticeable yo-yo in his eating, but he had always been that way and his growth was always perfect. It stressed me out when I first noticed it when he was a baby, but now I'm used to it. Just pay attention to the whole week and see if that gives you any reassurance.
There's a simple equation to follow here and you'll have your answer: if your son is happy, healthy and has lots of energy, he is most definitely eating enough to meet his body's needs. Different strokes for different folks, though....so while some kids need to eat adult portions, others (like mine) can eat like birds and be just fine. Trust me, if he was malnourished there would be obvious symptoms including lethargy (or even a mild lack of energy). Try not to worry.
Your son sounds a lot like my 4 yr old son. He has always been a little less interested in eating 'meals' but he does better with grazing. I make him sit at the table with the rest of the family for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and if he chooses not to eat then I put his food away until he says he is hungry and then I sit him back down at the table. Some days he's hungrier than others (finishes meals and asks for snacks too) but there are also days when it seems like he eats practically nothing. One thing that I have to keep an eye on is how much my son drinks before meals because he'll drink an entire cup of milk and then skimp on the food so maybe try monitoring your son's drinks and see if he's filling up on liquids. I also try to give higher calorie foods on the days when he's not eating much so that I make sure he's getting what he needs to grow. (He likes whole fat yogurt, eggs, buttered toast, apple slices with peanut butter, cheddar cheese slices, etc)
My son has always been this way but at every checkup, he's growing well and following the appropriate growth chart curve. The pediatrician says it's pretty normal for kids this age. As long as your son is growing well and doesn't seem to have problems with energy, he's more than likely fine. Also consider (this is something I had to realize when I was a new mom) that a child's stomach is only about as big as his/her fist so while it might seem like he's not eating much, he may be eating plenty for a child his size. Oh, and I completely agree with the post below that says to let your son help cook. My son does tend to eat better if I let him help in the prep work like stirring ingredients etc. Seeing how the food is made and put together also seems to desensitize him to trying new foods that might looks strange on a plate. My boys have loved meatloaf ever since I started letting them help make it with me. I hope this helps! :)
I know with mine during growth spurts they would eat like crazy and before then, just eat sporadically as their body needs it. If the doctor doesn't feel anything is wrong with weight or growth, don't worry too much. Offer shakes if he will drink it. With my son too, he is easily distracted, so I have to sit with him to encourage him to eat. Other times, the food is just not what they like, so instead of offering a variety here and there, during one meal, offer everything on the food chart and let him choose - Ex for breakfast, offer maybe (bread/crackers, cheese, eggs, fruits), then for lunch offer green peas, macaroni, chicken, orange slices), just as an example.
This can be very normal. As long as he is healthy and active and you are feeding him healthy foods. I would not worry about it. You sound like you are doing a great job.
One thing to do is to serve him small portions and replace that portion each time he eats it. This way a if he is turned off by a large amount of food, he is more likely to eat . Do not make food or meal time a battle. It is not worth it.
It seems as though that can be very normal for a 2y/o. If he is pooping and growing, it's probably fine. Mine only had crackers and cheerios yesterday. It's hard for me to see that, but she is growing just fine. I didn't think about growth spurts like the other moms said. That makes sense. For me, I was thinking maybe her molars were coming in and in the past, teething would make her not eat as much. Who knows. Toddlers can be a mysterious bunch!
My son was exactly the same way. I worried about him constantly even though the doctor didn't seem worried. He was always very skinny and I worried about him not getting enough vitamins because he ate so little.
Today he is a healthy 6'1'' sixteen year old eating machine. For the past several years there has not been enough food in the universe to satisfy this child. I am astounded at the amount of food he now puts away (and he is still tall and skinny).
My point is that I spent all that time worrying and it didn't change a thing. I never got him to eat and he turned out fine. As long as you are offering him healthy snacks in between meals (even if he doesn't eat them) then you can do no more. Some day your son will be a teenager and you will wonder why you worried so much:)
I have a 10 y/o and he still isn't an eater, never has been. Does he drink a lot of fluids, whole milk in particular. My son was a drinker but never an eater. When he was a toddler his ped said he was probably feeling full from the milk, because it is fatty and filling. When I started limiting the milk to times when food wasn't involved like in the evening he did start to eat a little more. I just offered sips of water with his food just in case he needed to 'wash it down'. They will eat when they get hungry, but I know that's no fun to hear!
dont stress.............this is normal. Just continue to offer him foods or sit in a more friendly environment (something different) and just keep offering. But if he sees you stress it sets him up for issues around food:(
I have twin boys who are now 2 1/2. They have never been huge eaters, especially in the morning. They are just not interested in food in the a.m.. I have a friend who's son is the same age and eats a TON! He is tall and thin but eats like an animal! I have come to realize that what the doctor's tell you is true, they eat when they are hungry...even if it seems they are on a hunger strike for, um 2 years (?!) like mine :)
As long as he eats when he seems hungry, he has plenty of energy, you keep offering a variety of foods, and the doctor isn't worried, then I wouldn't push him. My daughter just turned three, is tiny (bottom 10th percentile, consistently), and goes through phases of eating not much for weeks/months at a time. It took a long time to get used to the idea that she knows what she needs, but she does.
Forcing her to finish her food was my initial response...but it didn't work for a variety of reasons: 1) she refused; 2) she was less likely to want to try new foods because she figured I'd force her to sit there until she did; and 3) I can only imagine the bad eating habits she would have learned if I'd kept at it.
I'd say just keep offering foods, but don't make a big deal out of his disinterest. He'll eat when he's hungry...they always do!
