Hi, my child is 3 (recently turned) but he’s an absolutely rubbish eater. I always try giving him what we eat but regardless of how hungry he is he will not eat it.
Now I’m worried as I’ve been told he’s slightly under weight (he’s 2 stone) and he’s been looking very pale lately.
I give him a vitamin daily and he’ll eat fruit not veg though.
Just not sure what I can do x
Hi LauraC21,
My now five year old was very much like this at age three, although it was meat he didn’t eat rather than vegetables.
Is there anything your son does eat reasonably easily?
When we went through a similar thing we took the pressure off at meal times for a while, with hope that by feeding him nutritious things he would eat, he would start to learn that eating is good and gain some weight.
We then started rewarding good eating with stickers or treats. So if he cleared his plate he would get a sticker or if he tried something new he would also get a sticker.
It’s hard not to make meals a battle ground especially when your worried about their weight.
Also if your worried about vegetable intake have you tried hiding them in things? Blending them into sauces etc? We used to crack an egg into mash potatoes so there was protein in it etc.
Now we have a 5 year old who is a normal weight and still needs a bit of encouragement at meal times but will eat and try new things.
Thanks for replying.He loves chocolate and sweets (a lot)
He’s good with breakfast and fruit too.
He mainly eats either pasta with cheese, chicken dippers or pizza for tea but I feel I can’t giving him the same thing as it can’t be good.
If I try anything else he pushes it away and refuses - Even the foods I know he use to eat and love.
I try encouraging and always say il give him a reward but even that he turns his nose up to it.
I am trying to get him to try new things.
Don’t ever remember my step daughter being this fussy though.
All kids are different. My five year old has always been difficult meal times. My nearly 2 year old will eat anything you give him. Go figure.
It sounds contradictory but at this point it’s more important that he eats, than what he eats. They have to learn to eat and it’s a easy place for him to assert his control over.
If he is having fruit and a vitamin, then he is getting some good nutrition. Does he have a glass of milk a day too?
Cheese has lots of good nutritional qualities too. It’s high in protein and calcium for example.
I think if he likes sweets so much maybe you should only give them as earned rewards.
I don’t know what meal times are like with you but with us they became a fight and once we stopped tying to force him to eat - he lost his power at the dinner table. Kids love attention and even negative attention is a good attention to them.
I’d would give him a couple of days of foods he likes to eat at the dinner table, don’t comment on him not eating and when he starts eating and joining in, praise him and give him attention when he is being good. Once that’s settled try adding one new thing to the plate.
It may take a couple of meals to start seeing some improvement. But he will eat when he is hungry especially if he isn’t filling up in between meals on sweets etc.
It’s a slow process and it’s taken us years to sort out with our oldest. But it does get better.
Hi LauraC21 ,
Sounds like you've aready had some good advice.
When you say he is underweight, was that by a GP or similar?
It may be worth making a food diary to see what he consumes over a week or two.
The main things to remember are to keep meal times fun and not fraught (often this is easier said than done, I know!)
Let them get involved, eg, by having the food in the middle of the table and spoon so they feel in control and able to help themselves.
Offer opportunities to get involved with preparing simple foods/snacks.
And keep offering a small amount of everything, even if you know they won't eat them so the sight and smells remain familiar.
If you need further advice, you are very welcome to call 0300 300 0123 to chat it through further.
Best Wishes,
Rachel (Assistant Practitioner)
Hi Rachel
Thanks for replying.
We had paramedics come out a few weeks ago as his blood sugar levels dropped (scary) and they said he was slightly under weight for his age.
I know he’s skinny but just thought it was cause of how tall he is for his age (dad is 6ft3).
He helps when making his dinner before nursery - il let him choose the things he likes and he manages to eat that.
It’s just mainly tea time we struggle with - 9 times of 10 he has pasta, pizza or chicken dippers and to me it’s not a real meal. If I try anything else he pushes it away or just refuses to eat at all.
He would rather snack all day.
I’m happy for him to have snacks but I would also love it if he had the three meals too.
Hi LauraC21 ,
Sounds like you had a really scary time!
It can be really normal for his age group to "graze" and you may find offering 5 smaller meals over the course of the day more appealing and mean he eats a more "balanced" evening meal.
It sounds like your trying really hard to offer him a balanced evening meal.
Sometimes they end up with a preference to for foods that are easier to eat at that time of the day, so may be worth offing a meal that is easy for him to feed himself if that makes sense...?
Have you got any follow up with GP following his blood sugars? I am wondering if it may be sensible to get a weight check to use a starting point to ensure he continues to gain weight.
Best Wishes.
Rachel
