2yr old hardly ates....

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My 2 yr old daughter doesn't seem to ever want to eat. My wife is always trying to give her food to eat,but doesn't really want to eat.She does like McDonald's fries,but that's only when i order something and only a few of them..We've tried not giving her any bottle but she cries a lot! So,for now,it's he bottle so at least she consumes something.This has been going on for a few months now.
 
A tummy issue maybe? Sounds like something is not making it good for her to eat.


My 2 year old, not very picky. Likes fries too, though...
 
My 3.5 y.o. girl hates eating too. She's always been like this. She likes chicken and fries though. She peters out even on that pretty quickly.

Our theory is that she's learning so much and has so much curiousity, that sitting down to a meal is the most boring, tedious thing we could ever ask her to do.

Terrible twos? Wait till they're three and a half. Now the defiance is kicking in!

I wouldn't worry too much, but I'd raise it with your family doctor next time you're in. Ours told us that toddlers won't starve, they'll eat sooner or later. Ours does, and we're just trying to rig it so that it's not after bed-time very often. That being the case, I just gave her something to eat...it's just about midnight here.
 
I agree that the 3's are worse than the 2's.

If she seems to be OK and not malnourished I wouldn't worry too much about it. If she is thin and lethargic, defiantly get her to a doctor, and be sure to mention it the next time you see her doctor as others have said.

My boy goes on spurts where he barely eats and then seems to eat a side of a cow...
 
Tempest has some good points there.

Oft growth spurts and stuff do it.

Generally breast fed babies grow into good eaters, having experienced tastes through the process. My children love brussels sprouts, broccolli, and asparagus, while me and my siblings couldn't stand them until in our teens.
 
my 3 almost 4 year old daughter eats pretty little and I worry sometimes, but she is average on the growth charts so it is OK. Talk to a nutritionist doctor or peadiatrician and have her weight checked. apparently sometimes they just don't feel like eating.

I haven't heard of a kid who can't devour fries... no matter how picky... fries, tomato sauce, sausages...
 
Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
Is being a picky eater a part of the whole "terrible twos" deal that I hear so much about?


my 2 and 1/2 year old boy eats twice as much as his almost 4 year old sister. it seems they eat the best when about 1 year, then goes down, and picks up after 2 years, then down again, in my experience.
 
Have you tried yogurt?

My 2YO was living on yogurt. Now its nuggets, pizza or cereal. As mentioned some days she eats more then I do other days almost nothing. After a good BM she will often pick up eating. Some of the toddler diets clog them up a bit. When it was the yogurt diet we had no issues. Now we slip her a fiber pop tart, 20 minutes later ding.
 
Teething? I know my 2 1/2 year old son doesn't want to eat some days and then the next day eats like a pig! Most of his teeth has came in now but back when they were coming in (all of them came it once ) those swings were alot worse. As it was mentioned early if she's not lethargic I wouldn't worry although it's hard not to.
 
Originally Posted By: daves66nova
My 2 yr old daughter doesn't seem to ever want to eat. My wife is always trying to give her food to eat,but doesn't really want to eat.She does like McDonald's fries,but that's only when i order something and only a few of them..We've tried not giving her any bottle but she cries a lot! So,for now,it's he bottle so at least she consumes something.This has been going on for a few months now.


How is her weight and height ?
My granddaughter just turned 3 and she seems to prefer chocolate and ice cream..... in large amounts.
 
+1, they slow down growing at age two and eat less. Also agree on the BM, don't feed too many bananas or cheese, constipating. Yogurt is always good, try and avoid the no-fat stuff.

Try not to get hung up or in a power struggle, they can smell fear and love the attention.
 
Is her belly bloated or distened? more sensitive than usual? Constipated? If so then have a docter check for reflux. My son has severe reflux that was misdiagnosed for the first 4 years of his life. He did not chew or eat anything unless it was pureed and drank tons of milk. He also did not throw up either but was very sensitive to noise, crowds and anything that would overload his sensory system. We went to specialists and everything and got all kinds of crazy diagnoses from autism to neurological disoders. Finally found a feeding/sawllowing specialist who in 15 minutes said he had severe reflux. After 6 months on reflux meds he started chewing and eating and after a year he was fine with the help of medication for reflux.
 
Don't worry too much, I am a living proof that a child don't need to eat to survive.
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Until I was 30, I never eat that much.
In primary school, my mother told me that the responsible of the place we went to eat at lunch called her and said:" You don't need to pay for his lunch, remove him from here, just buy him a baguette in the morning, he is only eating bread and drink water anyway!". Bread is good in France, and I know, I eat a lot when I was kid.

As long as she is in the norm (height vs weight), that is OK.
I was skinny all my youth (doctor told my mom, I am not too skinny, I was powerful (only muscle, no fat)), so skinny that when my wife saw my pictures, she told me she would never marry me at that age (mid twenties) as I look like a sero-positive sick person.
Thankfully, I took some fat before meeting her, and now, I am even fatter thanks to her food.

When I was young, I never wanted to eat any vegetables and fruits. Only meat (a bit), yogurts, cheese and milk (quite), bread (a lot), and candies (way too much).
Now, I am 6'1 and 190 lbs,... with a belly.

So don't worry too much, she knows what she needs, just be sure to provide lots of variety and she will pick what her body asks her. Don't force any food on her, just show her how much you like it, and she may starts to develop her taste.
 
Generally, a good appetite is a sign of health.
I'd get a few opinions from medical professionals.
This is a critical time of growth and development.
 
Talk to a speech-language pathologist who specializes in child feeding disorders after you talk to your pediatrician. There are a number of kids out there who have texture aversion issues or other feeding issues that a SLP who specializes in childhood feeding disorders could help with.

And, kids can take 15-20 separate presentations before trying a new food. Keep track on a calendar of when you presented something new, and the outcome. Put a little on their plate, ask they try it, and don't press it if they don't try it. You don't want it turning into a power struggle.
 
My son is 4 now and he was like that at 2. Our doctor said not to worry about it to much, when they get hungry they will eat. My daughter just turn 2 so now she's there. But not as bad, she's just hard headed and doesn't listen worth a you know what. But they will learn.
 
I'd say its better to be skinny than fat. Heck, even anorexia is better than obesity.

My niece is the same way but she looks fine, but my entire family worries about her and sounds like they're trying to 'fatten her up'. If she isn't showing bones I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, she's drinking milk, thats all a child needs to live for how long?


I believe a person knows their body than anyone else. So one day you're trying to force feed her. Then she gets fat and now you're trying to starve her next. I know she's too young, but let her be her own weight.


Health comes in all shapes and sizes. I'm 5'11" and when I was 160lbs I was feeling so good but my family teased me saying the wind would blow me over. Always offering food to me, just irked me. Well, I started doing heavy weights with squats in the gym and got a crazy appetite and went to 235lbs and now they all say 'oh you need to lose'. 'just one burger is enough'. Now I'm at 185-190lbs they trying to 'fatten me up' again. Makes me want to live in solitude. j/k
 
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