She Just Won't Eat

[elvisfan]

I'm in tears right now. My 22 month old dd just won't eat. We offer her all kinds of nutritious foods and all she wants is "moke"(milk) and "dooce" (juice). She throws everything-from broccoli to chicken and oranges-on the floor. What can I do?:(

[KathyO]

Nothing, really. I've lost count of the number of times I've mumbled to myself about "you can lead a horse to water" where my daughter is concerned. Come to think about it, 24 months was when she refused everything but milk and watermelon for over a week.

Food strikes like this are not actually that unusual, in spite of how hard they are on YOU. As long as she seems bright-eyed and active, just grit your teeth and keep offering her food at the usual intervals, and try not to show too much distress when it hits the floor. (I used to swear that the likelihood of refusal was in direct proportion to the amount of trouble I had put into making whatever it was...) I may be reading too much into it, but I think that it's a bad idea to let her know how twisted up she's making you - I'm not saying that she's a manipulator now, but when the time comes to press Mommy's buttons, she'll remember that one.

Three things that are reassuring me about your daughter - she is keeping up her hydration levels, she has chosen two drinks that are actually quite nutrition-packed, and she is THROWING the refused food... not just mouthing it, or listlessly turning away because she fills ill or punky. You could try substituting, or adding, a bit of that Ensure milkshake stuff to get even a few more calories in, but if it doesn't work out, just keep up with whatever's going in. It WILL pass, even if every day of milk-and-juice lasts FOREVER for you!!!

In your place, I wouldn't worry about going to the ped until she's had a week, or close to a week, like this, or she starts to act ill.

Best,

KathyO

[egoldber]

I've got to agree with Kate. Sometimes I think that toddlers live on air! But here are some thoughts. How much milk or juice is she drinking a day? My ped says no more than 16 ounces of milk and no more than 8 ounces of juice per day. Lots of kids are perfectly happy to drink their calories rather than eat them, so cutting back on milk and juice may help her feel hungry for real food.

I know a lot of people aren't comfortable with this, and it doesn't work for all kids. But if my DD throws food, we say "All done!" and the meal is over. Even if she's only had one bite. I had a big problem with this when she was around 14 months, but 2-3 days of me being REALLY consistent with this rule and no more food throwing! But you have to be consistent.

And if she knows that not eating is a way to push your buttons, then this is really the age when they start doing that just for fun, it seems like. Just give her the meal, let her eat until she's done and take it away matter of factly.

Good luck!

[KathyO]

Good point on the food-throwing... it took us more than a few days to break that habit, but (touch wood) we finally seem to have reached the point where she can HAND it back, or even ignore it, instead. Hooray!

Cheers,

KathyO

[elvisfan]

Thanks for the advice everyone. She did eat dinner tonight~a good thing:)

[egoldber]

I have also found that my DD will go a couple days of barely eating and then eat heartily for a couple days. And if she's teething, she defintitely eats less too. Funny little buggers aren't they? Just when you think you have them all figured out!

[KathyO]

As I am fond of saying, "I don't know anything - I'm just her mother!!" I have a feeling I'll be saying this more often when adolescence sets in...

KathyO