36 years
My 2.5 year old boy has an eating problem.. he barely eats anything at home or out, not even chocolate or stuff kids love.. he only eats in childecare. doesnt gain enough weight but has lots f energy
Aug 24, 2014
Food refusal refers to behaviors that interfere with proper nutritional, caloric and or hydrational needs. These behaviors include (but are not limited to) throwing food or utensils, holding food in the mouth, hitting the spoon when fed, spitting out food, kicking at mealtimes, crying and vomiting.
Causes of Food Refusal
Most times it is difficult to pinpoint the cause of a particular case of food refusal.
>Medical Conditions
Food refusal may be caused by a prior medical condition that has in the past or in the present caused discomfort during eating. This makes the act of eating uncomfortable to a child or the experience of discomfort in the past has been paired with eating in general.
>Tube Dependence
Tube dependence can be a major cause of food refusal. For various reasons, some children are unsafe to eat orally, while at other times children are at an unsafe weight when a feeding tube is placed.
Attention Maintained ----i think this is your son cause .
Sometimes children are easily reinforced by attention to their eating behaviors.
If a child is being coddled subsequent to the child shaking a head after food is presented, it will be more likely that during the next meal that the presentation of food will result in head shaking.
you say that your son won't eat anything in home or outside except at the day care ,so i think the cause is your presence .At home or outside parents are present but at day care you are not there and i think if you were there he will not eat too .this is all because your kid seems he want to take your attention whatever the method is ,he wants you and his mother to be all the time thinking if he eats or not and try with him and offer him offers and love even if sometimes you shout or punish him ,this might be a cause he needs your attention he has no other method to let you all the time except than struggling in a meal .
other cause might be that ,he feels that a meal is a battle ,he will be punished or shout at ,or he may remember a sad mealtime before and refuse to eat because of bad memories about eating meal times ,so he start refusing to stop the consequence of meal times results and battles ,it is for him a battle ,while at day care he feels himself not on the eye all the time ,no one will ask if he eats or not so it is his choice not yours .
other cause might be that your child needs a contest to eat ,when he sees other children eating he eats while at home no contest and he will not eat alone no one is watching .
your child might need more love and attention and no meal time struggle .
Rather than get hung up on the fact that your child has refused everything you put in front of today, consider what he's eaten over the course of one week. Parents are often surprised to find that their child's food intake balances out. Something must be fueling all that energy
Don't forget to consider how much she drinks in the food equation, too.
Milk and 100 percent juice can supply vital nutrients (though too much juice means too much sugar).
But because drinking too much milk or juice can also dampen an appetite, you may want to serve drinks after and between meals, not right before.
And don't let her fill up on sweets and junk food her growing body needs the nutrients supplied by a healthy diet, not empty calories.
solve these problems you will see differences .
Here are a few tips to help :
-Offer a variety of healthy food choices and let your toddler feed herself. This way he gets to exercise a little independence.
-Don't threaten her or bargain with her. "One more bite and you get a cookie," or, "No story time if you don't eat your peas," makes mealtime into a power struggle. If you want to raise a healthy eater, keep mealtimes positive, and don't use sweets as a reward.
-Have meals as a family whenever possible. When your toddler sees you or his siblings eating healthy food, she's more likely to want to follow along.
-Don't take something off the menu if she doesn't like it. Kids are slow to accept new tastes and textures, so if she spits out green beans the first time, try making them again the following week.
-a daily multivitamin isn't usually necessary if your toddler eats a variety of food. But if she doesn't eat much meat or fish, iron-fortified cereal, or iron-rich dark green vegetables, she may need an iron supplement. The best way to know whether your child needs a daily multivitamin – and what kind to give her – is to check with her doctor
-sometimes a child not having enough sun might need vitamin D
However ,as long as your child is growing and gaining weight and active accordingly, you can be confident that your toddler is getting enough to eat since being active means he is having the fuel which is food .
If you're concerned, ask your child's pediatrician to go over your child's growth chart.
Causes of Food Refusal
Most times it is difficult to pinpoint the cause of a particular case of food refusal.
>Medical Conditions
Food refusal may be caused by a prior medical condition that has in the past or in the present caused discomfort during eating. This makes the act of eating uncomfortable to a child or the experience of discomfort in the past has been paired with eating in general.
>Tube Dependence
Tube dependence can be a major cause of food refusal. For various reasons, some children are unsafe to eat orally, while at other times children are at an unsafe weight when a feeding tube is placed.
Attention Maintained ----i think this is your son cause .
Sometimes children are easily reinforced by attention to their eating behaviors.
If a child is being coddled subsequent to the child shaking a head after food is presented, it will be more likely that during the next meal that the presentation of food will result in head shaking.
you say that your son won't eat anything in home or outside except at the day care ,so i think the cause is your presence .At home or outside parents are present but at day care you are not there and i think if you were there he will not eat too .this is all because your kid seems he want to take your attention whatever the method is ,he wants you and his mother to be all the time thinking if he eats or not and try with him and offer him offers and love even if sometimes you shout or punish him ,this might be a cause he needs your attention he has no other method to let you all the time except than struggling in a meal .
other cause might be that ,he feels that a meal is a battle ,he will be punished or shout at ,or he may remember a sad mealtime before and refuse to eat because of bad memories about eating meal times ,so he start refusing to stop the consequence of meal times results and battles ,it is for him a battle ,while at day care he feels himself not on the eye all the time ,no one will ask if he eats or not so it is his choice not yours .
other cause might be that your child needs a contest to eat ,when he sees other children eating he eats while at home no contest and he will not eat alone no one is watching .
your child might need more love and attention and no meal time struggle .
Rather than get hung up on the fact that your child has refused everything you put in front of today, consider what he's eaten over the course of one week. Parents are often surprised to find that their child's food intake balances out. Something must be fueling all that energy
Don't forget to consider how much she drinks in the food equation, too.
Milk and 100 percent juice can supply vital nutrients (though too much juice means too much sugar).
But because drinking too much milk or juice can also dampen an appetite, you may want to serve drinks after and between meals, not right before.
And don't let her fill up on sweets and junk food her growing body needs the nutrients supplied by a healthy diet, not empty calories.
solve these problems you will see differences .
Here are a few tips to help :
-Offer a variety of healthy food choices and let your toddler feed herself. This way he gets to exercise a little independence.
-Don't threaten her or bargain with her. "One more bite and you get a cookie," or, "No story time if you don't eat your peas," makes mealtime into a power struggle. If you want to raise a healthy eater, keep mealtimes positive, and don't use sweets as a reward.
-Have meals as a family whenever possible. When your toddler sees you or his siblings eating healthy food, she's more likely to want to follow along.
-Don't take something off the menu if she doesn't like it. Kids are slow to accept new tastes and textures, so if she spits out green beans the first time, try making them again the following week.
-a daily multivitamin isn't usually necessary if your toddler eats a variety of food. But if she doesn't eat much meat or fish, iron-fortified cereal, or iron-rich dark green vegetables, she may need an iron supplement. The best way to know whether your child needs a daily multivitamin – and what kind to give her – is to check with her doctor
-sometimes a child not having enough sun might need vitamin D
However ,as long as your child is growing and gaining weight and active accordingly, you can be confident that your toddler is getting enough to eat since being active means he is having the fuel which is food .
If you're concerned, ask your child's pediatrician to go over your child's growth chart.
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