I have a 21 month old boy who won't eat breakfast most of the time and its starting to worry me that he could be losing weight. There seems to be a direct link between the days he does eat breakfast and how well he eats for the rest of the day. The days he refuses to eat breakfast he eats the bare minimum, maybe a piece of fruit and his dinner all day even though I offer other things, but he drinks HEAPS. I have tried everything to encourage him to eat breakfast, I keep it varied so he isn't bored of the same thing. I've tried offering it as soon as he wakes up, or waiting an hour or two before offering, makes no difference. I've tried getting him to sit with his older brother and giving him the exact same thing hoping that he will follow what big brother is doing. I've offered him to share what I eat, might have a couple of bites and then be on his way. Bribery didn't work either. Does anybody have any ideas for me on what I could do?? Am I clutching at straws here or is this really a problem? It's been going on for months now. Help??
6 Replies
It's quite normal at this age to loose interest in food and become more interested in playing. Kids this age generally start to thin out a bit. Track his height and weight in his blue book, that will let you know if there is anything to worry about. Also if he is eating more the next day that's a good sign he won't let himself starve. Consult your GP or child health nurse if your unsure how to interpret the graph.
My little girl (20 months) does the exact same thing!!!! We've tried everything including taking her to the doctors (who said it was completely normal) we've also started her on liquid multivitamins seems to helping alot!!!!! she still won't eat breakfast but will eat more of her lunch dinner and snacks.
My 10mo old is the same!! However, ive notice when eats less is either that day, or the next he will do a poo. lol. dont panic, he might just have a tummy upset.
What is he drinking? If it's milk maybe he's filling up on milk so there's not much room for food. My kids 17mths, 3yrs and 5 yrs only have milk atfter lunch and dinner time. From around 2 if my kids didn't eat dinner they didn't get milk as my middle child was holding out for milk instead of eating her dinner. I only offer water at other times of the day.
Blend loads of goodness into a smoothie! Even 'monster smoothies' filled with green stuff. My 2 yr old loves it. Good luck
Oh my....I remember that stage...I think I started my gray hair worrying about his nutrition. I finally figured out making "fun" things... mickey mouse pancakes with blueberry eyes or bananas for the "big" eyes... peach slices for the smiles.... we then made finger sandwiches and he'd pick the picture from the cookie cutters and we'd go on a hunt to eat them up... or dinosaurs with jelly... sliced apples (with skins) with nutella.... I'd have soft cheese bags for lunch, put in fun bags he'd eat when we watched a cartoon... I found silly straws (curly see-through to watch his juice crawl up). Don't stress mom... I recall his doctor saying .."he may not eat until he's 10" .. then he laughed because I think I had a seriously panicked face. He loved mashed potato boats .. fruit cups and I'd tell him not to eat my peach on my plate...and sure enough I'd turn my head and he'd grab it.... eventually you'll be tired and he'll be wanting more. Hugs to you.