2.5 year old refusing to eat

While the justtomatoes suggestion is a good one to maybe get him used to some different tastes in a texture that’s acceptable to him, I guess I’m from the other camp, b/c I don’t think that a 2.5 year old should be crying at all foods except raisins. Something doesn’t seem right to me. (Of course, my perspective is always biased after what we’ve been going through with Hailey’s feeding aversion.)

I think that the docs need to get to the bottom of things and find out if there’s a physical cause for his not wanting to eat, and if there’s not an obvious physical cause, then I think feeding therapy would be the best idea. Sometimes kids with feeding problems need structured therapy and professional guidance to help them build the skills they need and to get over any negative associations that they have with eating.

Toddlers tend to naturally gravitate towards one food that they really like, but only eating raisins doesn’t seem right to me. Hailey always wants me to offer her the same one or two foods for meals (corn, tofu), and then she’ll pick a few bites and be done, but I think that it’s important for a child to have more than one food that they’ll eat. That’s just my opinion though.

s&h’s mum2007-3-21 16:20:31

Good news on the weight gain, and on the consultant’s interest in seeing him next week. Good luck.

Good Luck! Keep us posted.

Oh, that sounds awfully scary (starving him in the hospital). I hope the senior dietician has a plan that will work for him so he doesn’t have to be hospitalized.

Well, I am glad you didn’t say he lost! At least he is holding his own. I hope he gains a bit before you get in to see the dietician. I am sorry it is so hard to get him to eat.

Did your doc ever talk about Claritin or an antihistimine? I read that, although we think of them being head/nose/throat they also can help with the GI tract. With his eczema I wondered if this would help. Just a thought. If his GI tract was feeling great he may want to eat. ? So hard to know what these little ones are going through.

Going to take a nap and say a prayer for James!

I’m so sorry to hear that your son is not getting the attention that he deserves. I know that I’ve said this before, but if I were you, I would ask for a referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist. I don’t know exactly what training your consultant has (or what a consultant is) but I know that you said that he specializes in allergies. I would also ask for a feeding evaluation (by either an ST or OT) and an OT evaluation. Something doesn’t strike me as right in what you are saying. I don’t think that your story sounds like a typical toddler being fussy, especially since his feeding problems started at 6 months old. (How is his drinking BTW?) I would call the consultant again, and also ask him to push the issue with the dietician to get an earlier appointment or to find you someone else due to the gravity of the situation.

I really think that your son needs some testing and some evaluation to determine what the cause is of the non-eating, otherwise it is difficult to treat the feeding problem correctly without knowing the underlying cause. If it is silent reflux or EE (eosinophilic esophagitis/allergic esophagitis) or another GI cause for the feeding problems, they won’t get better by admitting him to the hospital for controlled starvation. There are a lot of feeding clinics in the US, I don’t know about the UK that do feeding therapy, and they also require testing to be done prior to starting to make sure that there’s no underlying cause. They often also do developmental evaluations, speech, and sensory in many cases to see if any of those factors play into things.

Given that your son is also having speech delays, I would try to get these evaluations done. I really disagree with your consultants belief that he’s being a typical toddler without trying to do anything to find out why. We have been (and still are) in a similar situation with my almost 2 year old where doctors have not taken our situation seriously and I’ve been brushed off many times. I hope that there is a different doctor who can help you- a pediatrician, ped GI, or someone who is willing to look into the cause of things.

Sorry if this comes out as harsh sounding- I don’t mean to- I’m just very passionate about this situation because of all the challenges that we’ve had with Hailey being brushed off and our struggles in getting her help and dealing with her feeding aversion. I hope that you can get the help that you need. Good luck.