A Toddler Who Hardly Eats
Question:
My daughter is 2 years old. She hardly eats anything. She's about
30 lbs and was 9.7 when she was born. All the Doctors says is she
looks fine don't worry about it, she will eat when she's hungry.
But I think something is wrong! In a given day all she will eat
is maybe an egg for breakfast, and for lunch a bite of banana, lunch
meat, and some chips. Dinner she will most of the time eat a lot
of corn or other veggies, and that's all. Other times she will eat
nothing.
What can I do?
Answer:
As hard as it can be for some adults to identify and trust their
own natural hunger and sense of fullness, it can be even harder
for parents to trust the natural appetite of a child. Two year olds
are so little, so vulnerable in some ways, in spite of their famous
feistiness, and so irrational about so many things, it may be difficult
to believe that they know what they are doing when it comes to eating,
but by and large they do. If your daughter's growth, energy level
and mood are within the normal range, that tells you she is eating
as much as she needs to.
The inborn ability to eat wisely is strengthened when a child can
exercise food-related choices without interference. The role of
parents and caregivers is to provide a variety of nutritious and
appealing foods for the child to eat or not eat according to the
child's own appetite and taste. With so much interest in autonomy,
toddlers who are pressured to eat can turn the feeding situation
into a battleground, which is no fun for anyone. You might like
to read a book called How to Get Your Kid to Eat . . . But Not Too
Much by Ellen Satter (1987, Bull Publishing Co.) for ideas about
how to handle your daughter's eating habits.
Worrying often seems to be part of parenting. In your situation,
it's not a good idea to express your worry in your interaction with
your child, but it's still there. Connecting with other parents
can make it easier to deal with child-rearing worries. You might
like to try Parent Soup, a wealth of resources for parents or parenting
organizations in your community. Hearing from other parents that
have been through similar dilemmas can sometimes be so reassuring
(especially when you can see that their children have turned out
okay). Good luck.
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