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Home › Expert Q&A › Fitness and Diet › How can I get my 2-year-old child to eat?

Expert Q&A

 

By iParenting Staff
iParenting Staff Experts

I have a 2-year-old child who does not eat very much. When he was about 18 months old, he ate everything from brussels sprouts to split pea soup, but now he will barely touch his food. He takes one or two bites and won't eat any more. I have tried offering a variety of foods, and it does not work. My son plays nicely and acts like a normal child, but he is very thin. I am concerned. Please help me find a solution!"

Two-year-olds can be very frustrating to feed. Since you mentioned that your son is very thin, the first thing to do is check with his pediatrician to make sure his growth is normal. Many children are naturally thin, but your pediatrician can tell you if he is too thin.

It is common for appetites to decrease around two. Children this age are often too busy playing to eat, they are experimenting with saying "No" to you, and they are suspicious of new foods. All these things mean that they can be very picky - some people call them "airatarians" because they seem to exist on air alone. Children's appetites also decrease when they are sick. It can be normal for kids to eat a lot one day, and a little the next.

You have the right idea in offering a variety of foods to him. When I say "offer a variety of foods" what I really mean is "serve a variety of foods." Avoid offering him five different choices. Plan in advance what you will serve. If you plan to serve sliced apples and yogurt for snack, stick with it. One day he may eat both, another day he may eat neither.

He also needs some structure around his meals and snacks. Serve three meals and two to three snacks a day at fairly regular times. Insist that he come to the table to eat (no eating on the run or in front of the TV) so that he must slow down and focus on the food. If you plan the menus, put them in front of him at the table, and serve them at regular times, then you are doing your job. Eating or not eating is up to him.

In her book How To Get Your Kid to Eat ... But Not Too Much, dietitian Ellyn Satter explains this way of feeding children as a division of responsibility. Parents are responsible for what is served, where food is eaten, and when meals and snacks are served. Children are responsible for whether they eat and how much they eat.

This approach works because healthy, hungry children really do eat. Research shows kids learn to eat best when they are presented with a variety of nutritious foods and without pressure from parents to eat.

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