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ashmommy11 posted:
My 21 month old daughter more often than not refuses to eat. I've had to force feed her and it usually takes two people. One to hold her hands and head and one to feed her. Most of what goes in is usually spit right back out. This even happens with her favorite foods. Recently, I've begun giving her the PediaSure shakes to supplement what little bit she does eat but I don't want her to become dependent on them. Is this a phase or is there something wrong?
PoeRaven59 responded:
Force feeding your child is not the answer and it sounds almost torturous what you are putting her through. Of course she is going to fight! When it comes to nutrition, look at what she is eating over a period of a week as opposed to day by day. A child isn't going to starve itself to death. She will eat when she gets hungry. Trust me on this one.
An_249544 replied to PoeRaven59's response:
Don't force feed your child. I can only imagine your frustration but force feeding may cause problems down the road. Do your best to make eating enjoyable. Try eating with your child, let her see you enjoying your food, sitting at the table with the family. At her age the more you try to force it, the more she will resist. Give her her favorite foods as well as a couple new things and let her eat at her lesiure. Be calm. Make sure she gets plenty of water. If it doesn't get better, try talking to her pedatrician. Hope it gets better!
lauramargarita responded:
Force feeding is not a good thing. I could cause worse eating issues later on. A toddler can go more than a day without eating anything at all, and it not be worrisome. Supplementing their intake at any time of the day will not allow you to gauge whether or not they really need medical attention.

If it goes longer than three to five days, an appointment with their pediatrician is the next step.
concerned_mother91 responded:
its a phase the doctors always say && it is very true a child will eat when they get hungry that age they eat very little my daughter is almost 3 & i have just now got her back to eating more than a bite here or there...also a child can be intimidated by how much you put on their plate. put a spoon ful of everything but not too much. also you could use the "big girl" exercise && if she eats something praise her && tell her how much of a big girl she is..she wont starve.

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