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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Help Please? Child not Eating.
Angelwings36 08:46 AM 09-30-2011
I have a 17 month old boy here that refuses to eat. This has been going on for a few days now and is happing both in daycare and at home. Both mom and I are able to pump milk into him, but nothing else. We thought maybe it could be because his mouth is sore due to teething, but he won't take anything spoon fed either? What do I do? Is this ok? I suggested the mom put him on a multi vitamin to help with the lack of nutrients for now. I also suggested real fruit popsicles, but mom said he won't even eat ice cream! Help!?
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Meyou 08:49 AM 09-30-2011
IMO the milk is part of the reason he's not eating. He's only suppose to have 2 servings of dairy per day at his age including cheese or other dairy products. If he's drinking his calories and filling his belly with milk which is hard to digest he wouldn't need to eat much.

I kinda think he's holding out for milk.
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Live and Learn 09:45 AM 09-30-2011
Originally Posted by Meyou:
IMO the milk is part of the reason he's not eating. He's only suppose to have 2 servings of dairy per day at his age including cheese or other dairy products. If he's drinking his calories and filling his belly with milk which is hard to digest he wouldn't need to eat much.

I kinda think he's holding out for milk.
I agree. Smart kid.
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SilverSabre25 09:58 AM 09-30-2011
could he have a sore throat?
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jojosmommy 12:25 PM 09-30-2011
Serve food first. Don't even prep the milk where he can see it and see what he does. If he is hungry he will eat but if he is getting ALOT of milk he has no reason to eat solids. Could also just be a phase of independence.
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MN Mom 01:05 PM 09-30-2011
I have a 2yo boy, who I watched as a baby, come back into my care this week. His parents don't feed him in the am, but do give him a bottle filled with milk. It's usually mostly gone when he gets here at 7am. When I try to feed him anything before noon, he will SCREAM bloody murder like he's being hurt for hours. He won't self feed, he starts puking if I try to feed him. The only thing he responds to is cookies (animal crackers) and his bottle.

This afternoon after much taunting on my end (I ate english muffin in front of him while he watched licking his lips, after he spent an hour throwing a tantrum over a bowl of cheerios) he climbed up to my table, and let me give him a bowl of cereal and 5 animal crackers for finishing the bowl. He refuses to drink from a sippy cup, even if its juice. He will go ALL day without eating or drinking, yet his diapers are super soggy throughout the day.

This says to me that mom and dad are letting him have his FILL of milk in a bottle every night and am upon waking...as much as he wants, so he is complacent and they don't have to deal with his rage baby behavior. He also have visible signs of early bottle rot mouth, which means he's getting milk in the crib as well.

He doesn't talk. He will make sounds with his mouth closed. He doesn't say yes or no, or give me any indication of anything. He does occasionally point, but that is it. He does play toys with a little encouragement from me, and will quietly make car vrooming sounds when he's playing w/ my sons matchbox cars. No animal sounds, no babbling (he didn't babble as a baby either) nadda with me. When my kids get home from school, he will squeel and giggle and laugh with them, but still no talking or even attempting to talk.

Just my personal experience.

Next week I'm going to try changing up locations for eating, so I can associate positive behaviors with the dinner table (ie coloring, blocks) in hopes I can encourage eventual positive behavior at the table for meals.
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Meyou 02:21 PM 09-30-2011
I don't get what's so hard for these parents at home about preparing a snack. It takes 30 seconds to cut up and apple and a piece of cheese and put them at the table.
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youretooloud 09:52 PM 09-30-2011
He could have canker sores, or hand/foot/mouth... or any other reason that it just hurts to eat.

I'd give it a few more days before worrying. When my mouth hurts, it's not worth eating.
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pinkbunny85 06:23 PM 10-01-2011
If they're not eating for you or the parents, I'd say it's a sore throat. The 3 year old I used to nanny for wouldn't eat for me or the parents. Finally after 3 days of nothing but juice she ate green beans and a hot dog cut up in very small bites. Her parents finally took her to the doc. Her throat was so enflamed that he said it was no wonder she wouldn't take anything except for juice. and the only reason she ate the green beans was probably because they're "slimy" and easy to swallow. She also had hives and a double ear infection.
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