2 year old not eating well

samachu · Dec 7, 2009

Hi friends,

I am new to this site. I have a 2 year old son who doesnt eat when I feed him with food. I was force feeding him the food till now and recently I stopped and just left him to get self fed. He likes to eat sphagetti, pasta(various types) or half a chapati for lunch and dinner, but he doesnt like that much to eat rice like rasam rice, vegetable rice etc. Is it okay for him to have pasta,sphagetti alone for a while without rice or how can I make him eat rice? He doesnt take solids more and he drinks milk a lot. How can I reduce the milk amount and increase solid intake? Also, is self feeding a good habit? Please help me friends, I am so much worried.

Thanks,
Suga

vjbunny · May 2, 2012

Hi Samachu...
Please refer here

Quest95119 · Aug 4, 2012

Most non-Indian kids self feed from the time they are 10-12 months old and they LOVE to eat and ask for food when hungry. They might not eat EVERYTHING but they eat some food.

Most Indian moms feel obliged to force feed their kid and the kid learns to HATE food- sometimes even ALL FOOD because they associate food with force, discomfort from being overfed.

As long as he is eating something on his own, let him be. Try cooking whole grain pasta and use sauce that may have veggies disguised in it. He will eventually broaden his palette but NEVER force feed him.

The long term result is he will learn to like food and eat better. If you force him to eat, he will start hating spaghetti food too.

How come American kids almost NEVER have feeding issues (barring medical problems) and like 80 percent of Indian kids do?

ramyaramani · Aug 5, 2012

Self feeding is a very good habit. But that being said, I find my 13 month old DD not eating well. I also give her food in addition to her self feeding. Mainly because our food consisting of rice items is not conducive for self feeding. I allow her to eat vegetables/fruits/snacks and other tiffin items by herself. When it comes to messy items like cereal, rice etc. I feed her. I don't force feed. Someday's she hardly has rice. But if I give her pasta, she eats. Those days I am happy she is getting her carbs through some other foods atleast.

If you are giving milk before solids, then try reversing it. That way slowly the milk intake will reduce.