Help-6 year old not interested in eating - Page 1

Dear all

My 6 year old very intelligent and analytical son wont eat on his own. Since we were with our inlaws till he was  2 years old, he was 'fed' by grand parents. Then when we went abroad I tried to make him eat on his own but he would take more than hour and both of us lost patience and I ended up feeding. Again just when he was learning to eat on his own, we came back to India, I had my second child and again the grandparents went back to feeding him and he infact improved his weight bcos he would eat more without realising when fed.

Now I am alone with a little one, I find it difficult to feed him, he insists he wants to watch TV too while eating. Sometimes the food doesnt get digested and he vomits(he also has allergic cough). I honestly tried to make him eat on his own without TV but he will talk a lot, get up and walk or start playing and it always ends in a fight between us and me feeding the last bit. This is becoming a struggle now and so much unpleasantness around eating.

How do I get him interested in eating?

How do I make him eat on his own and quickly(next year he will go to full time school)

How do I seperate TV watching and eating?

Please share any experiences, tips...please

Chaplin

Hi

         one best thing u do is let him b hungry for some time ........ read carefully . till u feel  he is too hungry dont give him anything to him . after that give him some food item which he likes . i m sure he will enjoy his meal.

for being quick this will work .as well as use some tricks something new. for few days atleast till he eats on his own peper some food which he like . n enjoys to eat no probs if u repeat it very often. once he starts eating let him try some new thing

dont stop feeding at once when he sits to eat u can feed him his first bite . then ask him to carry on n u b around him. in middle aslo u can feed him . in this caz he wont feel ignored . which he is feeling now. one more thing u must b knowing it but just ...like see tsht he doesnot get complexed with the younger one .

seeing TV is also a reason of not eating himself caz that disturbs them to see. so instead TV put him audio songs which he likes n then let him enjoy the music n eat .

tell him the importance of food ..........n what food does with the body n what will happen if he does not eat it well. plz do explain him with all ur love n care no fighting plz

a 6 year child is grown up now so dont behave with him  like a kid he is smart enough to undersatnd anything if its with care n love . tell him u r elder bro now other one may follow what u do do u want that i thought u r grown up boy n help me like n elder  see his reaction............. u will enjoy .

i hope u work on all this taht to step by step n slowly dont expect evry thing will change as magic take ur own time as well as give him time . enjoy ur kids n life ..........u will never enjoy this again enjoy each n every moment ........ let them enjoy as well they too will b the same after they grow .traped in strom called life .......with books n then duties .

so stop worring  i m sure all will b fine .

redgs

HI

              i hope u got my point to keep him hungry for some time ......i know its tuff but try its for his good. the more he is hungry he will get intrest in food n know its value .

rgds

 just give him anything he wants..dont control him on pepsi or chips .my childern got fed up of junk food but this way they learnt not to stay hungry

 Hi,

I don't know if you have overcome the problem, but here's our experience:

Our daughter till she was 7.5 years old, wouldn't eat anything. Chox, biscuits, burgers, nothing. She had to be force fed. We would often take her to restaurants, food shops etc and ask her to pick anything. She would pick the food item with the free toy and then discard the food, keep the toy.

We tried all such suggestions:

- give her whatever she likes - didn' work

- keep her hungry - we kept her without food for 48 hours - she survived on water, didn't ask for any food - we had to go back to force feeding

- any junk food - didn't work

- lectures on good eating - didn't work

- threats/blackmail/grandparents help etc - didn't work

- eating with TV/Music/books or without these - didn't work

She would take hours, even with forced feeding. 

For 7.5 years we have suffered. The pediatrician would say - she looks healthy so what's your problem?

Then early this month she was sick, and our regular doc wasn't in town. We took her to another. After she became better, we asked this new pediatrician  to prescribe something. First he said the same as our usual pediatrician, but after a lot of coercing, he agreed and gave her a syrup. 

Now, tables have turned. We are having difficulty keeping up with her demand for food. We have to see if her eating stays this way after the syrup is withdrawn.

cheers