My daughter is 2 years old and although not a big eater, she has really almost stopped eating later in the day. Once awake she has a bottle of milk, which seems to be fine. In the morning up until about 1.30pm she will have a small bowl of cereal, half a slice of toast and maybe an apple and a banana. She drinks plenty of water and she does not like juice. We have our evening meal at 5pm and she used to sit down with us and eat a little. Now she refuses to sit with us or to eat anything at all. We’ve tried not letting her snack in the afternoon so that she is hungry at meal time, and we have tried cutting back the water as this might also fill her up. But she still won't eat an evening meal. She might have half an apple or
a banana if she feels like it, but no proper mealtime food. She will
however drink her milk later in the evening before bed without any problems.
She seems fine in herself, is not being sick and no really messy nappies
either. But I am very worried about what appears to me to be a very small appetite. Please help as soon as you can because I am not sleeping over this.


A You are very worried that your daughter is not eating enough. This is a common worry for many parents of toddlers. Toddlers have appetites that vary according to growth spurts and the amount of physical activity they have during the day. By the evening many toddlers are too tired to eat or not hungry if they have been snacking frequently during the day and have not had a nap.

You say that your daughter has a bottle of milk on waking. It might be an idea to offer half the quantity of milk at that time so that she will be hungry enough for breakfast in the morning. Offer milk in a cup at breakfast time and once she can cope with that gradually stop the early morning bottle. Three drinks of milk a day is all that is required for the amount of calcium she needs.
It is also important to establish a routine and sit down with your toddler to eat three times a day.

The following tips will help you to make a plan that suits your family:

• Have regular mealtimes
• Sit down with your child, turn off the television and chat at mealtimes instead
• Start by serving a small helping
• With food refusal stay calm and don’t force your child to eat. Offer a range of foods on the plate and allow your child to choose and make mealtimes fun
• Have family meals, your child will then see everyone eating and copy you
• If the family meal in the evening is too late your child may be too tired and you may need to feed her earlier.
• Make sure that she has her daily nap
• Give healthy snacks e.g. fresh fruit yoghurts, plain biscuits and scones, Cheese & crackers
• Try to encourage her to drink from a cup instead of a bottle gradually reducing the amount of milk she has in the bottle over a planned period of time
• Give lots of positive attention at mealtimes with praise for even attempting to eat the food including touching it.
• Organise lots of activities for her during the day including baking and helping to prepare foods. She is only little but she will enjoy the activities and the time with you
• Remember she will not starve herself.

Consult your health visitor and have her weight checked if the situation does not improve.

Health Visitor