For what reason would a happy healthy 2 year old child <not teething> go off their food? Is this a common thing for children of this age and how can one encourage them to eat?
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- sweetcakes -
ANSWERS: 6
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Probably they are over fed or if they consume too much on junk food, they would lose their appetite. You can try by reducing any kind of bakery food items appropriate for their age like jams, cool drinks, too much of butter etc. Underfed them for just one or two sessions of the day and once they start feeling hungry, feed them with natural food like vegetables, fruits cooked as necessary.
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relax, he'll eat when he's hungry. it's very normal for appetites to fluctuate, don't make eating a big deal, and it will pass. peace
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If it was for some reason *other* than natural appetite variation (growth-lull, hormone etc) - I would expect other signs such as large behavioural / sleeping pattern shift, or other physical signs of illness.
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Perhaps including her in the meal making process will encourage her to eat. Otherwise, it will pass unless she's truly ill :(
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The most common reason is they are not hungry.
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Kids are just fussy. 2 year olds like to think they are in control and if you don't feed them their favorite foods they won't eat, they'd rather starve. Another thing is they might not be on a growth spurt. If their body is telling them "we're not going up or out today" then it's just what it is... I wouldn't be worried if it persisted 2-3 days. Just make sure he/she gets liquids (particularly milk and water) and they'll tell you when they're ready. We used to give our 2 year old a lot of "puff" snacks to tease her appetite and then give her a real food instead when she ran out of puffs. Last comment is, lay down a huge "droppings" mat and just let him/her feed theirself, maybe he/she is trying to show independence if you're still feeding it to them. If nothing else, film it and watch their expressions to try to think what each expression means when you play it back.
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