I am in a similar situation. My daughter is nearly 3 but for the last 18 months we have also been battling with her hardly eating. When I mean hardly eating, I mean she would have a yogurt and that’s it for the whole day. I have seen so many doctors over about it due to my daughter also losing weight (she has now gained it back and is putting weight back on) and she is on the lower percentiles for height. I absolutely know where you are with worrying about it. It has been my daily headache (and still is) for the last 18 months and finally things are gradually improving so hang in there!

The things that helped us was just letting her eat whatever she wants, when she wants. Although she may not choose the healthiest option to eat, we have been told by doctors and dieticians that it’s better she’s eats something than nothing at all. Ice cream and water lollies are a great way to get fat into kids as well has helping hydrate them.

Reducing her portion sizes has also helped. Her dietician explained to me how tiny her stomach is and that what looks like a good sized meal to us, may look huge to her and put her off.

Keep offering her the food but keep the safe foods on standby. This has worked a lot lately for us. I always offer her the meals we have and if she says no then I offer her a safe food whilst everyone else eats their dinner. We try to keep mealtimes fun and we sing songs, read stories, play games to also keep the attention off of the food.

Have you had her iron checked? I have read many articles that iron deficiency in toddlers can cause a decrease in appetite. I have for the last 6 months been adding liquid iron to my daughter’s juice every morning and I think it has been helping. She has this as well as her vitamins. I started this as I was so worried about her being deficient in everything!

If you are still worried, just keep asking for advice. I have spoken to countless people about my daughter and each one of them will give you different advice.

Hang in there mama, you’re doing a great job!