18 month old hunger strike

[Anonymous]

I know toddlers go on hunger strikes. Somehow it's different when it's your own toddler... She has been eating almost nothing. Today, the grand total of what she ate was one mini pancake and two toddler size bites of lasagna. She has shunned eggs, fruits, veggies, meats, and even french fries. It didn't just start today; I'm just using that as an example. She shuns junk just as much as she shuns the healthy stuff. The only thing we are getting into her is milk, and that's only twice a day. She has been off the charts--or close to it-- for both height and weight, so it's not like she's going to starve. I'm not an alarmist mom (or a first time mom--though I can safely say that DS has never skipped a meal in his life). But how long should I let this go on before calling a doctor? I mean, what's a doctor going to say? It's not like they would tell me to force her to eat...

Any thoughts of how long this kind of thing can go on, or if I should just keep trying to give her her normal meals and she'll eat when her body tells her to?

[Anonymous]

I don't know about others, but from toddlerhood through elementary school, eating was really up and down. Some weeks they eat me out of house and home and I have to do major mid-week grocery trips. Other weeks I am throwing away fruit because it goes bad. I wouldn't worry about it if it only lasts a few days or a week unless you think she's sick. But, then, I'm many years into the ups and downs of eating so it no longer phases me. I remember being worried when this started with my first. You just have to go through a few cycles of the major eating and then you stop worrying about the days when food isn't appealing. I always offer meals on a regular schedule and offer milk more often than normal when the food intake is on the low side.

[Anonymous]

could it be a ear infection?

[Anonymous]

You might want to take her to a doctor only to rule things out (such as the ear infections PP mentioned). Once that's done, you can safely shrug it off as one of those wierd things kids do....

DS did this around six months -- from BM and formula no less! -- and the pediatrician gave him a good once over (ears, felt his belly, etc.) and -- finding nothing -- squeezed his thigh rolls and declared that he had a ways to go until he starved.