Kid Won't Eat! page

[Dr. Bork Bork]

I know this comes up often, but here I am asking similar questions.

Normally Grace (my 3yo) is happy to eat breakfast. She wants her bacon, and she wants it now. Yes, please, with a side of Greek yogurt, and occasionally some eggs scrambled with coconut milk.

But on the days she goes to school? Forgettaboudit. It's only 2 days a week, but the mom in me worries she'll get distracted at school if she doesn't have a good breakfast in her. I know if I'm hungry, my ADD goes into overdrive and I can't get ANYTHING done until I eat something. I don't want that to be a problem for her. She wakes up at 7:30 every morning, and I drop her off at preschool at 8:50... so there's plenty of time to eat breakfast, and she wakes up alert and ready to play (definitely a morning person), but I'll ask her if she wants something to eat and she always tells me "No, thank you, Mommy. I just fine."

I'm concerned. Is it safe for such a little person to IF like that? Should I continue to follow her hunger leads? MWF, no problems eating breakfast. Tue/Thur, she's not hungry... but she eats good the rest of the day.

3yo IF'ing safe? Yes? No?

[Nion]

If she's not hungry, she's probably fine. Is she eating at school? I used to skip meals all the time as a kid, it's fine.
If she's healthy, and fine with it then...don't worry momma

[Dr. Bork Bork]

If she's not hungry, she's probably fine. Is she eating at school? I used to skip meals all the time as a kid, it's fine.
If she's healthy, and fine with it then...don't worry momma

She might be eating a little bit on Thursdays during cooking class, but otherwise she's not there long enough to eat. She goes from 9a to 11:30. She tends to be a grazer during the day, so 9-11:30 is a bit of a span for her.
She is healthy otherwise thanks to Primal

[Leida]

If it makes you feel better (I know it makes me feel better!), put a small baggie with veggies and ham slices or cheese strips into her pack. If she doesn't eat it, it can be easily incorporated into the dinner veggie platter. On the whole though, if kid eats when hungry and stops when full, don't mess with it! We are all born with that natural switch, and messing with it causes more troubles than it solves imo.

[iniQuity]

She's telling you in her weird toddler English that she's fine. She'd tell you "I hungry" or something similarly incomplete if she wanted to eat.

[ChocoTaco369]

Sure it's fine. Human's IF'ed all the time, so surely children did as well. The 3 squares a day thing is a modern phenomenon that never existed until recently. One thing I've taken from this forum - if I ever have kids one day, I will not force them to eat if they don't want to. I hear so many horror stories about parents forcing their kids to eat through all kinds of games, threats, etc...well, I'm not going to do that. In fact, I bet that's what causes food obsession and eating disorders - childhood memories of being force fed food against their will, threats surrounding food and all kinds of childhood trauma that revolves around the simple act of eating...which should be a pleasure! They're plenty capable of telling me when they're hungry, and I'm not going to punish my kid and make them food obsessed because he or she isn't hungry at the exact same time that I am.

I see this as no big deal at all.

[Dr. Bork Bork]

Thanks for the reassurance. I'll keep offering her breakfast, and try not to worry too much when she refuses.
I tried to make her some protein cookies, cuz what kid doesn't love cookies? Well, apparently, MINE. *Sigh* Right. Not broke, don't fix it.

[FairyRae]

If it makes you feel better (I know it makes me feel better!), put a small baggie with veggies and ham slices or cheese strips into her pack. If she doesn't eat it, it can be easily incorporated into the dinner veggie platter. On the whole though, if kid eats when hungry and stops when full, don't mess with it! We are all born with that natural switch, and messing with it causes more troubles than it solves imo.

+1 Send in stuff you'll feel good about her eating in case she gets hungry.

Also, I find that *asking* my 4yo if he wants something to eat has him responding "no" to everything I suggest. BUT, making him some eggs and cut up fruit (etc) and offering it cooked and ready to eat will typically lead to him eating it.

Good luck figuring out what works best for her!!

[Dragonfly]

Relax! She is healthy & listening to her hunger signals--that is TERRIFIC!!!

As others suggested, pack a snack for her to take with her.

[Dr. Bork Bork]

They don't have snack time there. Should I pack something anyway?

I do think it's great she is following her own signals, and recognizing them. She has a fit if I try to set something out for her, so I'd rather hear "No, thank you, Mommy. I just fine", rather than send her to school in a bad mood cuz we had a futile, needless power struggle. But the mom in me worries she's going on an empty stomach... but then a quieter part of me says "It's only 2 days a week for 2 hours", but the mom in me says "but what if she can't focus cuz she's hungry and her teachers complain and then chew me out for not feeding her?"

I'm sure you other parents have had this same inner struggle, right?