Grandbaby not gaining weight

[iris lilies]

I think it is more personality or age dynamics, however you would think she was getting hungry! I know thay have tried many ways to get her to eat like you said, so DR help is important now. She literally has no baby fat, ( at 23 months she is 21 lbs).

I saw a mom trying to get out of Target with a toddler throwing a royal fit, oh I don't miss that. They have no idea they could get really hurt by flinging themselves all over.

I love toddlers from afar. This description of them flinging themselves around in hysteria makes me giggle. They are very entertaining when they are not angry.

[Float On]

My niece had food issues and was very one tracked at 2-4. She ate only carrots for a long time and actually had an orange tint. Then she moved to cucumbers. The Dr never seemed overly concerned.

[Miss Cellaneous]

The tricky thing with two-year-olds with eating is that the harder we try the more they resist. It’s part of their developmental stage. I’ve heard of people having success by putting out the meal on the table and sitting down to eat and not inviting the toddler. And then the toddler joins them because they feel left out - but no one is telling them what to do so they feel free to “decide” to join the meal.

I’ve also watched parents talk to each other about how good the food is and they are so glad that it’s a food that is only for adults. And then the toddler says “me too!“ And decides to eat with them.

Of course there could be a physical reason for a kid not eating, but many times it’s the above dynamics.

I think this was my niece at 2. She just didn't eat much, and the more her parents tried to make her eat, the less she would eat. For my niece, I also think it was a control thing--she is 16 now and very, very stubborn. My sister-in-law used to crawl around on the floor after her as she played, holding a spoonful of food and begging her to eat. And Niece would toss those pretty blond curls of hers and refuse. As a result, Niece was very underweight for years. She is fine now.

Mind you, when she had to spend a week with me, every other year or so, I did not mention food and just put food on the table at each meal--I did serve her food I thought she liked. But no snacks, unless you had eaten every bite at the previous meal. The first few days she was with me were a storm of temper tantrums because she refused to eat at meals and wanted me to crawl around after her with snacks. She would tantrum and I walk away. By day 4, she was sitting down and eating at least *something* at every meal. After that, every visit would start with a tantrum or two, and then she would remember the rules and behaved nicely and ate a bit at every meal.

Never told her parents though; I think it would have sent them over the edge, they were so wrapped up in her eating "difficulties."

[Tybee]

My sympathies are with the parents because I saw the power struggle that emerged, and saw that the doctor insisted that they do all these techniques to get food down my grandson--he was literally not growing because of his eating difficulties--I have always wondered if it was a swallowing problem because his dad had a swallowing problem and speech problem starting around the same age. But they ever got a good diagnosis of a physical issue, although they did a lot of tests.
But if they had not done the feeding therapy and just done the old fashioned he'll eat when he;s hungry enough, the doc would have reported them to child protective services and they would have put him in foster care. It's really serious stuff and you will do anything to get the child to eat. Some children never do get hungry enough to eat enough, I guess.

[frugal-one]

GD is in the 90% range for height and 25% range for weight. Parent will not give her sugar and basically feed her sausages, berries, kale, black beans and veggies. I don't think I would gain weight with a diet like that either.

[Zoe Girl]

We have an answer, she has RTA. That means due to acid in her system she has a higher metabolism and that is why she is not gaining weight. The DR told my daughter that kids usually outgrow it. So she will get medicine for 4-6 weeks and then re-evaluate.

My dd is actually glad there is something to treat, and she is doing all the right things. It sounds like it needs to be treated but may not be a lifelong serious issue.

[Teacher Terry]

What a relief!

[Tybee]

So good to have an answer!

[CathyA]

Good to hear and I hope she can outgrow it.

[JaneV2.0]

I'm guessing she got her fast metabolism from you, ZoeGirl?
Didn't you say you had one?
I don't see this as a condition one needs to treat, if so--especially if she's expected to outgrow it.